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| Fourteen straight points gave Michigan State its first lead midway through the second half, and a 14-5 run gave it a double-digit cushion with 3 1/2 minutes left.
"We just have to play smarter and not beat ourselves," Bassett said. "When we got up 13, I felt confident. Maybe we were too comfortable and let up a bit, and Neitzel hit three straight 3s to turn the game around." Sampson was awed by Neitzel. "I've never seen a kid that can go almost away from the basket, turn his body and still put a great stroke on the ball," He said. "I bet you every person at Michigan State thought (his shots) were going in. That's a tribute to that kid because he takes amazingly difficult shots, and they go in." For the first 35 minutes, it looked like Indiana was going to win at Michigan State for the first time since 1991. The Spartans had so much trouble taking care of the basketball that they had more turnovers (13) than shot attempts (12) with just under five minutes left in the first half. Indiana scored 15 points off turnovers and led 30-20 at halftime. Michigan State had two turnovers on its first two possessions after halftime for a total of 16, surpassing its average for a game. The Spartans finished with a season-high 23 turnovers. "I take some blame for that," said Neitzel, who had five of his eight turnovers in the first half. "I was out of sync in the first half, making some bad passes." But just when the Spartans cut down their turnovers, Indiana had a rough time in its half-court sets and paid for it with 10 of its 16 giveaways coming in the second half. "It wasn't pretty, but it was gutsy," Izzo said. Indiana was without guard Earl Calloway (shoulder) for the third straight game. "Before the game, I thought he'd play," Sampson said. "But he's got to be comfortable and that's a confidence issue to play with that injury. You don't make somebody else's son play if he doesn't think he can." |
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| Northwestern coach Bill Carmody was well aware that Ager always plays well against his team. "I think he likes us," Carmody said. "He makes shots, he goes around our guys." The Spartans (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten) have won their first two conference games for the first time since 2000, when they won the national championship. They beat Penn State by 26 on Wednesday. Mike Thompson, a Duke transfer, led the Wildcats (8-6, 1-1) with 16 points. The 6-foot-10 center has averaged 12.5 points in eight games since he became eligible to play. |