Three Things to Watch: Michigan State vs. Indiana

East Lansing, Mich. – After playing the two most physical teams in Big Ten, Purdue and Rutgers, earlier this week, Michigan State (13-6, 5-3) faces a difficult road test at Indiana (12-6, 3-4) on Sunday. The Spartans have plenty of confidence after posting a 13-point win over Rutgers at the Breslin Center on Thursday. But Michigan State is also playing its fifth straight game on two-day prep, and given the lack of depth on this team, the Spartans are very much at risk of wearing down.

“We know how to do it, and they’ve all been two-day preps,” Tom Izzo said after practice on Friday. “So, we should know it like the back of our hand, but the problem is that it does wear on you as you go on. I think it wears on everybody.”

Michigan State altered its typical practice plan on Friday to preserve legs.

“Today, we didn’t have an early morning meeting,” Izzo said. “I just didn’t feel like they were there. We didn’t have a live walkthrough. It was just deader than a doorknob walkthrough. The guys were great, but we didn’t have a long film session. Just trying to cut everything back a little bit. A football coach once told me that a healthy guy not prepared is better than a prepared guy that’s not healthy. Coaches don’t always feel that way, but in this case I think there is some validity.”

Continue below for Three Things to Watch in Michigan State’s game against Indiana.

1. Michigan State is playing a confident Indiana team

Timing matters. Michigan State is playing Indiana at a time when the Hoosiers appear to have figured some things out. Indiana had lost three straight Big Ten games before beating Wisconsin (Jan. 14) and Illinois (Jan. 19) in its last two. In those two wins, Indiana played like the team many projected to win the Big Ten before the start of the season.

“After a couple of embarrassing losses, and we did that too, I see a change in (Mike Woodson’s) team in the last two to three games,” Izzo said after practice on Friday.

In its 80-65 win at Illinois on Thursday night, Indiana played as well as it has all season long.

“They weren’t a good team last night, they were an elite team last night,” Izzo said.

Trayce Jackson-Davis (6-9, 245, Sr., Greenwood, IN, Center Grove) led the way for Indiana against Illinois with his ninth career 30-point game. Jackson-Davis leads Indiana in scoring (18.6), rebounding (9.8), and ranks third on his team in assists (3.5). He also leads Indiana in blocked shots (2.4).

“I have always been a big Trayce Jackson-Davis fan, because I recruited him,” said Izzo. “I think it was down to us and Indiana. I love his dad, and still have a good relationship with him. I’m a big fan of his. But he played at another level (against Illinois), and he has done a better job of that.”

The Hoosiers are also getting a big lift from freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino (6-6, 213, Fr., Pittsburgh, PA, Montverde Academy), who is Indiana’s second-leading scorer (13.4) and assist leader (4.5). Hood-Schifino is a dangerous scorer, capable of big numbers. He scored 33 points in loss to Northwestern (Jan. 8) earlier this month.

“He’s an NBA guard,” Izzo said.

 Like Michigan State, Indiana has had its share of injuries. The Hoosiers are playing without starters Xavier Johnson (6-3, 200, Sr., Woodbridge, VA, Pitt) and Race Thompson (6-8, 235, Sr., Plymouth, MN, Armstrong High). Johnson ranked third in the Big Ten in assists as a junior in conference games. Thompson had made 77 straight starts for Indiana prior to being lost for the season to a knee injury.

Despite those setbacks, Indiana has found a way to make things work.

Miller Kopp (6-7, 215, Sr., Houston, TX, Northwestern) is a veteran presence, shooting better than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line. Jordan Geronimo (6-6, 225, Jr., Newark, NJ, St. Paul’s) is tough rebounder and effective rim protector. Trey Galloway (6-4, 203, Jr., Culver, IN, Culver Academy) is a confident guard with a high basketball IQ.

“At this time of year, with the upper echelon, every game is going to be a good game, and they are all going to play good,” Izzo said.

If Michigan State is going to win this game, the Spartans can’t afford to start slowly the way they have in each of the last two games.

