Hoosiers to play Michigan State

If the past was any indication of what awaits the IU men's basketball team in East Lansing tonight, the Hoosiers may face a repeat of the past two Big Ten road games. \nThe No. 19 Hoosiers have been unsuccessful in the last nine attempts at the Breslin Center, and have not beat a Big Ten team on the road in four tries.\nWith the torturous 69-47 loss to Purdue still fresh in their minds, as well as the lack of promising play on the road, IU (14-4, 4-2) hopes to change their recent trend tonight against Michigan State (10-8, 2-4).\n"We have to fight the whole game instead of just some of it," senior forward Jeff Newton said. "[The Purdue game was] going to be just like our past three games by being a battle from start to finish. We just have to come ready to fight for the next three games."\nThe game, which can be viewed at 7 p.m. on ESPN, pairs two teams each in the middle of a slight crisis. The Hoosiers, who haven't lost more than four road games in a row since the 2000-2001 season, are struggling with player's attitudes and the injury to its highest scorer.\nFollowing the Purdue loss, IU coach Mike Davis criticized the play of Newton, and junior center George Leach, who were both held to less than 10 rebounds and 10 points. Leach didn't score at all, while Newton had a mere 7 points and nine rebounds.\nIn a fashion similar to the post-game press conference at Ohio State when Davis questioned the effort of senior guard Tom Coverdale, he directed his criticism at Leach after the Purdue game.\n"When I say that [George] disappeared, it's like I am picking on him," Davis said. "I should have taken [him] out the game when they announced the players, because I have told him about walking onto the court like he's Shaquille O'Neal. I should have taken him out then. There is no place for that."\nDavis also scoffed at the earlier notion that the Hoosiers were able to compete with or without freshman guard Bracey Wright. Although IU had been on a three-game winning streak, those were home games that Davis said weren't as impressive as they were made out to be. Even Illinois, who had been ranked No. 8 at the time, was in the midst of "finding themselves," Davis said.\nBut now that the Hoosiers were embarrassed against the Boilermakers on the road, Davis said that it is Wright who the team needs. Wright, who has not played in the last four games, still leads the team in points with 19.1, and is in third on the team in rebounds with 5.5.\n"People said we didn't need Bracey; 'the way you are playing, you don't need Bracey,'" Davis said. "The thing you don't understand is that Bracey is the one guy in this whole league that is going to make a shot or create a shot. I just laugh when I heard it because it doesn't make sense to say that you don't need a guy who averages 20 points a game."\nBut the Spartans are experiencing upheaval of their own. Michigan State, who began the season ranked in the top 10, and marked as the favorites of the Big Ten, have a mere two conference victories. The first was an 11-point victory against Ohio State at home, and the other was a 34-point victory against Penn State, once again at home.\nRecently, the Spartans dropped a close game to the Michigan Wolverines, who are first in the Big Ten, losing 60-58.\n"We just have to go out and win some of these road games," Freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "We've struggled on the road, but I think it's going to be a tough game against Michigan State"