Three Keys For Indiana Basketball on Senior Day Against Michigan State
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has a chance to end the 2023-24 regular season on a high note Sunday against the Michigan State Spartans (18-12, 10-9) at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers (17-13, 9-10) enter Senior Day riding a three-game win streak with wins over Wisconsin, Maryland and Minnesota. During that stretch, Indiana's field goal percentage is up 10.8% from its previous four-game losing streak, including a 24.5% increase on 3-point attempts and a 16.8% uptick at the free throw line. On the other side, Michigan State is coming off a 53-49 win over Northwestern.
Here are three keys for Indiana against Michigan State.
Play fast
Speed is one of the most noticeable benefits of having senior point guard Xavier Johnson back in the lineup from injury. Along with Trey Galloway, Indiana now has two ball-handlers it can trust to immediately get the ball up the floor after a change in possession. During its last two wins, the Hoosiers scored 19 fast break points against Minnesota and 20 against Maryland.
"Having X back helps a lot, it speeds us up a little bit," Woodson said. "We're getting a lot more transition buckets and getting the ball up the floor."
Indiana has a big challenge on Sunday against a Michigan State defense that ranks 10th in the nation in defensive efficiency. The Spartans play at the nation's 302nd slowest tempo, so pushing the pace and not letting Michigan State set its defense could be a recipe for success.
Expose Michigan State's weakness
Michigan State has three high-level guards in Tyson Walker, A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins, along with a veteran power forward in Malik Hall. Those four each average 10-plus points and are capable of leading Michigan State to a win. Less reliable, though, has been the Spartans' center position. Coach Tom Izzo starts Mady Sissoko most games, but he balances minutes with Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler and Xavier Booker. It's been a constant guessing game as to which center Michigan State can count on night in and night out. Booker has shown the ability to knock down threes, unlike his counterparts, but none of the four average more than 3.8 points.
They're not known to be major shot-blockers, either, so Indiana bigs Kel'el Ware (15.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg) and Malik Reneau (15.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg) have a definite matchup advantage inside. Expect Indiana to dump the ball inside early and often.
Perimeter defense
Mentioned above, the Spartans' guard trio is as good as it gets in the Big Ten. Tyson Walker was a second-team All-Big Ten player last season, and he has a chance to crack the first team as a fifth-year senior averaging 18.0 points per game and shooting 36.4% on 3-point attempts. Hoggard is Michigan State's top assist man at 5.0 per game, and he's tough to stop when he gets a head of steam going to the basket. Akins is the Spartans' sharpshooter at 37.3%, and all three bring at least three seasons of experience playing heavy minutes in the Big Ten.
That places a ton of importance on the perimeter defense of Indiana's guards, starting with Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway. They have to avoid foul trouble and can't let Walker or Akins break free for too many open 3-pointers.
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