Indiana Drops Third Straight After 76-61 Loss At No. 17 Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The plan sounded good. But the result? Not so much.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson adjusted his starting lineup by choice for the first time on Saturday for a critical Big Ten showdown with No. 17 Michigan State. But the move to start Trey Galloway and bench Parker Stewart didn't work out for anyone involved. Another brutal shooting night led to a 76-61 defeat, Indiana's third straight loss.
The Hoosiers are now 16-8 on the season, and 7-7 in the Big Ten. All that's good for now is a tie for eighth place, and with six regular season games to go, Indiana's NCAA Tournament hopes are suddenly teetering.
"We're just not shooting the ball very well right now,'' Woodson said. "The three ball, we shot terribly in that category, and we didn't make free throws either. They made their free throws and we didn't, and that was a big part of it.
"We didn't make shots, and then when we got in the penalty, we took bad shots without even exploring it inside. We didn't take advantage of the penalty until it was too late.''
Indiana shot just 33.9 percent from the field (20-for-59), and were just 5-for-21 from three-point range (23.8) percent. And free throws were an issue once again. The Hoosiers were just 16-for-27 from the line — 59.3 percent — despite the fact that standout forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was 7-for-9.
It was brutally obvious that neither Galloway nor Stewart benefited from the role reversal. Galloway was 0-for-6 from the field and just 1-of-3 from the line, scoring only one point in 32 minutes of action, starting at the two-guard alongside Xavier Johnson, but playing the point guard position a lot as well with Johnson in foul trouble much of the day.
Stewart, who was one of five players suspended for Tuesday night's loss at Northwestern because of a curfew violation, never could get settled in to this game. he played 27 minutes, but was just 1-for-9 from the field, 1-for-7 from three and a stunning 1-for-6 from the free throw line. He is a career 76.7 free throw shooter.
Galloway, who tied a career high with 13 points on Tuesday, earned the right to start. But it just didn't turn out the way anyone wanted it.
"We practice a lot, shooting the basketball,'' Woodson said. "Some of the shots were good shots, and Northwestern was the same way. We get good looks, but don't make them. And the free throws? We've just got to be better than that.
"I thought the other night, (Galloway) pushed me to do this tonight. I don't know if it worked out well in our favor, because he didn't have much to give the way I wanted it to run. He just didn't have it tonight.''
Michigan State led for much of the game, but the Hoosiers made several runs to keep it close. After a good Indiana start, the Spartans went on an 11-2 run to go up 25-15. Indiana answered with a 12-2 run to the game, but then Michigan State closed out the half on an 8-1 run where they scored on four straight possession to take a 37-30 lead to the break.
Indiana scored the first eight points of the second half to take a lead, but the Spartans once again reeled off an impressive run. They scored on eight of their next 10 possessions to get back up by double digits at 54-44. Indiana got within three at 54-51 after a pair of Tamar Bates free throws, but then closed out the game with a 22-8 blitz that Indiana didn't have an answer for
Michigan State's point guards constantly broke down Indiana's defense, which leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage allowed. Starter A.J. Hoggard had 14 points, and Tyson Walker added 15. Walker made three three-pointers, and they were a combined 8-for-9 from the line.
"That was a major breakdown as far as our pick-and-roll coverage and taking care of our assignments,'' Woodson said. "They had their way tonight. We've been pretty good in that category, but tonight we were awful.
"The fouls — (Indiana was whistled for 22 infractions) — kind of took us out of being aggressive, and that's not something we've had to deal with a lot this year.''
Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers with 17 points, but he was just 5-for-13 from the field, under .500 for the third straight game. Race Thompson had 13 points and 14 rebounds, and freshman Tamar Bates had a great game off the bench, scoring 13 points himself.
They accounted for 43 of Indiana's 61 points. The rest of the team was 6-for-28 shooting, a measly 21.4 percent.
Indiana will look to get back on track on Tuesday, but it doesn't get any easier. They face a No. 14 Wisconsin team that will be smarting much like Michigan State was on Saturday. The Badgers were upset at home by Rutgers on Saturday.
There were 45 fouls called in the game, 24 on Michigan State. There were also three technical fouls — and a lot of pushing and shoving. Michigan State made 25 of 28 free throws. The Spartans, who had lost two in a row themselves, are now 18-6 overall and 9-4 in the Big Ten.
"That was two teams playing extremely hard and getting chippy, and when someone hits you, you hit them back,'' Jackson-Davis said. "That's just how it goes, because we're not soft, and they're not soft either. Hopefully we'll see them again.''
