Three Michigan State Spartans to battle for Indiana basketball on Sunday
Indiana basketball now has to quickly shift focus from Illinois to Michigan State for Sunday’s primetime matchup on CBS at 12 PM EST. Which Spartans do the Hoosiers need to prepare to battle?
Both Indiana and Michigan State are coming off double-digit wins in the Big Ten after the Hoosiers dominated Illinois in Champaign and the Spartans flexed their muscle against No. 23 Rutgers on Thursday night.
With Malik Hall likely out for Sunday’s contest, and probably a lot longer, the Hoosiers have to key in on a couple of tough-minded players from Tom Izzo’s roster. Though Mady Sissoko did not make the top three, he’s also someone that a guy like Trayce Jackson-Davis needs to limit in every capacity for Indiana basketball to come out on top.
Here are my three key Michigan State Spartans that the Hoosiers need to battle for Sunday’s matchup in Bloomington:
TJD nearly perfect & more IUBB takeaways from win @ Illinois. light. More
Three Spartans to battle for Indiana basketball on Sunday:
3. Joey Hauser – Senior Forward – #10
2022-23 stats: 18 GP, 33.7 MIN, 13.4 PPG, 7.8 REB, 47.3 FG%, 1.8 3PM, 39.5 3P%
In Thursday’s matchup against No. 23 Rutgers, Hauser recorded 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists on 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in 32 minutes as a starter for Coach Izzo on Thursday.
Prior to Thursday’s game, Hauser was shooting just 25.0 percent from beyond the arc in his previous six games and managed just 1.2 made threes per game in that span. Though his scoring hasn’t taken a huge hit while shooting poorly from three, Hauser is a huge factor in the game for the Spartans.
Since transferring to Michigan State, Hauser has averaged just 5.0 points on 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 3.3 rebounds against the Hoosiers in his three games played. In his previous game played against Indiana for Marquette back in 2018, Hauser poured in 18 points on 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
If the Hoosiers want to keep within striking distance in this game, Hauser needs to be limited and covered from three-point range.