EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo still doesn’t know what to make of the Big Ten this season.

After a wild couple of days, it appears as open as ever. as does the opportunity for Michigan State basketball to repeat as regular-season champion.

“I said in the middle of December, we’d know something. We kind of did. In the middle of January, do we know much more?” the Spartans coach said after practice Sunday, Jan 11. “You see so many teams getting beat and not getting beat. I think parity is at an all-time [high].”

Only two unbeatens remain in Big Ten play, with the 12th-ranked Spartans (14-2, 4-1) among three teams with one loss. To maintain pace in the competitive conference race requires continuing to win at home as MSU hosts Indiana (12-4, 3-2) on Tuesday (7 p.m., Peacock).

Here’s what to watch for in the first of two meetings between the Spartans and new-look Hoosiers.

A reputation for Jeremy Fears Jr.

There was a definitive pivot point in MSU’s 76-66 victory over Northwestern on Thursday, as the slow start was followed by a focused finish from Jeremy Fears Jr.

The third-year sophomore point guard got into early foul trouble with two blocking calls going against him and sat for nearly nine minutes of his scoreless first half.

“The thing is, you gotta be smart about how you do it,” he said. “You still kind of gotta play with that aggressive mindset, but also just be a little more smart at the same time, which is hard. That’s why you know usually if you get one, anything can happen.”

Nearing the midway point of the second half, Fears was knocked to the ground with no call in front of the his bench. Izzo was whistled for a technical foul with 13:49 to play and the Spartans trailing by seven after a four-point possession for the Wildcats.

“It’s hard with Jeremy because he falls a lot,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “Some of them are fouls, and some aren’t. He’s good at it – I mean that in a good way – so at times, he can be tough to officiate because he’s really good at selling stuff.”

After a brief stint on the bench with Izzo, Fears took control. He scored 13 of his 15 points in the final 10:27, including nine during a nine-minute, 24-7 takeover in the aftermath of Izzo’s technical.

Fears also hit three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt after the Wildcats had cut it back to a three-point deficit during that stretch. That was the moment Chris Collins said he’d rather have back, preferring to let Fears – who is 4-for-25 beyond the arc over his past nine games – take the shot.

“He’s a vet point guard,” Collins said. “I’ve been watching him play ever since he was a young guy, growing up in Chicago. He just stayed on the bench when he got those two early fouls and he had to go sit. That’s what a veteran stud point guard does – he comes back in the game, he steadies the ship. And then he made a lot of huge plays down the stretch.

“The kid’s a winner, I got nothing but respect for him.”

Jaxon Kohler grows

If he had enough makes, Jaxon Kohler would rank among the nation’s best 3-point shooters.

Not that the senior’s 53.3% shooting from deep isn’t already impressive. After entering the season a career 33.9% shooter in 56 attempts behind the arc, the 6-foot-9 Kohler is showing off his improved shot by making 32 of 60 through the first 16 games. That included an 11-for-15 run in his past three games.

Equally as impressive are Kohler’s 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds, both team highs. The Spartans haven’t had a player average a double-double over a full season since Xavier Tillman did it in 2019-20 with 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds a game. The only other player to achieve that under Izzo was Draymond Green in 2011-12 (16.2 points/10.6 rebounds).

Indiana update

It’s a new-look Hoosiers squad under first-year coach Darian DeVries, who arrived from West Virginia and brought along 13 new faces.

Indiana lost every scholarship player from a year ago to the portal or graduation, with only two walk-ons back from former coach Mike Woodson’s final roster. Among the players DeVries added included his son Tucker, a 6-7 forward averaging 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Joining him is 6-6 swingman Lamar Wilkerson, a Sam Houston State transfer who’s averaging 20.3 points a game overall and a league-leading 27.4 in Big Ten play.  Two others Hoosiers are scoring in double figures: 6-3 guard Tayton Conerway (12.3 points and 4.3 assists) and 6-10 reserve forward Reed Bailey (10.4 points and 4.5 rebounds).

All five IU starters average at least 3.3 rebounds a game and four average 2.8 assists or better.

“They’ve got a lot of guys that can score the ball,” Izzo said. “They shoot a lot of 3s. They seem to be very balanced offensively and defensively. Very well-coached. It’s a good team.”

The Hoosiers are 55th in scoring offense (84.5 points per game) and tied for 55th in scoring defense (68) while also ranking 55th in field goal percentage (48.3%). Indiana averages 36.8 rebounds a game but just 9.7 on the offensive glass, which is tied for 298th in Division I.

Izzo has never coached against DeVries, a 50-year-old who is 181-72 in eight seasons as a head coach, including six years at Drake and a one-year stopover at West Virginia last season.  

“It’s a little more prep for us, because we know nothing about them,” Izzo said, adding that the same holds for DeVries and his staff in preparing for MSU.

Michigan State basketball vs Indiana prediction

After a settling-in and feeling-out start, the Spartans begin to increase the tempo to assert its pace on a Hoosiers team that does not get out well in transition. That leads to big games for Fears and Coen Carr as MSU closes out a perfect three-game homestand before hitting the road for three of its next four. The pick: MSU 81, Indiana 74.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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