MSU men’s basketball (12-7, 4-2 Big Ten) will face its doppelgänger on Saturday when it faces Indiana University (13-6, 3-3 Big Ten) at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
After a back and forth start to the Big Ten schedule, the Hoosiers mirror the up-and-down struggles similar to MSU. The largest difference, however, has been the potent offensive firepower the Hoosiers bring to the table.
To start off its regular season, Indiana defeated then-No. 2 Kansas in overtime, 103-99, in the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu. Later in November, the team defeated a No. 3 overall team, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Against head coach Roy Williams' team, all five starters for Indiana scored in double figures. As a team, they fell one field goal make short of 50 percent from the field.
As Sir Isaac Newton popularized, what goes up must come down, and the Hoosiers have had their stumbles along the way this season.
Inside the state of Indiana, the Hoosiers faced a shocking 71-68 overtime loss to the Fort Wayne Mastodons. In their other in-state match-up against Butler University, a highly competitive Bulldog unit pushed past the Hoosiers behind 28 points from Butler junior forward Kelan Martin.
At the start of the Big Ten season, Indiana was gored by the two-horned attack of Nebraska’s Glynn Watson Jr. and Tai Webster. Watson Jr. led the way with 26 points, Webster in his rearview mirror with 21.
Indiana lost its next two games against tough opponents, Louisville and Wisconsin.
Head coach Tom Crean will have his team rocking on its home court after the Hoosiers fought off a late push against Penn State Wednesday night. Junior guard and leading scorer James Blackmon Jr. snapped the 75-75 tie with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
The Spartans will have to bounce back after leaving Columbus, Ohio with their heads down and tails between their legs.
Coughing up 17 turnovers as a team, the Spartans were outshot by the poorly shooting Buckeyes. Freshman forward Miles Bridges provided 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting, however, he also accounted for six of the 17 turnovers.
MSU might catch a break with the absence of sophomore forward OG Anunoby. So far this season, Anunoby has shown to be a gelling agent for the Hoosiers, contributing everywhere on the stats sheet including: points, rebounds, steals, blocks and assists. At the end of the first half against Penn State, Anunoby fell to the ground, clutching his right knee in pain after trying to grab the rebound.
Indiana currently leads the Big Ten in scoring offense at 84.3 points per game. Blackmon leads them in scoring at 17.5 points per game. The Hoosiers have three other players averaging more than 11 points per game, one of which is Anunoby at 11.1.
Tipoff is set to start at 4 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.
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