Michigan State Hands Indiana its Fourth Straight Loss, 64-58

Indianapolis native Aaron Henry must really like doling out pain to his home-state team, because he took over down the stretch again to help Michigan State knock off Indiana, 64-58.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Indiana lost its fourth straight game Tuesday night, falling to Michigan State 64-58 at the Breslin Center in an ugly game marred by 45 foul calls. With the loss, the Hoosiers fell to 12-13 on the season, the first time all year that they've been under .500.

The Hoosiers were in the game throughout, with neither team able to get much of a lead beyond a basket or two. But down the stretch, Indiana's offense stalled and Michigan State's Aaron Henry, an Indianapolis native, took over the game. He scored 12 of his 22 points in the final five minutes to get the win for the Spartans.

He did the same thing a week and change ago, when Michigan State erased a double-digit lead and beat Indiana in Assembly Hall on Feb. 20. Beating his home-state team seems to fit well for him.

"Aaron Henry is a very good player, and the (Michigan State) staff deserves a lot of credit for his development," Indiana coach Archie Miller said.

Indiana struggled on the offensive end for much of the night. It was a physical game, and all the foul calls didn't help either.

"It was really hard to get in a rhythm with all the fouls,'' said Indiana guard Rob Phinisee, who led the Hoosiers with 16 points and was the only IU player in double figures.

Indiana shot just 32.7 percent for the game, and was just 2-for-20 from three-point range. Miller thought the looks were good from deep, but the ball ''just didn't go in.

"You are going to have a hard time winning on the road when you shoot 2-for-20 from three." 

It was a really tough night for Indiana standout Trayce Jackson-Davis. He scored a career-high 34 points in that Feb. 20 game, but Tuesday night, Michigan State changed up their game to go after him physically. They double-teamed him more in the post, and also doubled him on rolls to the basket after he handled the ball off. There was very little room for him to work.

He scored only nine points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field and made 7-of-10 free throws. His frustration from all the pushing and shoving was obvious, both on the floor and on exchanges around and behind the bench area. It was the first time all season that he didn't score in double figures.

Jackson-Davis wasn't available for questions after the game. 

"We tried to keep him in it,'' Phinisee said. ''It was just a tough game with all the fouls to try to get some rhythm.''

Miller sensed it, too,

"It wasn’t an easy game to play in,'' he said. "A couple of his (foul) calls were very tough. I thought especially once he picked up his third (foul) it kind of got him out of rhythm."

Jackson-Davis wasn't the only one who struggled. Senior Al Durham, who crossed the 1,000-point threshold last Saturday, went scoreless from the field on Tuesday, going 0-for-7 from the field and missing all three three-point attempts. He missed two three-pointers during the final two-plus minutes and had another shot blocked on a drive.

Phinisee said that Aaron Henry was able to take over because Indiana didn't do a very good job of denying him the ball.

"They were pretty much going to him every time,'' he said. "If we could have fronted the post a little better, it would have helped.''

The two teams came into the game on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble and something had to give on Tuesday night, where the loser was almost certainly in huge trouble with the selection committee.

Neither team did much to impress anyone in the first half. Shooting was horrible on both sides, with Indiana going 1-for-13 from three and Michigan State making just 1-of-8 long balls.

Indiana was just 8-for-29 from the field (27.6 percent). Michigan State was 8-for-22, but had eight turnovers.

Michigan State (14-10 overall, 8-10 in the Big Ten) closes out its regular season with two games against their in-state rival, playing Michigan on Thursday and Sunday.

Indiana plays at Purdue on Saturday to close out its regular season. Indiana hasn't beaten Purdue since Feb. 20, 2016, losing seven straight games. 

It’s over for @IndianaMBB as far as a chance to get a bid to @marchmadness Tonight’s loss to @MSU_Basketball puts Hoosiers at 7-11 in @B1GMBBall & 12-13 overall .This is too good of a program to annually not be part of the NCAA tourn .The Hoosier faithful r very upset .

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 3, 2021