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Michigan State basketball looks to bounce back vs. struggling Indiana

By Connor Muldowney

LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 17: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans drives on Tanner Borchardt #20 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 17, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 17: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans drives on Tanner Borchardt #20 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 17, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball is looking to bounce back with a win over Indiana after struggling against Purdue last weekend. Did the break help?

Both Indiana and Michigan State are coming off losses. The Spartans lost their first Big Ten game at Purdue and the Hoosiers have seven consecutive defeats, the latest coming at the hands of Rutgers. It’s safe to say these two programs are on different levels right now.

Indiana started Big Ten play with a 3-0 record but have lost those seven consecutive games to essentially eliminate itself from the conference title race. Michigan State’s loss put them into a first-place tie with Michigan.

News that Josh Langford is out for the season has hit the Spartans, but that just means guys like Aaron Henry, Matt McQuaid and Gabe Brown will all have to step up — even Foster Loyer. It’s time for the young guns to shine and take some pressure off Cassius Winston.

Saturday’s game will also be the subject of ESPN‘s College GameDay and that starts at 11 a.m. with doors opening at 9:30.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s game:

Date: Saturday, Feb. 2
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Breslin Center
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Beating Indiana will depend on a few things, and one of those is getting the post game going. Sure, having Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown take their first steps toward replacing Josh Langford full-time would be great, but if Michigan State is going to dominate the Hoosiers like it should, the Spartans need Nick Ward and Xavier Tillman to each have monster games. Feeding the post on almost every possession is a must, especially to try and get Juwan Morgan into foul trouble.

Defensively, taking Romeo Langford out of the game and forcing everything through Morgan in the paint will be important. Though Morgan is a good player, he’s not going to be able to put the entire team on his back for 40 minutes on the road. This falls on the shoulders of Matt McQuaid who will likely draw the freshman sensation.

Players to Watch

Indiana has been struggling mightily in the past few weeks, and that’s indicative by its seven-game losing streak after starting the year 12-2. Can things turn around? Sure, but it’ll have to start with these guys and on the offensive end of the floor.

  • Romeo Langford: 17.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 46% FG
  • Juwan Morgan: 16.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 59% FG
  • Justin Smith: 8.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 54% FG
  • Aljami Durham: 8.1 points, 44% FG, 39% 3-pointers

Next. 5 reasons MSU can still contend without Josh Langford. dark

Prediction

It seems like a relatively safe assumption that Michigan State wins this one, but no game in the Big Ten is a given — just look at Purdue almost losing to winless Penn State after upsetting the Spartans. The Hoosiers are overly hungry for a win, which would be their first in about a month, and Michigan State is going to play angry after its first Big Ten loss. Indiana better watch out because it’s about to see what a top-tier national contender looks like.

Final Score: Indiana 61, Michigan State 78

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