Meet The Opponent: Michigan State in Big Ten Title Race, Hosts Indiana

Michigan State may not have a star player, but coach Tom Izzo has a deep and well-rounded team.

Jack Ankony | Feb 10, 2025

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo talks with Jaden Akins. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana’s season has gone downhill in recent weeks, and the road doesn’t get any easier at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday against No. 11 Michigan State at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich.

The Hoosiers have lost five straight games and seven of their last eight, leading to the program’s announcement Friday that coach Mike Woodson will step down at the end of the season.

Michigan State came up empty during its west coast road trip last week, losing to USC and UCLA by single digits, but the Spartans bounced back Saturday with a 12-point home win over Oregon. In coach Tom Izzo’s 30th season, Michigan State is in the mix for his 11th Big Ten regular season title.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Spartans.

Key players

G Jaden Akins: 13.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 29.8 3pt FG%
G Jase Richardson: 10.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 41.2 3pt FG%
F Coen Carr: 8.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 60.7 FG%
G Tre Holloman: 8.2 ppg, 3.8 apg, 34.1 3pt FG%
F Frankie Fidler: 7.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 17.3 3pt FG%
F Jaxon Kohler: 7.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 48.9 FG%
G Jeremy Fears Jr.: 7.7 ppg, 6.2 apg, 43.5 FG%
F Xavier Booker: 6.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 20.3 3pt FG%
C Szymon Zapala: 5.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 69.0 FG%
C Carson Cooper: 5.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 60.3 FG%

Michigan State's Jase Richardson shoots against Illinois at the Breslin Center. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Key departures

G Tyson Walker: 18.4 ppg 2.9 rpg, 37.6 3pt FG%
G Malik Hall: 12.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 32.8 3pt FG%
G A.J. Hoggard: 10.7 ppg, 5.2 apg, 34.7 3pt FG%
C Mady Sissoko: 3.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 56.8 FG%

2024-25 schedule (19-4, 10-2, second in Big Ten)

W, 81-57 vs. Monmouth
W, 96-60 vs. Niagara
L, 77-69 vs. No. 1 Kansas (neutral site)
W, 86-72 vs. Bowling Green
W, 83-75 vs. Samford
W, 72-56 vs. Colorado (Maui Invitational)
L, 71-63 vs. Memphis (Maui Invitational)
W, 94-91 OT vs. No. 12 North Carolina (Maui Invitational)
W, 90-72 at Minnesota
W, 89-52 vs. Nebraska
W, 77-58 vs. Oakland (neutral site)
W, 86-69 vs. Florida Atlantic
W, 80-62 vs. Western Michigan
W, 69-62 at Ohio State
W, 88-54 vs. Washington
W, 78-68 at Northwestern
W, 90-85 vs. Penn State
W, 80-78 vs. No. 19 Illinois
W, 81-74 at Rutgers
W, 73-51 vs. Minnesota
L, 70-64 at USC
L, 63-61 at UCLA
W, 86-74 vs. Oregon

Head coach: Tom Izzo

Izzo is in his 30th season at Michigan State with a 726-299 overall record. With Saturday’s win over Oregon, Izzo tied former Indiana coach Bob Knight for the most Big Ten wins all-time at 353-172. Izzo, 70, is the last Big Ten coach to win the national title, doing so in 2000. He’s reached the Final Four eight times, won 10 regular-season conference championships and six conference tournament titles. Izzo was named Big Ten coach of the year three times and NABC coach of the year twice, before being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Series history

Indiana leads the all-time series, 73-58. Woodson is 2-2 against the Spartans, losing both games in East Lansing by 15 points and winning twice in Bloomington. As a head coach, Izzo is 29-19 against the Hoosiers, dating back to the 1995-96 season. Indiana’s last win at the Breslin Center was a 79-75 overtime victory on Feb. 2, 2019, under former head coach Archie Miller.

Strengths

Michigan State has an extremely deep and balanced roster. Izzo plays a 10-man rotation, with each player averaging over 15 minutes per game and none more than 26.3. Opponents can’t game plan to stop just one or two players, as 10 Spartans average at least five points, led by Jaden Akins at 13.6. On a nightly basis, Izzo can find production from a wide variety of players. Xavier Booker and Jeremy Fears didn't play in Saturday's game against Oregon, but Richardson stepped up with 29 points in his first-career start.

Offensively, Michigan State does the simple things well. It ranks fourth nationally in free throw shooting at 80.9% and attempts 23.2 free throws per game, good for 22nd overall. The Spartans are also efficient inside, shooting 55.4% on 2-point attempts, which ranks 58th nationally. Their balance and depth is perhaps best seen through their willingness to share the ball, posting the nation’s fourth-highest assist rate.

Michigan State's Jaxon Kohler (0) and Carson Cooper (15) celebrate at the Breslin Center. / Dale Young-Imagn Images

Michigan State may not have one dominant shot-blocker, but it makes up for that with a collective effort to protect the rim. Booker leads the team with 0.9 blocks per game and 20 total blocks, though he plays just 15.7 minutes per game. Still, the Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank 19th nationally with 5.1 blocks per game.

The Spartans play sound team defense, ranking 11th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Opponents shoot just 29.5% from 3-point range and 46.6% on 2-point attempts, good for 15th and 39th from a defensive standpoint, respectively. Michigan State also ranks eighth in defensive rebounds per game and 17th in offensive rebounding percentage.

Izzo has been one of college basketball’s best coaches for decades, and his current team thrives on defense, rebounding and making the most of high-percentage field goal attempts and free throws.

Weaknesses

Indiana has struggled to defend the 3-point line in many games this season, though the Hoosiers shouldn’t have to worry too much about that against Michigan State. The Spartans rank 348th nationally in 3-point percentage at 29.3%, and they only attempt 19.3 3-pointers per game, which ranks 327th. Both numbers are last among Big Ten teams.

Akins leads the team with five attempts per game, but he’s shooting just 29.8% from beyond the arc. Guards Tre Holloman – 34.1% on four attempts per game – and Jase Richardson – 41.2% on 2.3 attempts per game – are two others to keep an eye on, but the rest of the roster hasn’t shot 3-pointers well this season.

Michigan State’s depth is a big reason it’s in the Big Ten title race, but it doesn’t have a star player. The Spartans may be left off the All-Big Ten first and second teams entirely. Over the last three seasons, Tyson Walker hit several clutch shots at the end of games. Michigan State doesn’t have that type of go-to scorer this year. That’s nitpicking a really good team, but it also may come back to hurt Michigan State in the biggest games.

Many of those big games are coming soon, in part because Michigan State has played a favorable Big Ten schedule so far. That’s not necessarily a weakness, but some may question the Spartans’ ceiling. Through 12 Big Ten games, eight have come against teams in 10th place or lower in the conference standings, and Michigan State has played just one team in the top five of the conference standings. After Indiana, the Spartans close the regular season with six ranked opponents in seven games.

Season and game outlook

Michigan State is tied with Michigan for second place in the Big Ten standings and a half game behind Purdue. The Spartans are No. 19 in the NET rankings with a 5-4 record against Quad 1 opponents. Joe Lunardi gave Michigan State a No. 4 seed in his latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology. So far, the Spartans have exceeded expectations after being picked fifth in the preseason Big Ten poll and ranked No. 35 in the KenPom preseason rankings, now No. 17.

The Spartans are a heavy favorite in this game, given an 84.7% chance of victory by ESPN Analytics and projected to win 79-68 by KenPom. Indiana is 3-7 in road and neutral site games this season, including three straight losses. The most recent was a 12-point loss at Wisconsin.

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