The Hoosiers played inspired basketball and showed perseverance all game long against No. 6 Michigan State and get first win in nearly a month.
The Indiana Hoosiers made the trip up north to East Lansing to face the sixth ranked Michigan State Spartans.
Following a rough loss at Rutgers on Wednesday, IU looked forward to bouncing back.
Both teams went back and forth from the moment Michigan State won the tip off, with the largest lead of the game only reaching six points in favor of the Spartans. However, at the 6:04 mark in the first half, Juwan Morgan dove for a loose ball and got tangled up with MSU’s Kyle Ahrens. Morgan was helped up and off the court, as he grabbed his shoulder in obvious pain. He was taken to the locker room and did not return for the remainder of the game.
The Hoosiers went into halftime only down 31-28.
Going into the second half without one of their leaders, Devonte Green and De’Ron Davis provided the spark off the bench that the Hoosiers had lacked during their seven game losing streak, with Green scoring 11, including a clutch three pointer down the stretch, and Davis with 12 points while matching up with MSU’s talented big men all night.
Another unexpected hero was Jake Forrester, who although didn’t necessarily stand out in the scorer’s column, held his own defensively against the talented MSU frontline and rebounded well for the team as he stepped in for the injured Morgan.
The Hoosiers kept the game close all night with many of the team’s notable weaknesses becoming strength’s during the game. The team shot an impressive 50 percent from the three point line, going 10-of-20, with Devonte Green, who was coming back from a suspension, and Al Durham each making three.
With the game all tied up at 66, and with the Hoosiers holding on for the last play of regulation, they put the ball in the hands of freshman phenom Romeo Langford, who pulled up for three but missed just right.
In overtime, it came down to free throws, in which Michigan State missed some critical free throws during the extra period, finishing 8-of-22 for the game.
However, it was De’Ron Davis, who traditionally hasn’t been a good free throw shooter during his tenure at IU, who had himself a night at the line, making 3 of his last 4 attempts to keep the Hoosiers up late in the extra period and ultimately giving them the win.
Five players scored in double figures and leading the balanced scoring attack was none other than Romeo Langford, who led IU with 19 points on the night.
The team took pride on crashing the glass, finishing with 20 offensive rebounds, a season high, and 48 overall to Michgan State’s 40.
Leading the way on the boards was sophomore forward Justin Smith, who had a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Teamwork was also evident throughout the night as the Hoosiers finished with 21 total assists.
This win is only the team’s second win in the last 23 outings at Michigan State. This, on the road, overtime win improves the team record to 13-9 and ends IU’s seven game losing streak.
This is the Hoosiers’ biggest win of the season since beating 21st ranked Marquette in nonconference play.
The Hoosiers will look to continue to build off this win when they face the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday for a 9pm game.