Indiana Basketball Game Preview: Michigan State – key storylines, injury report, how to watch

Indiana basketball is set to close the regular season in its 124th season of competition on Sunday, March 10, against Michigan State. Hoosiers have won their last three games and are playing their best basketball of the season. The program will take part in the annual Senior Day festivities, including the 51st edition of senior speeches, following the game.

Michigan State, under the guidance of Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo, are led by fifth-year senior guard Tyson Walker. He ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.0 points per night and third in steals at 1.9 per contest. He is shooting 44.4% (199-of-448) from the floor, 36.4% (51-of-140) from behind the arc, and 73.0% (73-of-100) from the free throw line.

Tip is scheduled for 4:30 PM ET on CBS.

Below is the full preview of Indiana basketball vs Michigan State.

Key Storylines

Mike Woodson is here to stay, time to give him a chance to fix this thing

What a last two weeks it has been for Mike Woodson and this Indiana basketball program. There have been a lot highs like the three-game winning streak and the lowest of lows with announcement of Liam McNeeley decommitting from the Hoosiers.

Sticking with the highs, as far as for Mike Woodson, it was announced that the Indiana basketball head coach will be returning for a fourth year at the helm of the program. While there has been many questions and backlash from certain portion of the fanbase, the program made a firm decision that Woodson would be returning.

It was near perfect timing for the announcement of Mike Woodson coming back for his fourth year as it gives a clear direction on where the program will be moving towards. Instead of what could have been a messy coaching search, the Hoosiers now know who their head coach is as an important offseason approaches.

We now know that Woodson is returning as coach, there are no more questions. With that said, you have no choice but to let Mike Woodson try and fix this mess. Yes it has been a frustrating year, and I get the frustration, but we have to see what Woodson can do in the portal and summer to get this thing back on the right track.

Fans still may be upset, but at the end of the day, there nothing more you can do at this point. Woodson is here to stay, and he has to fix the problems of this program fast.

Indiana basketball has a ton of momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament  

While things seem pretty uncertain at the moment with the state of the Indiana basketball program, one things is for sure, the Hoosiers have won three-straight and playing the best basketball they have all season.

A lot of that just has to do with the improvement of the team chemistry and the Hoosiers finally jelling together on the floor. They are playing with confidence, moving the ball, defending, making shots, and just overall having fun it looks like out there.

“We could just continue to work,” Mike Woodson said. “Guys are starting to feel good about themselves. Having X back helps a lot. Speeds us up a little bit. Getting a lot more transition buckets getting the ball up the floor. Guys are bit offing from it on the backside of the passes.”

“So I mean, that’s what normally happens when you make shots. Offense looks good and not hurting that we are playing pretty good defense and rebounding the ball with our opponents. That helps a lot as well.”

A big things too, this Indiana basketball team has not quit on Mike Woodson one bit. The Hoosiers were out of the NCAA Tournament race a long time ago so they could have easily packed it in and folded. They didn’t.

Indiana basketball gaining a lot of momentum as the regular season ends the day and Big Ten Tournament play starts. The Hoosiers are becoming the team you don’t want to face later this week.

Senior Day

Indiana basketball has their last home game of the season, which means it is the annual senior day.

This year’s senior day festivities comes with a couple of question marks with those being the status of Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal, both who have and extra year of eligibility if they choose to use it due to COVID. We know for sure that Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker are participating.

“I don’t know,” aid Woodson. “I haven’t had a chance to sit down and see what they going to do in terms of Senior Night, so I’ll know more today when I sit down with them about that.”

“I know X is going to go through Senior Night. He doesn’t have a choice. But Galloway and Anthony, they do have choices. They could come back another year. So I don’t know what they are going to do. We’ll have to sit down and discuss that and see what they’re going to do.”

Anthony Walker only spent one year with the Indiana basketball program after spending his fist four at Miami (FL) while Xavier Johnson has been with the Hoosiers for three seasons, six total years played with him spending his first three at Pittsburgh.

Today, this senior day should be a special one for Xavier Johnson making it to this point after fighting his ways through injuries the past two seasons.

“No, it’s special. Should be special for him. When you put four years — he’s been what, five, six years in college, a long time playing this sport, and now you wind down and come to the end of your college career. Man, it’s a special night for him.”

“I couldn’t be more proud and more happy for X because X has gone through a lot, man. From the time I got him, I coached him hard. I was tough on X, man. X wanted to give you all he could give you and the injuries just set in and he just wasn’t able to be on the floor a lot.”

Regardless of the season, this should be a night where we give major props to guys that have put their soul into the sport and the program.

Podcast: Talkin’ Bout The Hoosiers Ep. 18 – Mike Woodson is back for year 4, Indiana basketball on a hot streak

Series History

Indiana holds a 71-59 series lead over Michigan State. The Hoosiers have won three of the last four played at home.

The programs split the two matchups last season, each winning on their home floors. At SSAH, IU claimed an 82-69 win behind 31 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocked shots from All-American forward Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Head coach Mike Woodson averaged 21.4 points in his eight career contests against the Spartans.

Watch: Mike Woodson previews Michigan State

Injury Updates

Anthony Walker: Walker got his knew twisted up in the second half of Indiana’s game at Minnesota last week. He had to be helped off the floor and was in a lot of pain. Walker would be seen back on the bench and looked to be in good spirits. Mike Woodson did say on Friday that Walker’s MRI looked fine so that is good news. He is TBD for today’s game.

Jakai Newton: Newton had a lower body surgical procedure done this past offseason to help fix a previous injury he sustained during high school. He is still recovering and is not expected to play for the rest of the season. The good news is there was video surfacing of Jakai Newton going almost full speed in a workout. He probably won’t play the rest of the season, but this a great sign.

Recruiting: Multiple recruiting targets expected to visit Indiana basketball this weekend

Quick Hitters

Who?: Indiana (17-13) (9-10 Big Ten) vs Michigan State (18-12) (10-9 Big Ten)

When?: Sunday, March 10, 2024 • 4:30 p.m. ET

Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.

TV: CBS (Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel)

Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)

Betting Lines: Indiana basketball is listed as a 3.5-point underdog via DraftKings Sportsbook.

SEE ALSO: ‘I’m not going to talk about recruiting’: Mike Woodson won’t talk recruiting or the portal. But, at some point he needs to answer for the failure of the last 12 months

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.

Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.