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Indiana and Michigan State battle on Saturday
By: Dave Schoenholt - StatFox
Published: 1/20/2017  at  4:36:00 AM
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MICHIGAN ST SPARTANS (12-7)

INDIANA HOOSIERS (13-6)

Assembly Hall – Bloomington, IN
Tip-off: Saturday, 4:00pm ET
Line: N/A

Michigan State and Indiana collide in a battle of struggling Big Ten blue bloods.

The Hoosiers host the Spartans on Saturday afternoon in a matchup of two previously-ranked teams in search of improved play. Michigan State (9-9 ATS) last played against Ohio State on Sunday and has had six days to marinate over their first loss to the Buckeyes (72-67, MSU +2.5) in their last five meetings. Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans are 4-2 in conference play (4-2 ATS) but 1-2 (2-1 ATS) on the road this season. They’ve split their last four contests (2-2 ATS) with home wins over Rutgers and Minnesota interjected with losses to Penn State in addition to the aforementioned defeat at Ohio State. Coach Tom Crean’s Hoosiers also got into a dogfight against the Nittany Lions, but were able to pull out a buzzer beating win in Happy Valley on Wednesday thanks to James Blackmon Jr’s winning three (78-75, IND -3.5). Indiana has now won two straight to push their Big Ten record to 3-3 (2-4 ATS). The win at Penn State came with a heavy cost, however, as Indiana recently learned they’ll be without their best defensive player, O.G. Anunoby (11.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 55.7% FG), for the rest of the season. Anunoby, a rising NBA prospect who averaged 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game for the Hoosiers, will undergo knee surgery after getting hurt battling for an offensive rebound in the Penn State win. Indiana has been without Anunoby for three relatively easy non-conference wins in early December this year already, but did get upset by IPFW on Nov. 23 in a game where Anunoby exited with illness after just 13 minutes played. Indiana will look to do as Ohio State just did to the Spartans and knock them off for the first time in the past five games in this matchup (dating back to 2013). A former assistant to Coach Izzo, Coach Crean and the Hoosiers have lost their last two home matchups against Michigan State and are 3-7 (3-7 ATS) overall since Jan. 2011. In addition to the out-for-the-season Anunoby, F Juwan Morgan (7.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG) is questionable for the Hoosiers with a foot injury. Morgan sat out the win against Penn State on Wednesday.

Michigan State hasn’t been effected by long layoffs (5-5 in 3+ days rest), but you can be sure that Coach Izzo will have his Spartans ready to go against his pupil on the other sideline after a lackluster performance in Columbus last Sunday. Freshman Miles Bridges (15.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG) reasserted himself as the focal point of this offense with 24 points and nine rebounds on 9-for-12 from the field, but unfortunately the rest of the Spartans reverted back to their form in early November. Michigan State will only be truly dangerous when the weapons that emerged from Bridges’ injury in early December stay consistent, along with a now-healthy Bridges. G Cassius Winston (6.5 PPG, 5.7 APG) has seen his role dwindle with the return of Bridges, as the freshman point guard who was so instrumental to Michigan State’s success last month is now relegated back to a bench role. Winston only had one point and two assists in 11 minutes against Ohio State. Fellow freshman Nick Ward (13.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG) also had his second straight sub-par game mired in foul trouble. Ward scored just nine points (as he did against Minnesota) and has played a combined 31 minutes in his past two contests. Junior Lourawls Nairn Jr. (4.3 PPG, 4.0 APG), while not the talent that the freshman Winston is, has stepped back into the forefront of Coach Izzo’s rotation as the starting point guard, as he handed out eight assists against Ohio State. Nairn is arguably Michigan State’s best perimeter defender. Without Anunoby to contend with on the defensive end, Michigan State will be in good position to expose an Indiana defense that had been putting together it’s best season on that end of the floor in years. Penn State guard Tony Carr was able to get to the free throw line at will [the Nittany Lions shot 31 free throws, total] against Indiana without Anunoby to contend with, so look for Coach Izzo to implore his guys to take the ball hard to the basket.

Indiana is one of the better offensive teams in the country (84.3 PPG, 14th in NCAA) while shooting 49.7% FG (11th in NCAA). Unlike previous seasons, their rebounding is now a strength instead of a weakness (41.3 RPG, 8th in NCAA) thanks to guys like Anunoby, Morgan and F Thomas Bryant (11.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 BPG). If Morgan sits out, along with Anunoby, that’s almost 11 rebounds per game that Coach Crean will have to replace. G Robert Johnson (13.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 42.3% 3PT) stepped up in the void for the shorthanded Hoosiers on Wednesday night, providing 17 points and seven rebounds. Johnson, one of the more underrated players in the conference is having a breakout junior season, with 11 games out of his last 12 in double-figures. As a player who saw his playing time and scoring average dip in his sophomore year, Johnson has proven to be an invaluable commodity for Coach Crean. The star of Wednesday’s win, G James Blackmon Jr. (17.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 42% 3PT) will be relied upon more than ever. Always known for offense more than his defense, Blackmon Jr. will need to find an extra gear to keep his shot-making elite while taking on more responsibility at the end of the floor that’s plagued him in being mocked as “the college version of James Harden”. Bryant, the imposing 6’10” sophomore, will have to do the opposite of Blackmon Jr, as he’s a guy that brings it on the glass and defending the paint, but now has to fulfill his promise as someone who can dominate on offense with the absence of Anunoby. Bryant was a similar recruit to now-Big Ten star Caleb Swanigan, and while nobody is asking for games of 20 points and 20 rebounds off the bat, Bryant has that kind of ceiling (four double-doubles this season). Unfortunately Bryant has single-digit scoring outputs in four of his last six games, but does have a chance to feast on Michigan State’s inexperienced and foul-prone front line.


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