Players from the MSU bench react after freshman guard Durrell Summers scored a basket and drew a foul during the Purdue game Jan. 8 at Breslin Center. The Spartans play Ohio State on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament after suffering a 63-54 defeat Sunday in Columbus.
To avenge its Sunday loss to Ohio State, the MSU men’s basketball team doesn’t have to look any farther than — well, Indianapolis.
The Spartans have their chance at revenge for the 63-54 collapse they suffered in Columbus this weekend as the Spartans (24-7 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) face the Buckeyes (19-12, 10-8) for the second time in a week.
“I’ve never really witnessed or gone through a period where you play a team back to back,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said at his weekly press conference Monday. “But it’s the same for them as it is for us, so I don’t think it’s an advantage for either team.”
It’s the first time since the 1999-2000 season that the team faced an opponent twice in as many games.
That year, the team swept Northwestern in two regular-season games.
Ohio State and MSU will be featured in the four-five quarterfinal game of the Big Ten Tournament at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
MSU defeated the Buckeyes 66-60 Jan. 15 at Breslin Center. This is the first time the two teams have met in postseason play since 2003.
Izzo said his team played well for all but about five minutes of Sunday’s contest — just enough to surrender the lead and turn a strong road win and momentum into the tournament into a disappointing collapse and a standstill.
“What you’re talking about is you’ve got to win a game for our pride,” he said. “They’ve got more at stake because some people consider them still on the bubble. We’re playing more for our pride.”
Recurring problems
Just when things were looking to be moving forward for the Spartans in terms of their turnover problems, they were bitten by the bug again.
MSU had gone five conference games in a row without more than 11 giveaways before Sunday’s game, in which they had 21. The miscues resulted in 28 points off turnovers for the Buckeyes.
“The turnovers were a shame, really,” Izzo said. “I thought, in all honesty, we made poorer turnovers in the first half than we did in the second half. That is one thing, if you look at the games we’ve lost on the road, that are considered upset losses, that has been a common denominator in two out of the three.”
Final numbers
With another conference season coming to an end, number crunchers everywhere can rejoice in analyzing Big Ten teams’ performances.
The statistic that struck Izzo — and one he has referenced all season — has been MSU’s shooting percentage.
“We’ve led the league in field-goal shooting for five straight years,” he said. “That’s unbelievable.”
The Spartans led the conference in field-goal percentage, assists, rebounding defense and rebounding margin. They finished second in six other categories.
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