Michigan State will finish a three-game homestand tomorrow with the first of two matchups this season against the Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana was the last team to defeat the Spartans in the regular season last year, and did so at the Breslin Center. The Spartans, of course, won a Big Ten title in the regular season and the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament. Indiana finished the 2024-25 season at 19-13 overall, 10-10 in conference play, and ended its season with a loss in the Big Ten Tournament to Oregon.
Indiana Overview
This year, Indiana returns to the Breslin Center with a 12-4 record and a 3-2 record in the Big Ten. They are coming off an 83-77 home loss to Nebraska on Saturday. Indiana held a 16-point advantage at one point before Nebraska made a big comeback. The Hoosiers earned conference wins over Penn State, Washington and Maryland. They lost their first Big Ten game to Minnesota on December 3.
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Non-conference, Indiana has a neutral site win against Marquette and a home win against Kansas State. The Hoosiers, however, dropped their two biggest non-conference matchups, losing 87-78 to then-No. 6 Louisville on Dec. 6 at a neutral site and 72-60 at Kentucky on Dec. 13.
Indiana currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten averaging 84 points per game while MSU is 12th with 78.9. The Spartans have been better defensively allowing just 64.5 points, good for second in the conference, but Indiana isn’t far behind. The Hoosiers are giving up just 68 per game, which is sixth-best in the Big Ten.
Indiana Coaching
Darian DeVries is in his first year as Indiana’s head coach following the departure of Mike Woodson at the end of last season. DeVries comes to Bloomington with seven years of head coaching experience and after just one year at West Virginia. The Mountaineers went 19-13 in DeVries’ lone season, but that marked a 10-win improvement from the 2023-24 season.
Prior to WVU, DeVries was at Drake from 2018 to 2024. In his final four years with the Bulldogs, Drake averaged 27 wins per year and appeared in three NCAA tournaments.
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DeVries spent 20 years at Creighton, starting as a graduate manager before becoming an assistant coach for 17 years. Part of that time was under current Oregon head coach Dana Altman.
Indiana rotation
IU goes eight deep in its rotation and sends an all senior, all transfers starting five:
#4, F – Sam Alexis, 6-9, SR, 2 years at Tennessee-Chattanooga, 1 year at Florida
#12 F – Tucker DeVries, 6-7, SR, 3 years at Drake, 1 year at West Virginia
#6 G – Tayton Conerway, 6-3, SR, 2 years at Troy, 3 years in college
#3 G – Lamar Wilkerson, 6-6, SR, 3 years at Sam Houston State
#5 G – Connor Enright, 6-1, SR, 2 years at Drake, 1 year at DePaul
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Wilkerson leads Indiana with 20.3 points per game and, as you would expect with such a high average, is an excellent shooter. To go along with an overall shooting rate of 46.1%, Wilkerson is hitting 42.1% of his three-point attempts and takes about 8 shots from beyond the arc per game.
DeVries, Darian’s son, is next at nearly 15 points per game on 40% shooting (34% from deep). Conerway is also in double figures with 12.3 points while adding 4.3 assists per game.
Indiana consistently relies on just three players on the bench:
#1 F – Reed Bailey, 6-10, SR, 3 years at Davidson
#11 F – Trent Sisley, 6-8, FR
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#7 G – Nick Dorn, 6-7, JR, 2 years at Elon
Bailey is scoring in double figures off the bench with 10.4 points per game on 57% shooting. He’s not a huge three-way threat but can extend the floor. Dorn is a threat from three-point range at nearly 44 percent and scores 7.4 points per game while Sislely adds 6.6 points.
Indiana Strategy
The Spartans are going to have to defend the three-point line in this one. The Hoosier offense has undergone something of a revitalization under DeVries and currently ranks in the top 30 in offensive efficiency. So far, IU is averaging just over ten threes per game in a system that prioritizes spacing and ball movement, which has also proven to be effective. In addition to efficiency rating, Indiana is also in the top 30 in assists per game.
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Additionally, perhaps similar to Nebraska with Rienke Mast, Indiana uses Bailey as a point guard who could keep MSU’s Jaxon Kohler or Carson Cooper away from the rim.
Indiana also ranks in the top 30 in defensive efficiency. In what could be a very interesting game with MSU’s strength on the offensive boards, the Hoosiers place no emphasis on any second chances and often send all five defenders hard to the glass to chase down the opponent’s misses.
Keys to the game for MSU
In addition to defending the three-point line, the Spartans must:
1. Please, not another slow start. In their last game, the tired Spartans fell behind Northwestern by seven at halftime. A slow start, combined with IU’s three-point shooting, could be big problems for Michigan State.
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2. Ball security. This has become a growing problem for MSU recently. If the Spartans can’t take care of the ball, Indiana can quickly turn those mistakes into three-point attempts.
3. One-two (three?) inside punches on offense. Bailey is IU’s biggest player, but I don’t think Kohler and Cooper have been physically matchless this year. This could be an area to exploit on offense. Additionally, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Indiana play well against Coen Carr when he has the ball on the perimeter, as other teams have done. If Coen takes the opportunity to launch an unobstructed shot, like he did in the second half against Northwestern, then that could add another scoring opportunity near the basket for the Spartans.
