Indiana showed flashes of control Tuesday night at the Breslin Center, but mistakes, and Michigan State’s ability to capitalize on them, steadily tilted the game out of reach as Indiana fell 81-60.
The Hoosiers opened the night with confidence, building a seven-point lead near the midway point of the first half and dictating stretches of play. That early cushion, however, proved fragile. Indiana struggled to protect the ball, turning it over eight times in the opening 20 minutes. Michigan State wasted no time converting those mistakes into points, scoring 19 off turnovers before halftime and keeping Indiana from fully separating.
Jeremy Fears Jr., who led all scorers with 23, was the engine behind Michigan State’s first-half surge. His speed in transition consistently put Indiana on its heels, and his ability to attack before the defense could set changed the tone of the game. Indiana’s offense, meanwhile, came in scattered bursts. Lamar Wilkerson provided the most consistent and only real scoring presence, leading the way early, but foul trouble again disrupted Indiana’s rhythm and rotation. Even with Tucker DeVries posting a positive impact while on the floor, Indiana headed into the break trailing 39-32 and already operating with a thin margin for error.
That margin vanished in the second half.
Indiana came out of the locker room with energy, cutting into the deficit and eventually pulling even as Wilkerson sparked a brief momentum shift. But once the game tightened, Michigan State delivered the decisive response. Defensive pressure forced rushed decisions, missed shots piled up, and turnovers returned in bunches. Over a six-minute stretch, the Spartans seized control with a sustained 19-0 run that turned a competitive game into a double-digit deficit.
By the final horn, the numbers told the story. Indiana turned the ball over 14 times, and Michigan State converted those mistakes into 29 points. The Spartans also controlled the glass and consistently won in transition, preventing Indiana from ever stabilizing once momentum swung.
Wilkerson finished with a team-high 19 points, but Indiana’s inability to value possessions and slow Michigan State’s pace proved costly. The loss drops the Hoosiers to 12–5 overall and 3–3 in Big Ten play as they return home searching for consistency away from Bloomington. Darian DeVries' group will face Iowa at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
