After racing out to a 20-8 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half, it felt like all was going to plan for Tom Izzo and Co. to win the Hall of Fame head coach's 354th Big Ten game.
Bob Knight's record looked like it would be crushed on Tuesday, but the Hoosiers had other plans.
Indiana stormed back on a 24-9 run heading into halftime with a three-point lead and all they did in the second half was maintain that as the Spartans' cold shooting against the Hoosiers' 2-3 zone was horrendous. They hit just 4-of-23 shots from deep and former players were even chiming in with their frustrations.
One of those former players also happens to be the dad of Jase Richardson who didn't quite have himself a good game in his second career start (he still scored 13, though).
It wasn't Jase that he was worried about on Tuesday night, however, it was the usage of junior guard Tre Holloman who just so happens to be one of the team's best 3-point shooters.
Tre Holloman sitting this long against is a zone is wild!
— Jason Richardson (@jrich23) February 12, 2025
Jason is right, Holloman should've been on the floor much more than he was, especially with Jeremy Fears Jr. struggling massively on the offensive end, scoring no points and dishing just two assists. He's supposed to be an elite passer but instead of helping the offense, he hurt it by dribbling the air out of the ball and passing up wide open shots in the lane.
If Holloman was out there more against the zone, the Hoosiers would have to respect his shot more and he would even be a threat to drive and score at the rim. With Fears, Indiana knew they could leave him alone on the perimeter and focus on the wings.
Overall, Tuesday's game was just a microcosm of Izzo's career struggles against that vaunted 2-3 zone and if the Spartans don't figure something out quickly, the Big Ten title will just keep slipping away.