IU is going to want to run. Michigan State is going to want to slow the game down.
The Hoosiers are the 23rd fastest team in the country in terms of average number of possessions. It’s often the only way IU Coach Tom Crean can work around his team’s size deficiency and still find space for a sweet-shooting rotation of guards.
The Spartans play at a much slower tempo, ranking 120th in average possessions.
Whichever team can assert their preferred style of play Monday night will instantly gain the upper hand.
Monday night’s matchup between IU (11-3, 1-0) and Michigan State (9-5, 1-0) could very well be decided by which team is allowed to play at its comfortable pace and the great equalizer of college basketball – the 3-point shot.
Both IU and Michigan State rely heavily on the 3-point shot, and each team converts at a high rate: the Hoosiers are No. 8 in the country at 40.8 percent from 3-point range, and the Spartans come in at No. 10 with 40.5 percent.
Each team scores about 32 percent of its points from long distance.
Much like IU, Michigan State’s roster features a talented trio of guards that handle the bulk of the scoring burden. Senior Travis Trice and juniors Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes account for over half of the Spartans’ 74 points per game.
In the frontcourt, senior forward Branden Dawson - who Crean has called one of the Big Ten’s most versatile players - has returned to his usual role after a hand injury. Dawson is the conference’s leading rebounder at 8.7 per game despite standing just 6-foot-6.
IU was held to a season-low 70 points in its Big Ten opener at Nebraska on Wednesday, but was able to use a strong performance on defense and on the glass to pull out a narrow win. It may need more of the same against a Michigan State team that ranks No. 23 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Monday’s tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
Alden Woods
