Coach Tom Izzo stood firm in his prediction: a five-win team can win the Big Ten league. This forecast became ever more likely Thursday night. No. 11 Michigan State men's basketball (14-5, 6-2 Big Ten), despite multiple double-digit scoring runs late, barely got a taste of the lead in the dwindling minutes before Indiana resumed control the contest, 67-63.
Although the Hoosiers dominated points in the paint and edged MSU by two rebounds (31-29), some silver linings glare through the Spartans’ second conference road loss.
Marcus Bingham Jr. comes out firing
With his team in an early 6-0 hole, and after having missed a turnaround jumper on the possession prior, the sophomore forward stepped confidently into a silky face-up jump shot good for two points.
That’s poise we haven’t often seen from Michigan State’s starting power forward.
Gabe Brown slowly becoming consistent
Another sophomore forward continued to show growth in Gabe Brown. He shot 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from long distance Thursday after going a perfect 5-of-5 and 2-of-2 in MSU’s 67-55 home win over Wisconsin.
Brown calmly hit well-contested shots in a game where the Spartans’ first-half shooting woes proved fatal.
Aaron Henry becoming more aggressive
The 6-foot-6-inch sophomore forward completes the trio as his hot start aided him to a 5-of-11 shooting night on 2-of-4 from three. While he did force the issue on more than one possession Thursday, the Indianapolis native showed concerted aggression on the offensive end.
His drive and finish gave the Spartans a rare 58-57 lead with 4:09 to play and put him at 12 for the night.
But Henry is normally a secondary distributor to senior guard Cassius Winston, so the second-year swingman still seeks a happy medium.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “Silver lining in sophomore trio glares in Michigan State men's basketball's loss in Bloomington” on social media.
