Michigan State basketball catches fire from outside to handle Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, IN – As Michigan State basketball continued its hunt for one three-letter word – bye (or at least three of them in next week’s Big Ten Tournament) – coach Tom Izzo turned to another three-letter standout: Kur.

As in: Kur Teng, who supplied another pair of three-letter words – red, hot – from beyond the arc as the Spartans handled Indiana, 77-64, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, March 1.

Teng came off the bench to hit six of eight 3-pointers en route to 18 points and Jaxon (a five-letter word, but we’re almost done counting) Kohler had a season-high 21 points to move the Spartans within a victory of clinching a spot in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

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Big Ten Tournament picture

With the win, the Spartans (24-5, 14-4 Big Ten) remain tied with Nebraska for the 2-seed (and a triple-bye in this month’s Big Ten Tournament), though the Cornhuskers have the tiebreaker thanks to their head-to-head win in January. Both teams are a game up on Illinois for the fourth seed, with the top four teams not starting at United Center in Chicago until Friday, March 13.

Next up for Michigan State

MSU can lock up a double-bye by beating visiting Rutgers on Thursday (8 p.m., FS1). The Spartans squeaked out an overtime win over the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway in January with an epic 29-point performance from guard Jeremy Fears Jr. Rutgers, meanwhile, is fighting to avoid playing on the first day of the Big Ten Tournament next week.

Spartans hot from outside in first half

Michigan State has been almost unbeatable when it’s shooting well from beyond the arc, and that looked to be the case against the Hoosiers over the first 20 minutes: The Spartans hit seven of 13 3-point tries (whole holding IU to 6-for-20) to take an eight-point lead.

It might have been greater, but Indiana won the first-half battle in the paint, outscoring MSU 10-8 there, with 15 rebounds to the Spartans’ 13.

Kohler led the Spartans with 14 points before the half, sinking four of six from the field (including two 3s) and pulling down four rebounds. Teng provided most of the rest of the 3s, with a 4-for-5 mark en route to 12 points. The other 3 belonged to Jeremy Fears Jr., who had nine points and added seven assists.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball connects from outside to take down Indiana