Michigan State takes care of business at Indiana

No. 13 Michigan State needed a win on Sunday in its trip to Indiana to keep its momentum going as the calendar has turned to March. The Spartans took care of business and did just that with a 77-64 victory, marking the first time MSU has won at both IU and Purdue in the same season since 2013-2014.

The win improves MSU to 24-5 overall and 14-4 in Big Ten play. IU drops to 17-12 overall and 8-10 in league action.

While Lamar Wilkerson led all scorers with 29 points and Tucker DeVries added 20 on the Hoosiers end, Jaxon Kohler and Jeremy Fears Jr. combined for 21 apiece to pace the Spartans. Kohler led on the glass for yet another double-double with 13 boards and added a block while Fears came just shy of a double-double with nine assists. Kur Teng added 18 points for MSU players in double figures, going 6-for-8 from 3-point range.

First Half

The Spartans got on the board first in this one and never looked back. The Hoosiers missed five shot attempts by the first media break while MSU held leads as large as six points twice, including an 11-5 advantage at the break.

That lead had extended into double digits by the second media break. IU continued to struggle offensively while MSU pressed its advantage. The Spartans kept it hot from deep as both Fears and Teng connected on treys among the scores, leading 21-10 with 11:24 left. That margin would essentially hold for the remainder of the game as the Hoosiers struggled to cut it any closer than seven for the rest of the half.

The Spartans kept it balanced offensively compared to the Hoosiers, gaining 14 points from their bench, 12 from Tend and two for Cam Ward, while IU had zero from its own. Teng finished the half 4-for-5 from deep and the Spartans overall shot 53.8% from beyond the arc in the opening half. IU managed just 39.3%, which is also where it finished the day at the final buzzer. The Hoosiers did manage to convert on poor ball security by the Spartans who coughed it up three times before halftime, leading to four points for IU.

After MSU led by 13 at the final media break, its largest lead of the game to that point, IU clawed back during the final stretch to make it 45-37 heading into the locker room.

Second Half

MSU again kept its lead hovering near the double-digit mark as play resumed. Kohler hit his third and final 3-pointer to start things off on the Spartans' end while Fears would later drive the length of the floor on a defensive rebound and feed from Coen Carr to open a 12-point advantage. By the first media break, it was 50-41 for the Spartans.

While the next media break was a quick one, coming just one minute and 40 seconds later with 13:50 left in the game, MSU kept its lead largely intact with a 54-45 advantage. IU kicked off a 9-3 run just before the break that it continued through the next one, also coming quickly with 11:58 remaining. It would be the closed the Hoosiers would get, narrowing their deficit to just five twice coming back from the timeout. A layup by Wilkerson to make it 57-52 was answered by a trey from Teng. The Hoosiers go to man of the day, Wilkerson, hit his own right back in answer to again make it 60-55.

The Spartans quickly stemmed the would be flood of Hoosier offense with a trey from Scott and a hookshot from Kohler to force an IU timeout as the lead opened back up to double digits for MSU, up 65-55 with 9:54 left in the game.

After Carr extended it to 12 on a second-chance layup, Wilkerson answered right back with a hookshot on the IU end. Fears would go on to do the exact same full court drive for yet another layup on the MSU end, this time on a defensive rebound and pass from Jordan Scott.

Down the final stretch, both teams struggled to find baskets. Each ended the game just 1-for-8 from the field while IU finished without a score in the closing 3:15 of regulation. The Hoosiers briefly tried resorting to fouling but seemed to give up as MSU would go on to finished with the 74-64 win.

The Spartans welcome Rutgers on Thursday. Tip is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time in MSU's final home game of the season with the game being carried on FS1.