Michigan State went to Bloomington looking for a badly needed win for its NCAA Tournament resume hopes and left with a one-point loss to Indiana. The Spartans got off to a slow start and couldn't sustain a second half rally for the victory in their 65-64 loss.
MSU ends the regular season 18-13 overall and finished the year 10-10 in Big Ten play. The Spartans will play as the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will face the No. 9 seed Minnesota Thursday at Noon Eastern Time with the game carried on the Big Ten Network.
Tyson Walker led MSU with a 30-point performance, his second highest scoring day of the season after his 35 points scored against James Madison. Malik Hall and Carson Cooper led the Spartans on the boards with seven apiece.
A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins both added 10 points each for Spartans in double figures, while Hoggard led the team in assists (six) and steals (four).
Three Hoosiers finished in double figures scoring with Kel'el Ware nothing a double-double, leading IU with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Malik Reneau finished the day with 16 points and Mackenzie Mgbako scored 13.
Michigan State started off struggling in the first half, quickly falling behind by nine at the first media timeout. The Spartans missed five straight shots to open the game and trailed 12-3 with 15:11 left in the half. MSU fell behind by double-digits soon thereafter, though a jumper by Tre Holloman, his only score of the day, cut the deficit to 20-7 at the second media timeout.
The Spartans finally rallied in the closing minutes of the first half after trailing by as much as 17. A 13-4 run in the final four and a half minutes sent MSU into the locker room down just 34-29.
Michigan State finished the first half shooting just 37.5% from the field with Walker scoring 10 points to pace MSU. Despite a 16-6 turnover advantage in the half, the Spartans managed just six points, tying IU's six points off MSU turnovers.
The Spartans carried their momentum from the first half through the locker room break when they returned to the court and quickly seized the lead for the first time all afternoon. Michigan State held a five-point advantage by the first media timeout, holding Indiana to just one score in the first four minutes of the half.
A jumper from Hoggard after the break gave MSU a seven-point lead,, it's largest of the game up 43-36. IU refused to go quietly on its home court and rallied to a 6-0 run before Walker stemmed the tide. It was mostly back and forth from there the second media break with the Spartans leading 50-46.
Michigan State relied heavily on Walker down the stretch for its scoring as missed shots plagued the team. Indiana was able to capitalize and seized the lead back for good with 6:22 remaining.
While the Spartans were able to tie it up three times in the closing minutes in the final 2:56 of action, a single free throw by Ware with :17 left proved the decider as Walker missed the final jumper attempt for the Spartans with :04 remaining. The 65-64 loss makes it two-straight at Assembly Hall for MSU having fallen 82-69 last season as well.
The Spartans will look to right the ship on Thursday in Minneapolis next.
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