“In the Purdue game, I think AJ (Hoggard) had an out of body experience,” Izzo said. “I couldn’t figure it out, and I don’t know if he could figure it out. In the last game, we had a couple of turnovers, and boy they came at us. They did a good job, and sometimes it is the opposition, but it’s inexcusable.”

2. Can Michigan State keep TJD off offensive glass?

Jackson-Davis is an impactful basketball player. And with the way Michigan State defends the post, rarely double-teaming, chances are he will easily reach his scoring average, or perhaps even surpass it. The Spartans cannot, however, allow Jackson-Davis to dominate this game the way he did against Illinois to the tune of 35 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

Spartan fans are feeling really good about Jaxon Kohler’s first career double double against Rutgers. And there is little question that the freshman played the best of Michigan State’s three centers. This is a game, however, where the Spartans need Mady Sissoko to play better than he did last time out. Michigan State needs Sissoko’s athleticism against Jackson-Davis. In fact, all three Spartan centers need to play well in this game.

For the most part, Michigan State has done decent job against Jackson-Davis during his time at Indiana. Last season, The Spartans limited him to 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting with five rebounds in a 76-61 Michigan State victory. Jackson-Davis did have some success at the free-throw line, going 7-of-9 on the day.

The key with Jackson-Davis is to make him work for whatever he gets. And as was the case with Purdue center Zach Edey, Michigan State needs to keep Jackson-Davis off the offensive glass.

One of the things that makes Jackson-Davis such a headache for opposing teams beyond his athleticism and experience, is his ability to chase down misses and convert them for putbacks or to kick the ball out for inside-out threes.

“He is so athletic,” Izzo said. “He’s got sick athleticism as far as blocking shots, getting rebounds, making spin moves, running the court. He is elite for a guy his size, and I think he has gotten bigger and stronger since last year. If I wasn’t playing against him, I’d be happy for him.”

Michigan State is a good rebounding team when its rested. Playing on tired legs against Rutgers, the Spartans gave up 18 offensive rebounds. If that happens again against Indiana, the chances of leaving Bloomington with a win would be slim to none.

With Michigan State having played the two most physical teams in the Big Ten in Rutgers and Purdue earlier this week, the Spartans could find it difficult to match Indiana on glass in this game. If Michigan State struggles to keep Jackson-Davis off the offensive glass, it could be a long day.

3. Can Spartans defend the three and make shots on tired legs?

Michigan State continues to lead the Big Ten in 3-point field-goal percentage defense against conference opponents. Big Ten teams are shooting 26.6 percent from three against the Spartans. Michigan State is the only team in the Big Ten holding league opponents under 30 percent from three. The Spartans have had success defending the three in part because of the guard trio of Tyson Walker, AJ Hoggard, and Jaden Akins. All three are capable on-ball defenders, and each has proven themselves on a game-in, game-out basis.

Indiana still has some dangerous scorers from behind the 3-point line, including Kopp at the four. Kopp is worth mentioning because he isn’t someone that you cannot ignore to help with Jackson-Davis in the post. Joey Hauser is much-improved defensively, and I don’t see him having any issues with Kopp. There could be issues, however, with Kopp heating up if Pierre Brooks plays with poor effort or lacks focus defensively. If Michigan State goes with a big line-up, with either freshmen Carson Cooper or Jaxon Kohler at the four, Kopp is cagey enough to exploit a mismatch.

With Johnson out of the lineup, Tamar Bates (6-5, 198, Soph., Kansas City, IMG) has done a nice job of providing perimeter scoring off the bench. Bates ranks second among Indiana players in threes (24) this season, trailing only Kopp. While Hood-Schifino does most of his damage inside the arc, he has shown the ability to knock down the perimeter jumper. He has made 22 threes on the year which is one more than Akins has for the Spartans.

If this game were being played on a neutral court and both teams were well-rested, I’d like Michigan State’s chances of shutting down Indiana’s shooters from behind the 3-point line. Given that fatigue is a factor for Spartan defenders, the potential for Indiana to knock down triples is elevated.

On the flipside, playing on tired legs could make it more difficult for the Spartans to knock down jumpers. Michigan State shot 52 percent from three its last time out, but this being the third game this week, coming on the heels of back-to-back rock fights is reason for concern.

Timing does not favor the Spartans.