Kur Tengs career-high night and timely shot making helps MSU in win against Indiana

Offense and efficiency from beyond the arc was the name of the game for Michigan State during its 77-64 road win against the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday afternoon.

Picking up two early fouls in the first half, freshman wing Jordan Scott had to sit on the bench for the majority of the first half, which left a void on the defensive end and spacing the floor on the offensive end. However, it was sophomore guard Kur Teng who picked up those minutes from Scott and did not let them go to waste.

Teng finished with a career-high 18 points on six made 3-pointers (with eight attempts). Although, Teng had a superb performance offensively, he was not the highest scoring Spartan, as senior forward Jaxon Kohler and redshirt sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. each scored 21 points. But the impact Teng made was evident, and he was a crucial reason why the Spartans defeated the Hoosiers on the road.  

The game was not all positive for Teng early in the first half, as he missed a couple missed assignments on defense and gave up easy points to Indiana. MSU head coach Tom Izzo made sure Teng got an earful for his defensive lapses, but he allowed his sophomore the opportunity to make up for it. 

“Kur came off the bench and really sparked us after making more than a few mistakes,” Izzo said about Teng. “What I really enjoyed is he got challenged and he responded. When a guy responds to that and he hits three threes in a row, you know what he wanted to say to me, and I would have taken it.” 

Teng took Izzo's constructive criticism in stride and worked to improve throughout the course of the game.

“He kind of ripped me a little bit,” Teng said about being in the huddle with Izzo. “I kind of messed up some assignments, but that’s what he does and I just wanted to make sure I bounce back.”