![]() He was out of sorts and, thus, so was MSU. Hoggard had three turnovers in his first six minutes. If you only watched the second half, you’d think you were going to have a problem dealing with MSU’s point guard.Ī.J. If you were an opposing coach scouting the Spartans and all you saw was the first half of Tuesday night’s game, you’d think MSU’s biggest problem was at point guard. MORE: Couch: Jaxon Kohler and Mady Sissoko answered the bell against Indiana. “I hope 15,000 people enjoyed the hug,” Izzo said. “A little aspirin for a couple hours,” as Izzo put it. The Spartans needed a win - on the court, in the stands. MSU also kept Indiana’s shooters in check, limiting them to 5-for-14 from long range. Jackson-Davis finished with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting, but he had a modest seven rebounds and turned it over seven times. They did a lot of good things, including preventing Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis from schooling them entirely again. It gives them a legitimate shot at a top-four Big Ten finish and a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament. This was a win that - with MSU now at 17-10 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten - ought to propel the Spartans into the NCAA tournament, perhaps even without another win. “ … One of the best wins we’ve had here.” “I thought every guy did something,” Tom Izzo said afterward. Jaxon Kohler and Mady Sissoko had memorable games. Hoggard (22 points, five assists) propelled the Spartans in the second. Tyson Walker (23 points, 5-for-7 3s) saved MSU in the first half. MSU’s players showed up - its veteran guys and young pups, its maligned center, its sometimes maddening point guard. They hadn’t scored 80 points in a game since beating Buffalo in December. It was definitely encouraging from a basketball standpoint. The Spartans' 80-65 win over Indiana, after a wobbly start, perhaps did that. MSU’s basketball team played both like a team that had an exhausting week and then like a group that knew its job was to inspire and distract. Maybe give them a couple hours to celebrate. A big-time performance by MSU - the break and brief celebration its campus neededĮAST LANSING - One college basketball game was trying to do a lot Tuesday night - mostly honor the victims of last week’s campus shooting and give Michigan State’s students a break from what, for some of them, was probably the longest week of their lives.
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