Massive Second-Half Run Propels Michigan State Past Indiana
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- An avalanche of green and white in the middle of the second half made the difference on Tuesday.
With the game was tied at 53-53 in the middle of the second half, No. 12 Michigan State put away Indiana with 19 unanswered points over the course of nearly seven minutes and a run even longer than that that was 28-2. MSU ultimately won the game, 81-60.
It was a career night for Spartans point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who scored a career-high 23 points to go with 10 assists. Jaxon Kohler also had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Spartans, now 15-2 overall and 5-1 during Big Ten play, will soon head out for a two-game trip on the West Coast. They face Washington on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, BTN) and Oregon next Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, FS1).
First Half
The early portion of the game was all Fears for Michigan State, who scored the first 10 of the Spartans' points. MSU's first points from a different source didn't come until just before the midway point of the half. Indiana was able to take advantage of Michigan State looking like a one-man band, leading 17-10 before the first non-Fears points, which came via a Kohler three-pointer.
Once Fears got his help, the momentum shifted quickly. Starting with Kohler's three, MSU outscored the Hooisers 29-15 the rest of the first half, turning the seven-point deficit into a seven-point advantage at the break.
Fears ended up scoring 19 points in that half, shooting 6-for-8 from the field and at the free-throw line. Keep in mind, Fears' career-high entering Tuesday was 21, which came against Michigan State's game against Cornell on Dec. 29, 2025.
Kur Teng was also a big part of the Spartans' surge later in the first half, drilling three three-pointers that also had some degree of difficulty. It was really some of the best minutes he's put forth in his young career. Kohler also had eight points and five rebounds at the break.
Second Half
Indiana came out firing to start the second half, making four of its first five shots to bring itself within one possession in the opening minutes. The Hooisers continued to launch from range --- just about half of their shots for the whole season have been for three --- and got their first three threes to drop coming out of the locker room.
IU eventually got the game tied up at 53-53. MSU then brought the hammer down, scoring the game's next 19 points. That forced Indiana to burn two of its last three valuable timeouts in the span of a couple minutes around the middle portion of that second half.
The run never seemed to stop. IU finally scored after nearly seven minutes without any points, but Michigan State scored the next nine points after that to extend its lead to 26 in the closing minutes.
It all adds up to MSU's third straight win, and it's a well-deserved one with that 28-2 run.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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