 had a confidence-boosting performance after going from a top-ranked team to a reeling one. They were slumping after a 16-point loss at Ohio State, an overtime win over Rutgers and an 82-72 setback to Michigan at home. The Hoosiers (11-8, 4-3) lost for the first time in four games, falling into a fourth-place tie with the Wolverines and Nebraska. Michigan State took control with an 18-0 run midway through the first half, led by as much as 23 and was ahead 42-23 at halftime. The Spartans stayed ahead by a comfortable margin in the second half by spreading the ball around and making it tough for the Hoosiers to make shots. Cassius Winston had 10 points, eight assists and only one turnover, while Jaren Jackson had 10 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three assists for the Spartans. Indiana's Robert Johnson had 21 points and the rest of his teammates struggled offensively. Josh Newkirk scored 14, but missed 12 of 17 shots and the Hoosiers were held to 34 percent shooting. FAMOUS FANAlex Rodriguez, who was in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show, attended the game. He went to Michigan State's shootaround earlier in the day and wore an ''Izzone'' T-shirt while standing in the student section behind coach Tom Izzo, his staff and players.''I've always been a big fan of Izzo,'' Rodriguez said. BIG PICTUREIndiana: The Hoosiers had a hard time competing without Juwan Morgan playing as he has lately. One of the Big Ten's leaders in scoring, rebounding, steals and shooting before the game started was limited to two points on 1-of-5 shooting, three rebounds and one steal. Michigan State: The Spartans desperately needed to get their swagger back and they did, suddenly looking like the team that was ranked No. 1 two weeks ago. UP NEXTIndiana: hosts Maryland on Monday. Michigan State: vs. Illinois on Monday.---More college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Time: 7:00 PM EST Less than two weeks ago, Michigan State held the No. 1 ranking. Currently, the Spartans are doing a lot of soul searching while trying to avoid slipping further down the Big Ten standings. They have dropped two of their last three games, including an 82-72 home loss to rival Michigan on Saturday. The Spartans fell to No. 9 in the latest Associated Press poll and will try to right themselves against surging Indiana on Friday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo believes it's due to parity across the sport." As you can see, the league is crazy," he said. "Teams around the whole country are that way. I'll be honest with you, I thought we'd probably drop into maybe 20th with the two losses. When I looked at it and why we didn't, it's because everybody's got the same issues we got. Right now I'm not sure anybody is able to handle any success." The Spartans' biggest problem against the Wolverines was handling the ball. They had 18 turnovers and the team's relative youth -- it starts four sophomores and a freshman -- has something to do with that. They'll be facing a Hoosiers team that's led by two seniors and a junior.. "We're going to have to learn," Izzo said. "We're going to get people's best shot and we're a little young to learn that. Concerning a bunch of juniors and seniors, they're coming in this week that have been through the wars. So, we've just got to grow up quicker and I think we'll do that, I really do." Getting the ball in the post more often would also help the Spartans. Their best interior threat, Nick Ward, scored a combined seven points in losses to Ohio State and Michigan." Got to get the ball to Nick more. Got to get the ball out of double teams a little better," Izzo said. "He's not doing a good job of getting deep, we're not doing a good job of passing it in and the coaches aren't doing a very good job of figuring out how to get it in. That's what we've been working on and what we are going to work on." Indiana has won three straight, including a 66-46 thumping of Northwestern in Bloomington on Sunday. The Hoosiers (11-7, 4-2 Big Ten) are now tied for fourth place with the Spartans (16-3, 4-2) in the conference standings. They held the Wildcats to a season low in points despite center De'Ron Davis suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon tear last week. Junior forward Juwan Morgan (15.6 points per game) leads the team in scoring. The Hoosiers also rely heavily on guards Robert Johnson and Josh Newkirk, who combined for 29 points on Sunday." I think when you get into league play, you're only as good as your guards," coach Archie Miller said. "When you have solid play at the guard spot it helps you." The Hoosiers haven't been effective in true road games this season, losing four of five. If they want to continue moving up the standings, that has to change." I think we're going to go back and try to build each day in practice this week," Johnson said. "I'm sure we'll be confident when we head down there."
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