Images of a Hoosier sea of red flooding the Assembly Hall court after MSU’s Jan. 7 loss are still vivid in the minds of head coach Tom Izzo and his fifth-ranked Spartans.
And it’s those feelings of post-game shock after MSU’s first conference defeat of the season that will serve as motivation in tonight’s 7 p.m. rematch against unranked Indiana (16-10 overall, 7-5 Big Ten) at Breslin Student Events Center.
“We want revenge but we are not going to take it to the point where it takes anything away from our play on the court,” sophomore guard Jason Richardson said of the matchup, where MSU (20-3, 9-3) has won five straight meetings in East Lansing.
After recording 21 points and a career-high seven steals in Sunday’s win over Iowa, Richardson said MSU has improved in certain areas of play, which will be vital against the Hoosiers.
“Trapping on defense and playing more aggressive on offense were two of the things we worked on this past week,” Richardson said of MSU’s weeklong break from play before Sunday’s victory over Iowa.
“I think we did both of those things well against Iowa, but we still need to pick up our intensity from this point on.”
Richardson was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday with Illinois guard Frank Williams. He leads the Spartans in scoring with a 15.9 average and is a candidate for the conference’s MVP award.
Indiana’s Kirk Haston, who also is considered for the league honor, leads the Hoosiers in both scoring (18.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 rpg) and connected on a last-second three-pointer to defeat then-No.1 MSU 59-58 on Jan. 7.
Senior forward Andre Hutson said Haston has shown a more versatile offensive game this season, posing a big threat for the Spartans.
“He’s definitely a tough player to guard since he can do a lot of different things offensively, whether it’s inside or outside, with his shooting,” said Hutson, who along with sophomore forward Al Anagonye and freshman center Zach Randolph will see action defending the versatile big man.
“We just have to go out and take him out of his game early and force him to take bad shots.”
Izzo said there is no doubt the Hoosiers - who sport one of the league’s best defenders, in guard Dane Fife, and forward Jared Jeffries - are a formidable NCAA tournament team.
“This is a very good Indiana team,” Izzo said. “They have strengths in different areas and are a very good offensive rebounding team. At times I think depth has been a little bit of a problem for them, so hopefully we’ll be able to exploit that.”
With only four regular-season games remaining and No. 4 Illinois leading the conference with a one-game advantage, Hutson said there is no better time for MSU to go on an aggressive quest for a fourth straight Big Ten championship.
“We are definitely playing with a sense of urgency right now, especially myself,” Hutson said. “Winning a fourth conference title would be the greatest thing I have ever accomplished and we think we still have a chance.”
Because of ESPN Plus Regional coverage, MSU’s March 3 rematch with unranked Michigan is slated for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off at Breslin.
Eric Lacy can be reach at lacyeric@msu.edu.
