Spartans fall to Indiana despite big game from Ager
Maurice Ager, with 30 points, had his largest scoring output since early in the 2005-06 season (36 against Gonzaga), but the Spartans failed to knock off the struggling Indiana Hoosiers, losing 78-71 at Assembly Hall. Mike Davis’ team had lost seven of their previous nine games, but did not show any signs of weakness during the first half where they staked a 43-31 lead.
Indiana’s advantage briefly ballooned to 16 points after a Robert Vaden three-pointer with 18:29 remaining in the game, but over the proceeding nine minutes the Spartans made a progressive run, eventually knotting the contest at 57 with just over nine minutes left. Ager and Paul Davis combined for 18 points during that stretch, and MSU seemed to have considerable momentum heading into the final minutes.
Paul Davis’s fourth foul came with 7:25 left, and little-utilized Idong Ibok was substituted into the game. With Davis on the bench, Indiana’s Marco Killingsworth went right at Ibok, bumping his way deep into the lane, drawing a pair of foul calls and tossing in a layup. Surprisingly, the Spartans took the lead with a couple of three-pointers and a reverse layup from Shannon Brown, who finished the game with 18 points. When Davis re-entered the game, Michigan State held a 67-65 lead.
Davis’s fifth foul came when Indiana guard Errek Suhr made contact and fell on his back as he attempted to set an illegal moving pick. With Davis out of the game for good, the Hoosiers turned a two-point deficit into a six-point advantage in under two minutes of game time. Missed shots and mistakes stunted MSU’s ability to make a late comeback, most notably an intercepted cross-court in-bounds pass coming out of a timeout.
“I don’t think we’re playing as well as we can play. I don’t think it’s a lack of effort,” Izzo said. “We just made some foolish turnovers. And when you take a bad shot it’s like a turnover.
“This is still a very good Indiana team,” he continued. “A lot of people don’t want to hear that, but they did a very good job today. I still hope they’ll get in the NCAA Tournament.”
With the loss, Michigan State drops to 19-9 overall, and 7-7 in Big Ten play. The Spartans final two games of the regular season are against Wisconsin and Illinois, both at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. After struggling in January, the Badgers have won four of their last five contests, and Illinois has played well all season long.
The Spartans are mathematically eliminated from even a share of the Big Ten title, which will likely go to the Ohio State Buckeyes.