IU loses depth battle with Michigan State

It wasn’t a blowout, but it wasn’t a nail-biter.

Just another run-of-the-mill, February loss.

Michigan State celebrated Mardi Gras at Assembly Hall with a 72-58 win, further cementing its No. 1 spot in the Big Ten.

While IU managed to outrebound the Spartans and shot 25-of-28 from the free-throw line, the Hoosiers also had their share of mistakes Tuesday. They had more turnovers (16 to eight), fewer points in the paint (18 to 40) and shot 34.9 percent from the field, compared to 59.3 percent for the Spartans.  

Tuesday’s loss once again revealed the differences between the elite of the Big Ten and the stragglers.

One of the IU’s biggest factors was something it has struggled with all season: depth.

Especially with the losses of freshman guard Maurice Creek and sophomore guard Matt Roth, the Hoosiers have been short on options all season. And that was even more pronounced against the Spartans, who had four players in double digits.

IU only had two players in double digits, with sophomore guard Verdell Jones scoring 20 points — or 34.4 percent of IU’s total points.

Another evident stat from Tuesday’s loss was the disparity in points off the bench. The Spartans had 27 while IU had 13.

“That’s the difference in a program that’s got some depth,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “That’s one thing we have.”

Unlike their last game — an 83-55 loss at Wisconsin — the Hoosiers didn’t lose the game in the first half.  

“You feel bad either way, but we can take some things away from this game,” freshman guard Jordan Hulls said.

Entering Tuesday’s game, IU was on a six-game losing streak and had not won in Bloomington since its 81-78 overtime win against Minnesota on Jan. 17, almost a month ago.

They’ll travel to Minnesota on Saturday to take on a team they’ve already beaten once this season. But they’ll need to do more than just rebound and shoot well from the foul line.

While the final stats show IU outrebounded the Spartans by six, they struggled early with defensive rebounds.

The Hoosiers did not record a defensive rebound until 8:11 remaining in the first half. IU toughened up in the second half, getting eight boards from the defensive end compared to four from the Spartans.

IU coach Tom Crean said he considered outrebounding the Spartans one of the positives.

“There are pluses and minuses to any game,” he said. “They are a great rebounding team, and that’s what we are going to become here.”