Michigan State will complete 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, went on to a Big Ten regular season title and the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament. Indiana finished the 2024-2025 season at 19-13 overall, 10-10 in conference, and ended their season with a Big Ten tournament loss to Oregon.
Indiana Overview
This year, Indiana returns to the Breslin Center with a 12-4 record and stand at 3-2 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 mounted a big comeback. The Hoosiers have conference wins against Penn State, Washington, and at Maryland. They dropped their Big Ten opener at Minnesota on December 3.
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Out of conference, Indiana has a neutral site win over Marquette and a home win against Kansas State. The Hoosiers, however, dropped their two biggest out of conference matchups, falling 87-78 to then #6 Louisville on December 6 at a neutral site and 72-60 at Kentucky on December 13.
Indiana currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten in averaging 84 points per game while MSU is 12th at 78.9 The Spartans have been better defensively in giving up only 64.5 points, good for second in the conference but Indiana is not far behind. The Hoosiers give up only 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 after Mike Woodson departed at the conclusion 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’ single season but that marked a 10-win improvement over the 2023-24 season.
Prior to WVU, DeVries was at Drake from 2018-2024. In his last four years with the Bulldogs, Drake averaged 27 wins per year and made three NCAA tournament appearances.
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DeVries spent 20 years at Creighton, starting out as a graduate manager before serving as an assistant coach for 17 years. Some of that time was under current Oregon head coach Dana Altman.
Indiana Rotation
IU goes eight deep in their rotation and sends out an all senior, all transfer 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 junior 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 might expect with that high of an average, is an excellent shooter. To go along with 46.1% overall shooting, Wilkerson hits 42.1% of his three point attempts and gets off 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 off 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 scores in double figures off the bench with 10.4 points per game on 57% percent shooting. He’s not a huge threat from three but can extend the floor. Dorn is a three point threat at nearly 44% and scores 7.4 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 a sort of revitalization under DeVries and currently ranks in the top 30 in offensive efficiency. So far, IU is averaging just over ten made threes per game in a system that prioritizes spacing and ball movement, which has also been effective. In addition to the 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-forward which could draw Jaxon Kohler or Carson Cooper from MSU away from the rim.
Indiana also ranks in the top 30 in defensive efficiency. In what could be a very interesting match up with MSU’s strength on the offensive boards, the Hoosiers stress no second chances and often send all five defenders hard to the glass to chase down opponent’s misses.
Keys to the game for MSU
In addition to defending the three point line, the Spartans need to:
1. Please, not another slow start. In their last game, the fatigued Spartans fell behind Northwestern by seven at the half. A slow start, combined with IU’s three point shooting, could be big trouble 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?) interior punch on offense. Bailey is IU’s biggest player but I don’t think Kohler and Cooper have been physically mismatched at all this year. This could be an area to exploit on offense. Also, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Indiana play well off Coen Carr when he has the ball on perimeter, as other teams have. If Coen takes advantage of the opportunity to start an unobstructed drive, as he did in the second half against Northwestern, then this might add another near the basket scoring opportunity for the Spartans.
