My Two Cents: Birthday Wish For Tamar Bates? Snap Out of Slump at Michigan State

Indiana sophomore guard Tamar Bates has been in a major slump the past month or more, with the one outlier a 17-point outing against Michigan State. He'll see the Spartans again on Tuesday, his 20th birthday, and it would be a perfect night to snap out of his funk.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana sophomore Tamar Bates isn't a teenager anymore. He turned 20 on Tuesday, and he gets to celebrate his birthday by playing in a basketball game against Michigan State.

We all get the good feels on our birthday. Bates should too, seeing those Michigan State uniforms, because he had his best Big Ten game against them on Jan. 22 in Bloomington. He scored 17 points that day, and made 5-of-8 three-pointers in the Hoosiers' 82-69 victory.

Sadly, though, that game was an outlier lately. In his other 10 most recent games, he's been a downright disaster. Bates has talked often about needing time to get rolling, then getting hot and staying hot. He did that against the Spartans, but that's been it lately. 

Look at his stats in those other 10 games since Jan. 14. They're brutal.

• Field goal percentage: 6-for-37, 16.2 percent
• Three-point percentage: 3-for-15, 20 percent
• Points per game: 2.2
• Total assists: 8
• Total turnovers: 8
• Average minutes per game: 17.4

Indiana needs production from Bates to get where they want to go this season, especially with Xavier Johnson out. He's the first guard off the bench playing behind Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trey Galloway. 

Indiana really needs more than two points a game if he's going to be on the floor that much. Indiana coach Mike Woodson knows that, too. Trayce Jackson-Davis is playing at an All-American level, and Hood-Schfino has been good, too. But others really need to step up, especially the guards.

"Well, he's played well here at home, but when you go out on the road, it's just a different mentality,'' Woodson said of Bates last week. "Somehow I've got to get them to understand and help them be better, to put us in a better position to win. He has struggled on the road. (Galloway) has had his ups and downs, too.

"I was on them a couple of games ago on the road that, 'hey, guys, you have to pick it up because you're a big piece to what we're doing based on the minutes you're playing out there on the road.' I've got to help them. That's the only thing I can say to you guys because it has been a struggle for those two guys. I think Gallo gets by because of the energy he brings from a defensive standpoint that help you, like the other night, stay in the ballgame.''

Gameday birthday. 🥳 HBD, @tbates_11! pic.twitter.com/y1tY5sRi3t

— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) February 21, 2023

A lot was expected of Bates this season, especially since he had a big summer that had everyone — coaches and players alike — raving about the improvements in his game.

He's had some nice moments this year, 22 points against Jackson State, 19 against Nebraska and Kennesaw State, and those 17 against Michigan State. But he's had four or fewer points in 11 games, and that inconsistency is hard to overcome. 

The good days have been special. He fed off the crowd at day at Assembly Hall when he was so hot against Michigan State. It was quite a day, with his daughter even winning the baby race at halftime.

He loved that day, loved the moments. And he wants more.

"It's literally what we do it for, all the work we put in as individuals and as a team up to this point. That's what you play college basketball for,'' Bates said. "We look forward to every game, but especially when we have a really good opponent coming in, everyone raises their level of play.

"For us, it's about staying locked in, solely focusing in on every opponent one at a time and then just sticking to what's working. We can tell from playing a game and watching film what's winning us these games and everything is starting on the defensive end. Just sticking to our habits and like you said, controlling what we can control. I feel like if we do what we do best, we'll live with the results.''

That first game against Michigan State got a little chippy at the end, and the Michigan State players talked a lot afterward about looking forward to the rematch at the Breslin Center. 

Well, it has arrived.

The intense atmosphere at the Breslin Center might feel different tonight. This is the first men's basketball game there since the shootings on campus that killed three students a week ago. A pall still hangs over this campus — and rightly so — and it will haunt those involved for years to come.

There may be some tears shed Tuesday night. The odds are good on that, certainly. The emotions are real, and raw. 

It's odd because there's a lot at stake for both teams tonight, but that urgency takes a back seat to all the pain and suffering going on here. Michigan State's first game back — at in-state rival Michigan on Saturday night — was heartrbreaking for fans and players on both sides of the often-bitter rivalry.

We'll see more of that tonight, too. 

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo talked about the game being nothing more than a ''two-hour distraction,'' and he's not wrong. The big-picture basketball part of it is important, certainly, but it's also important to let everyone start to heal.

For Michigan State, the Spartans at 16-10 overall and 8-7 in the Big Ten are still trying to lock up an NCAA Tournament bid. Indiana at 19-8 and 10-6 is in better shape, and the Hoosiers are still holding out some slim Big Ten championship hopes. Another goal of securing a top-four seed at a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament would be greatly enhanced with a win tonight.

It's Big Ten basketball on prime-time, but it's also going to be played with a heavy heart. It's going to be a memorable night.   

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