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Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from much-needed win over Indiana

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - MARCH 02: Malik Hall #25 and Julius Marble II #34 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench in the second half of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Breslin Center on March 02, 2021 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - MARCH 02: Malik Hall #25 and Julius Marble II #34 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench in the second half of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Breslin Center on March 02, 2021 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball needed a big win to improve its NCAA Tournament resume and it got one, albeit an ugly one, over Indiana.

Down two with the offense looking broken, Gabe Brown caught a pass in the corner and fired a huge 3-pointer which dropped and finally gave Michigan State a lead. He followed that up with another long jumper to give the Spartans a three-point lead and they carried that momentum to a 64-58 win in the rematch with Indiana.

After losing three straight games to the Hoosiers before this season, the Spartans beat Indiana two times in the span of 10 days to improve their record to 14-10.

The first win over Indiana a week and a half ago helped put the Spartans on the bubble and this one went a long way in helping Michigan State stay on the right side of that bubble.

What’d we learn from Michigan State’s big win over Indiana?

3. Gabe Brown provided a much-needed second-half spark

When Michigan State’s offense was on the brink of just completely folding into nothingness, Gabe Brown hit a couple of huge shots to give the Spartans a lead in the second half.

Down 39-37 and looking lifeless, the offense was in desperate need of a spark and Brown stepped up. He hit a huge catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and then followed it up with a long two on a fast break which gave the Spartans a 42-39 lead heading into an Indiana timeout. This was the swing in momentum that helped lead to the six-point win.

Sometimes all the offense needs is a little jumpstart and seeing Brown make a couple of big shots and ignite that bench really had a positive effect on the rest of the offense. Joshua Langford made some nice shots, Joey Hauser hit a couple of hooks and Aaron Henry went off.

If not for those big buckets from Gabe, this game could have ended much differently.

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