Indiana’s guard Victor Oladipo goes up to take a shot as sophomore guard Branden Dawson, left, and freshman forward Matt Costello attempt to block during the game against Indiana on Tuesday night at Breslin Center.
The stakes were already high, a late season battle for first place in the Big Ten, but there was extra juice in Breslin Center on Tuesday night.
With Magic Johnson in the house and a capacity crowd, dressed nearly exclusively in white, that spent hours outside the arena waiting to get in, it was clear — this game meant more.
And for the first 20 minutes, Indiana showed why it’s the top team in the country.
East Lansing’s first-ever clash of top-five teams was dominated by the road team early and often, as the No. 4 MSU men’s basketball team (22-4 overall, 11-2 Big Ten) trailed No. 1 Indiana (23-3, 11-2) 36-30 at the first intermission.
Both teams went back-and-forth early, with guards Keith Appling and Victor Oladipo trading layups as the game remained close for the opening five minutes.
But momentum shifted quickly, when the Hoosiers rattled off a 10-3 run to push the score beyond a one-possession game for the first time.
A 3-pointer by Indiana backup forward Derek Elston capped off the run, putting the Hoosiers in front 18-14, with 13 minutes to go in the first half.
The Spartans would never lead for the rest of the half, as MSU struggled to play without junior center Adreian Payne, who spent the final 6:52 of the period on the bench with two fouls.
Despite his time on the bench, Payne still led the Spartans in scoring with 10 first half points along with five rebounds, while freshman guard Gary Harris added eight points.
Indiana watched its lead grow to as many as eight points, behind a 7-2 run near the end of the half, finished off by a three from Hoosier forward Christian Watford, giving Indiana a 32-24 lead with 3:24 remaining in the half.
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