At the Buzzer: Michigan State 81, Indiana 60

Tucker DeVries attempts a 3-pointer.

Quick thoughts on an 81-60 loss at Michigan State:

How it happened

Indiana led by as many as five points in the first half at the Breslin Center on Tuesday, but the story of the half was turnovers. The Hoosiers had eight of them, which led to 19 points for Michigan State. After a shaky performance against Nebraska, Indiana’s turnover woes continued, with a first-half turnover percentage of 25. Indiana also struggled to contain Jeremy Fears Jr., who scored 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and a 6-for-8 performance from the free-throw line in 16 minutes. The Spartans also got a boost from Kur Teng, who came off the bench and shot 3-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line. What kept IU close was a 5-for-14 mark from distance and a 7-for-7 mark from the line, but the Hoosiers still trailed 39-32 at the break.

The Hoosiers, as they’ve done all season, showed fight to open the second half. A Lamar Wilkerson 3-pointer opened the second half scoring and another Wilkerson 3-pointer tied the game at 51 at the 13:11 mark. To that point, IU had outscored Michigan State 19-12 in just under seven minutes. Out of the under-12 timeout, IU tied it at 53 on a Wilkerson dunk, but the Spartans reeled off seven straight points to make it 60-53, forcing Darian DeVries to use a timeout. Out of the break, Michigan State scored five straight, pushing the lead to 65-53, forcing another DeVries timeout with 8:35 to go. By the 5:53 mark, the Spartan run was 17-0, stretching the lead to 70-53 and putting the game out of reach for good. The loss, Indiana’s second straight, dropped the Hoosiers to 12-5 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play.

Standout performers

Wilkerson led the Hoosiers with 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field and a 5-for-11 mark on 3-pointers.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana committed 14 turnovers, which led to 29 points for Michigan State. The Hoosiers also gave up a 19-0 run in the second half, the decisive stretch of the game. Indiana was also outscored by 11 points from the free-throw line. And Michigan State outscored Indiana 25-12 on fast break points.