BLOOMINGTON — Indiana defeated Michigan State Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall by a final score of 65-64.
The Hoosiers led at halftime 34-29 and were led in the game by Kel’el Ware with 28 points.
The three keys to the game are below along with the final box score and highlights.
Indiana finished the regular season with an 18-13 overall record and a 10-10 mark in the Big Ten. They’ll play on Thursday at the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.
See also: Woodson, Ware and Johnson postgame
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Ware and Reneau save the day. Trey Galloway left the game with a first half leg injury and the momentum turned significantly. IU went from up 17 in the first half to down seven in the second. But Kel’el Ware scored 19 second half points and Malik Reneau made clutch plays to fuel an IU rally. With limited scoring options on the perimeter, IU went inside on every possession down the stretch.
2. Defense starts great, does enough late. Indiana held MSU to 38.5 percent from the field and forced 10 turnovers. They survived a 30 point game by Tyson Walker, but no one else scored more than 10. The Spartans had just 12 points with 7:28 left in the first half. But with Galloway out, the defense took a major step back. However the Hoosiers only allowed one field goal in the final 4:35, and just two points in the final two minutes to close out the game.
3. Resilience, again. Indiana looked dead in the water after falling behind by seven in the second half, but rallied to win their fourth straight game. The Hoosiers have now won four games in a row and look like an NCAA Tournament team despite long odds of reaching the event. It’s the third time in the four game run IU has faced significant second half adversity and found a way to win.
HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL STATS
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