Hoosiers off to best start since 1992-93 season

After several games in which IU slowed to the pace of its opponents, Sunday’s contest against Michigan State saw the Hoosiers’ return to their customary speedy ways.

For much of the afternoon, though, the Spartans stayed with the Hoosiers step-for-step.

When the second half slowed to a physical dogfight, though, No. 7 IU (18-2, 6-1 Big Ten) still emerged with a 75-70 win against No. 13 Michigan State (17-4, 6-2) to exit the weekend with a share of the Big Ten lead and its best start since the 1992-93
season.

“This is a big game,” senior forward Christian Watford said. “It’s definitely going to help us down the road. I feel like Michigan State is a great team. They never stop fighting. That’s definitely how it’s going to be in the tournament, the Big Ten tournament. Teams are definitely not going to give up.”

Junior guard Victor Oladipo led the charge for IU the entire game, pacing IU in scoring with 21, steals with six and blocks with three, and tying for the lead in rebounds with seven.

His contributions often transcended the stat sheet, though, as he dived for loose balls and chased down Spartans to deny them apparent breakaway baskets.

IU was able to dictate the pace from the beginning. Even though sophomore forward Cody Zeller lost the tipoff to MSU center Adreian Payne, Oladipo stole the ball on MSU’s first possession, taking the ball the length of the court and finishing with a dunk that brought the Assembly Hall crowd to its feet.

Minutes later, he would replicate the feat almost identically, from a perimeter steal to the thundering jam.

“Transition is a big deal on our team and for me to get those steals and start our break was a huge for us,” Oladipo said. “My guys did a good job of playing defense and running on the break.”

Payne hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep IU from pulling away early, even giving MSU the lead briefly. He would later hit a third on the afternoon. Before Sunday, the 6-foot-10-inch center had made three 3-point shots all season.

IU eventually staked a 28-19 lead, but it was quickly nullified by a 9-0 MSU run that included a dunk off of a stolen in-bounds pass.

The Hoosiers played both man-to-man and zone defenses during the game, switching between the two as frequently as each possession, especially early on, to slow down the Spartans.

With 1:06 to play in the first half, the game was again tied, now at 38-38, before a pair of 3-pointers, including one by freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell with just two seconds to go, gave IU a six-point lead at the break.

The second half had fewer turnovers than the first, slowing the game down and further preventing IU from running up the score in transition. Instead, IU’s lead never eclipsed seven points in the second half.

Oladipo simply adapted to the slower pace. The IU offense had by no means been a one man show in the first half, but when his supporting cast’s shots stopped falling in the second period, the offense came to run primarily through the junior guard. He scored 13 points in the second half through all manners of shots.

While the Spartan’s leading scorer, guard Keith Appling, was kept scoreless in the second half and fouled out with 5:17 to go, one-time IU recruiting target Gary Harris stepped up with 14 second half points, taking advantage of holes in IU’s zone defense.
Harris, who led MSU with 21 points for the game, twice pulled his team within a single point.

The Spartans bested IU in a pair of the Hoosiers’ hallmark statistics, rebounding and 3-point shooting, but the simple advantage for IU in the number of times it got to the line made up the difference. MSU did not attempt a single free throw in the second half. Its 5-for-6 mark at the line for the game was identical to Zeller’s.

In the game’s final minutes, it was a pair of plays by Zeller that clenched the game for IU.

With 2:09 left and IU leading 72-70, MSU center Derrick Nix was called for a travel. Seconds later, Zeller drove into the paint from outside the perimeter, almost guard-like, ending with a finger roll layup at the other end to double the lead.

“It was winning time and Cody answered the bell,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “He rang the bell. To get that charge and to get that drive and to make that play in the heat of that game, that’s where his mental toughness is.”

With the score still 74-70, with 14.3 seconds left, the Spartans fed the ball to Payne. As he worked toward the basket, Zeller took a charge to give the ball back to IU and effectively clench the win.

After keeping MSU scoreless for the final 3:32 of the game, the victory puts the Hoosiers in a tie for the conference lead with Michigan.

“We’re not in a league where you’re going to get a lot of those type of big wins,” Crean said. “You’ve got to be in some fights. We’ll get better from this.”