HALFTIME: IU leads Michigan State 36-30

Early on in the first half at the Breslin Center as the No. 1 IU men’s basketball team took on No. 4 Michigan State, all eyes were centered on sophomore forward Cody Zeller and junior guard Victor Oladipo.

Both players were looking to surpass 1,000 points for their IU careers. Additionally, Oladipo left Saturday’s game against Purdue with a sprained left ankle and didn’t return in the Hoosier win. There was speculation about how effective the rising Player of the Year candidate would be.

 Zeller hit his mark of 6 points to surpass 1,000 early on, and Oladipo still sits five points shy, but both Hoosiers lead IU to a 36-30 lead over the Spartans through the game’s first 20 minutes.

 
Zeller scored six of IU’s first eight points, with a long jumper from about 15 feet taking him over the 1,000-point threshold and tying the game eight-apiece with 15:39 remaining in the half.

After IU took an 18-14 lead off a 3-pointer from senior forward Derek Elston with 12:59 remaining, both teams went a bit cold from the floor, combining for just two points in the next 3:11.

From there, the Hoosiers and the Spartans traded free throws and buckets on the way in to the end of the first half.

After the Spartans lost a pass out of bounds with 6.2 seconds left, the Hoosiers had a chance to boost their lead to as many as nine points, but even though Zeller found senior forward Christian Watford at half court, he couldn’t manage to get a shot off, and the Hoosiers went into the locker room ahead 36-30.

—Nathan Brown