What a game! The Hoosiers pulled out the win 72-68 in the hostile confines of the Breslin Center in East Lansing. With the Big Ten title and a number one seed in the Tourney on the line, along with a 22-year long 17 game losing streak at Michigan State, on the line, Indiana just kept going and going until the clock ran out. After some difficulties, that is. Twice in the final 30 seconds, the clock did not start when the ball was inbounded, slowing the game even further as the refs went to the monitor to figure out what in the world was going on.
Speaking of refs, my goodness was this crew bad! That's a Ted Valentine game for you. I could have accepted the somewhat-questionable Flagrant I foul called on Christian Watford on incidental contact against Adreian Payne early in the second half if they had called the same on Derrick Nix when he decided to show his frustrations by intentionally making some below-the-belt contact on Cody Zeller toward the end of the game. Somehow there was enough evidence to call the first, but not enough evidence to call the second. If that's the case, maybe these refs need to find a new job that relies less on being able to actually see.
But despite the officiating and intense physicality, the final minute belonged to Victor Oladipo. First came a tip-in shot off of a Yogi Ferrell miss to put IU up 68-67. Next came an insanely open dunk out of a sideline-out-of-bounds play to go up 70-67. To wrap up the game, he collected the rebound off a Gary Harris intentionally missed free throw, was quickly fouled, and made both free throws to seal the game at 72-68. Victor stepped up every time that Indiana needed him on his way to an individual stat line of 19 points, nine rebounds, five steals, and a block and only one turnover.
The Game:
One of the keys to this game was to hold onto the ball. The Hoosiers were able to do just that, turning it over 10 times to Michigan State's 12. Another factor I thought would be key was free throw shooting and the ability to get to the line. The Hoosiers did pretty poorly at this, getting to the line only 15 times and hitting 10 of them. The Spartans, on the other hand, made 16-23 free throws. When it mattered most, however, IU hit their freebies while MSU did not; in the final 1:30 the Spartans hit only 2-6 while the Hoosiers hit 3-3. Those four free throws could have been the difference in the game.
Aside from a few exceptions, the Indiana defense was very solid. For the second straight game, they were able to negate Keith Appling completely. This time, however, he played a team-high 36 minutes but was only able to put up six points (four from the charity stripe), two assists, and another team-high four turnovers. This was due in most part to the work of both Victor and Yogi, a combination which has caused problems for all sorts of teams. The Hoosiers also did a pretty good job on Harris, although he did put up 19 points. In doing so, however, he went only 1-5 from deep after hitting five at Assembly Hall. The guy who spent a lot of time on Harris was Jordy Hulls, who stuck to him like glue for the most part.
If Indiana's defense was good, it's offense was even better. Putting up 72 points at Michigan State is no easy task. One of the more impressive stats to me is that the Hoosiers managed to put up more second chance points (12-8) than MSU despite the fact that the Spartans out-rebounded the Hoosiers 31-28, including 10-8 on the offensive end. Victor was able to score in just about every conceivable way: driving lay-ups, put-backs, jumpers, and free throws. And all of this came on an ankle that he admitted was only at about 85%. Cody was the second-leading scorer for the Hoosiers at 17 points, and he managed to diversify his shot selection from his normal point-blank shots by shooting and hitting a few key mid-range jumpers. While Christian did not score like he usually does (he missed the first two free throws after a three-point foul), he did put up 12 points, including a huge three-point play the old-fashioned way in the final 1:30. Jordy also had 12 points and showed just how deep of a range he has by popping a shot from about nine feet beyond the arc. Although Yogi did not put up a ton of points, he did dish out five of the team's seven assists and was the picture of composure in a very hostile environment, especially considering his status as a freshman.
Final Thoughts:
There were a couple of very important milestones in this game: both Cody and Victor earned their way into the 1,000-point club. This made it the first time that Indiana has ever had four players in the 1,000-point club at the same time.
This game also had very big implications. The Hoosiers are now alone at the top of the Big Ten, and are essentially two games up on Michigan State as they have the head-to-head tie-breaker. This game also went a long way in cementing the Hoosiers as a #1 seed for the NCAA Tourney and could possibly be placed in the incredibly-advantageous Indianapolis regional.
The schedule does not get much easier for the Hoosiers. They travel to Minnesota next Tuesday, followed by a home-stand against both Iowa and Ohio State, and end the season playing at Michigan. The Hoosiers are currently 12-2 in the Big Ten and 24-3 on the season.
Hoosier Highlights:
Jordan Hulls: Jordy is now up to 1,261 points in his career, which is good for 29th all-time as he passed up Tom Van Arsdale. Next up are Steve Green (1,265) and Joby Wright (1,272).
Cody Zeller: Cody is now at 1,011 points in his career (44th all-time). Next up is Harry "Butch" Joyner (1,030).
Victor Oladipo: Victor now has 1,005 points in his career (46th). Next up (outside of Cody) are Jared Jeffries (1,008) and Harry "Butch" Joyner (1,030). Victor also has 64 steals on the season as he passed Isiah Thomas to take third place on his own. Next up is Quinn Buckner in second place (65) and Isiah Thomas again at the top spot (74). Victor has 147 steals in his career (5th). Next up are Alan Henderson (148) and Greg Graham (151).
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