Michigan State basketball: Get to know the Indiana State Sycamores

Michigan State basketball will be facing one of the best mid-majors in the country on Saturday as Indiana State comes to town.

After a break over the holiday season, Michigan State basketball is back in action this Saturday in their non-conference finale. In their final game of 2023, the Spartans face off against the Indiana State Sycamores.

A mid-major opponent usually doesn’t raise my eyebrows, but this matchup is extremely intriguing. Let’s take a quick look at Indiana State’s season so far and who we should be looking out for.

Indiana State season in review

As I mentioned, the Sycamores are no average mid-major team. They come into this matchup with an impressive 11-1 record and riding a 10-game win streak. But just how good is that 11-1 record though?

Let me first say that 11 wins out of 12 games is good no matter who the opponents are. But this 11-1 record isn’t as strong as you might think. Indiana State has only played one Power Six opponent this season. That game was a road game at Alabama which they lost by 22 points. All 11 wins they have accumulated are against other mid-major teams. Again, that is still impressive to win that many games, but that doesn’t make me think they’re an elite team.

Even with their weak schedule, Indiana State is still ranked favorably in two popular metrics. The NET and KenPom rankings are routinely called upon when discussing a team’s resume and strength. Indiana State is No. 23 in the NET rankings and No. 59 in the KenPom rankings. Comparatively, MSU is No. 35 and No. 21, respectively.

However, the Sycamores are getting no love from the AP Poll. Even with their 11-1 record they still did not receive one AP Top 25 vote. That is compared to eight votes that MSU received in the most recent poll. So the college basketball analysts and experts seem to agree that they aren’t as good as their 11-1 record might suggest.

Key players to watch

Indiana State is No. 7 in the country in points per game, averaging 88 points per contest. They are led by three guys who can score early and often. Guard Isaiah Swope leads the way with 19 points per game and center Robbie Avila comes in with 16.5. Avila also leads the Sycamores in rebounding with 6.6 per game. The final scoring threat to keep an eye on is guard Ryan Conwell who averages 15.5 points per game.

The Sycamores are also an extremely dangerous team from 3-point range. As a team, they are averaging 41.4% from deep which is fifth-best in the country. This includes five guys who are all over 40 percent from 3-point range and one player averaging 61.9% from deep. That player is Julian Larry who also averages 11.3 points per game. Julian has only attempted 21 threes this season, so he may not be as much of a threat on the court as his shooting percentage might make you think.

This matchup has all the makings of a great game. On paper, Indiana State looks like an elite team. But are they really as good as they appear? Regardless, Michigan State will have to bring their A-game if they want to win this one, and what a good win it would be as we head into Big Ten play.