The Michigan State Spartans had no business winning their last game. Playing shorthanded and on the road against Michigan, Sparty somehow found a way to take down its rival, and they did so rather convincingly. The win kept the Spartans tied with Purdue atop the Big Ten standings with just a few games remaining. There is a rematch with the Wolverines to close the regular season with a couple of games against teams at the bottom of the conference before that. The first is Saturday against the Indiana Hoosiers, who knocked of Wisconsin in overtime on Tuesday.
Michigan State Spartans at Indiana Hoosiers
Date and Time: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 12 p.m. ET
Location: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IN
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Michigan State at Indiana TV Coverage: FOX
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Never underestimate Tom Izzo and his Spartans because they will bite you in the rear end. Sparty extended its winning streak to five with a solid effort on Sunday, improving to 23-5 overall and keeping pace with Purdue at 14-3 in Big Ten play. The three league defeats came in consecutive games with an overtime loss at home against the Hoosiers. There was also a baffling loss to Illinois and a 10-point setback to Purdue.
It’s been a tough season for hoops in the Hoosier state and it all starts with Indiana. There was some relief on Tuesday when the Hoosiers took down No. 18 Wisconsin in overtime, ending a five-game slide and a stretch where they’d lost 12 of 13 games. IU had fallen below .500 at 13-14 with an overtime loss at Iowa, but they climbed back to the break-even point by taking out Bucky. The Hoosiers weren’t expected to contend for Big Ten title this season, but what in the Bob Knight is going on here?
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When Joshua Langford went down with a season-ending injury earlier in the year, the focus turned to Cassius Winston to carry the club. And it’s safe to say the junior guard has accepted the challenge. Entering hostile territory Sunday without Langford and Nick Ward, Winston calmly directed the club and scored 27 points with eight assists in the Spartans’ 77-70 win over Michigan.
Winston never left the floor playing every second, and he was as energized at the end as he was at the start. Winston hit 7 of 13 shots and 13 of 14 free throws for the game. He scored 19 points in the second half for the second straight game and currently ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring with 19.2 points per game and tops the conference with 7.4 assists per outing.
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The only Indiana win during that 13-game span came surprisingly at Michigan State. Closing as a 13.5-point underdog on the road and riding a seven-game skid, the Hoosiers got 19 points from Romeo Langford and plenty of help from the Spartans to claim the victory. Langford hit the go-ahead triple in overtime and the Hoosiers made 10 of 20 from distance overall. That and some poor MSU free throw shooting doomed the Spartans.
Trailing by a point with 18 seconds left in regulation, Nick Ward made one of two freebies. The game-tying shot was Ward’s only make in nine tries and the Spartans finished 8 of 22 from the stripe. Ward is a 65.2 percent free-throw shooter and the Spartans connect on 74 percent as a team, so the numbers they had against IU are an anomaly.
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Winston has taken over the last two games leading the Spartans to wins by scoring 19 points in the second half of each. He’s going to play a lot of minutes as long as the game is close and he will be a factor in live betting. MSU let out a huge sigh after beating UM on the road with a shorthanded lineup and there’s always a chance for a slow start, especially against a lesser opponent. But don’t expect Sparty to take this game for granted after the Hoosiers pulled the stunner a few weeks ago. MSU will start fast and use its superior athleticism to get some payback.
College Basketball Score Prediction: Michigan State 77, Indiana 67
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