Michigan State University
Indiana
No. 5 Spartans Handle Hoosiers, 66-57
2/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2001
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's senior class tied a Big Ten record with 108 wins, but it would trade some of those victories for one less Big Ten loss this season.
Andre Hutson had 15 points and Zach Randolph added 14 as the fifth-ranked Spartans (21-3, 10-3) beat Indiana 66-57 Tuesday night, again featuring their suffocating defense and tenacious rebounding.
"The 108 wins is big, but the Big Ten championship would be so much sweeter," Hutson said. "I'm definitely going to be rooting for Ohio State (against Illinois) on Thursday."
To win a fourth consecutive Big Ten title, Michigan State has to win its final three conference games and needs Illinois (21-5, 11-2) to lose at least one of its final three.
The 108th win for Michigan State's senior class tied the Big Ten record set by Indiana teams from 1972-76 and 1990-94.
David Thomas had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans.
The Hoosiers (16-11, 7-6) had won four of their previous five games.
Indiana's Kirk Haston, who hit a 3-pointer as time expired to snap Michigan State's 23-game winning streak on Jan. 7, had 18 points and fouled out. Jared Jeffries scored nine points on 4-of-15 shooting.
"I thought they were just too strong and physical for us," Indiana coach Mike Davis said.
It was clear that Randolph was inspired to play well when he had an extra bounce in his step and a smile on his face before the game.
The Marion, Ind., native missed a free throw in the final minute in the loss at Indiana and he was the player guarding Haston on the game-winning shot.
Randolph finished second to Jeffries for the state's Mr. Basketball award, but he beat Jeffries' Bloomington North High School team for the state championship.
He smiled when he was asked how it felt to outplay Jeffries in a win.
"It felt good, but I'm not one to brag on my game," Randolph said. "He's a good player and a good guy. We'll have more battles down the road."
Indiana led after the first basket, but the Spartans controlled the game.
The Hoosiers trailed by double digits for much of the first half and were behind by as many as 14 points in the second half, but they cut the deficit to four three times.
Michigan State scored on the ensuing possession each time the Hoosiers cut the deficit to four. It put the game away for good with a 7-0 run to take a 58-46 lead with five minutes left.
The Spartans shot just 42.9 percent, but they turned 16 offensive rebounds into 20 points and held Indiana to 35 percent shooting.
"It wasn't easy and it wasn't always pretty, but it was a big win for us," Michigan State coach Izzo said. "We did the things that our team has done in the past."
Former Indiana star Quinn Buckner, the point guard when Indiana set the four-year record in the mid-1970s, said the Spartans will appreciate their feat in the future much more than they're able to now.
"It's going to be really special to them down the road, in 10 years or so," Buckner said. "If it was easy to do what they've done and what we did, more teams would be able to say they won that many games."
