'Playing For Our Community': Michigan State Wins First Home Game Since Tragedy
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State trailed Indiana by nine points, mustering just 13 points when Malik Hall in-bounded the ball with 6:14 left in the first half.
Tyson Walker missed his first four shots, but his mentality was, "shoot to get hot, shoot to stay hot."
He drilled a deep 3-pointer over Tamar Bates from the top of the key, which ignited the 3-point shooting run pushed Michigan State to a 80-65 win over Indiana.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called Tuesday night one of the biggest wins he's had at the Breslin Center. Izzo was emotional after the game, reflecting on what Michigan State has gone through since the shooting on Feb. 13.
"I did feel like we were playing for our community, for our alums," Izzo said. "I always feel that way, but this took on a knew meaning of it. And then we're playing for three people that aren't with us anymore and five that are fighting for their lives."
"I just want to make people feel comfortable, you know," Izzo said. "And I thought here's one two-hour period where maybe they forgot about all the things that they've had to deal with and they got a chance to enjoy, and that's what sports sometimes can do. It doesn't take away all the pain, but it's like a little Aspirin, maybe, for a couple hours."
After a slow offensive start, Michigan State rode the momentum from the Breslin Center crowd, which erupted after each 3-pointer. From the 6:14 mark of the first half until the clock read 17:22 in the second half, the Spartans connected on 8-of-10 3-point attempts. Indiana led Michigan State 22-13 when this run began, but it turned into a 47-34 Spartan lead in just over nine minutes of action, a 34-12 run in total.
In total, Michigan State went 10-for-21 from 3-point range, eight of which came in the critical stretch where Michigan built the cushion it needed to secure the win.
"I guess there's nothing that brings people to their feet more," Izzo said. "You'd think it was a monster dunk, but when you're 5-foot-nothing and can hit threes like he does."
The teams went back and forth for the final 17-plus minutes, with Michigan State outscoring Indiana by two points. The Hoosiers made a push for a comeback in the second half and cut the deficit to five points with 12:03 remaining, but that was short-lived.
It was a balanced offensive effort from the Spartans, led by Tyson Walker with 23 points and four assists. Walker went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and his backcourt mate A.J. Hoggard kept pace with 22 points and five assists. Joey Hauser and Malik Hall added 10 points apiece, and the Spartans shot 18-for-19 from the free throw line.
Trayce Jackson-Davis, again, led the Hoosiers with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but his seven turnovers proved costly. Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 16 points and Trey Galloway added 11, but the Hoosiers were out-rebounded by Michigan State 33-24.
With this win, Michigan moves to 17-10 overall and 9-7 in Big Ten play. Next up for the Spartans is a road trip to Iowa on Saturday, which tips off at Noon ET. This loss gives No. 17 Indiana a 19-9 record with a 10-7 mark in conference games. The Hoosiers have a rivalry game against the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mackey Arena.
Michigan State is now 11-2 at the Breslin Center, and it was a special win for senior Malik Hall.
"Everybody is more comfortable at home," Hall said. "I think everybody likes going home at night, it's your comfort place. I think the same is said for us and our team. Obviously we wanted that win the past weekend, but it felt good to come here and have the students' support and kind of just bring Spartan nation together as a whole was something that was important I think for whole university and whole community."
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- GAME STORY: When Michigan State finally got rolling late in the first half, the Spartans never looked back. They erased a nine-point Indiana lead and stormed to an 80-65 victory on an emotional Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. CLICK HERE
- WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO'S LAYUP: Indiana freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino made a fast break layup over Joey Hauser to give the Hoosiers an early 8-0 lead. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' SPIN MOVE: Trayce Jackson-Davis used his patented spin move to get past Jaxon Kohler for an easy layup in the first half against Michigan State. CLICK HERE
- WATCH MILLER KOPP'S THREE: Miller Kopp drained a 3-pointer deep in the corner to give Indiana a 27-24 lead in the first half against Michigan State. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Relive all the action from Tuesday night's game with Tom Brew's live blog straight from press row. CLICK HERE
