Fifteen minutes into the No. 16 MSU men’s basketball team’s Big Ten opener Wednesday against No. 13 and undefeated Indiana at Breslin Center, it appeared as if the Spartans were about to hand the Hoosiers an embarrassing reality check.
Less than 15 minutes of game action later, it seemed MSU’s youth caught up to the Spartans, and the momentum and energy they had early would not be enough to win.
The final result ended up being somewhere in between.
In a game that saw MSU build an 18-point lead before facing a nine-point deficit, the Spartans (12-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) eventually used a 20-0 run to come out on top, 80-65, in a see-saw Big Ten battle.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo, whose team was outscored 25-2 during one stretch, said neither he nor Indiana head coach Tom Crean were happy with the runs that made Wednesday such a back-and-forth game. But he said both teams showed they won’t back down when the chips are stacked against them.
“I was not pleased with that, to be honest with you at all, and I’m sure (Crean) wasn’t either,” Izzo said. “The other side of that is, you need to come back when your bobbers are down. They were down and out, and boy, they came back like gangbusters. We were down and out and came back, and I think that made a big difference.”
With 5:11 to play in the first half, sophomore guard Keith Appling hit a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 34-16 lead, thanks in part to 11 early points from senior guard and Kokomo, Ind. native Brandon Wood.
During those first 15 minutes, the Spartans dominated on defense and shot better than 60 percent from the field.
“I felt like for us, we played awfully well early,” Izzo said. “In fact, when we had that 34-16 lead, I thought we were playing well on the offensive end, the defensive end, we shot it well and we rebounded well.
“Then we kind of lost focus.”
The next 10:22, which stretched across both halves, belonged to the Hoosiers. Sparked by two 3-pointers from guard Matt Roth, Indiana closed out the first half on 13-2 that cut MSU’s lead to seven, 36-29.
The run continued into the second half, as the final 20 minutes began the exact opposite way of the first. With the Spartans now struggling to find good offense, the Hoosiers scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a 41-36 lead.
A jumper from the elbow by senior forward Draymond Green more than five minutes into the half finally ended the 25-2 Indiana run, but the Hoosiers would eventually stretch the lead to nine with 11:07 left in the game.
It was at that point that MSU went on a run of its own. The Spartans reeled off 20 points in the next four minutes to take a 65-54 lead, which they never would relinquish.
MSU’s comeback began when Appling took control of the game. Appling scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half, while also dishing out four assists and bringing in four rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
Green, who admitted Wednesday was not his best game, said his teammates picked him up, but he gave credit to Appling for making the initial plays.
“We are going to keep fighting through it all,” Green said. “Keith is the one that started the run with an And-1 and made a couple plays, and (senior guard Austin Thornton) made a play, and (Wood) made a play. It was a complete team effort.”
After MSU’s 20-0 run, Indiana would get no closer than nine points, as Appling iced the game away at the free throw line.
After the game, Izzo said the Spartans’ offense was sparked by their defense, which included holding highly touted Indiana freshman Cody Zeller to just four points on 2-for-5 shooting.
Izzo said MSU success against Zeller had a lot to do with the way the Spartans pressured the Hoosiers’ guards, but he also said the combination of junior center Derrick Nix sophomore center Adreian Payne made things tough for the freshman.
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“Me and (Payne) go at it every day in practice, and I think that helps us in the game,” Nix said. “Because he won’t play against anybody my size, and I won’t play against anybody as athletic as him, so I think it evens out for both of us.”
The duo gave Zeller fits on defense and also forced him into foul trouble, which allowed Nix and Payne to combine for 22 points.
Izzo said his team looked great at times, but to have continued success, he said his players can’t be as inconsistent as Wednesday. Still, he was happy to come away with a win against an Indiana team he believes to now be one of the best in the conference.
“It was a physical game, a tough game and I thought a heck of Big Ten game,” Izzo said. “Of course, I feel better because we won. … I don’t think there’s any question that I feel comfortable in saying those are two damn good teams tonight that did a lot of good things.”
