Youth or experience? It was the key question posed going into Tuesday night’s showdown between Michigan State and Kentucky, and the Spartans’ experience won out after holding on for a 78-74 win over Kentucky. The Spartans will presumably be the new #1 in the polls next week, but before that, here are a few takeaways from the huge Michigan State win:

Gary Harris knows his Spartans are the new number one.

• Michigan State will only go as far as its point guard play this season, and boy, did Keith Appling silence the critics with an incredible stat line of 22 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, four steals, and only three turnovers. Appling has been known to have turnover issues and a showing like last night will go a long way to raising the senior ‘s confidence with the ball and running the team effectively. Appling’s backcourt mate Gary Harris also contributed a huge 15-point first half performance. Along with the combined 42 points from the two Michigan State guards, both were active in intercepting the passing lanes of Kentucky and causing a total of 17 turnovers. After Kentucky had tied the game with 4:48 left, Appling hit a huge three from the corner and then Harris stole the ball and finished with a layup to put MSU up for good. Guard play in March wins championships, and if Appling and Harris can continue to make major plays like those, Tom Izzo’s squad has as good a chance as any team to make it to Dallas for the Final Four.

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They’ve been beaten down on the road by an average of 12 points per game.  They lost inexplicably to Nebraska, who stands at 4-12 in conference play.  Twice they haven’t even reached 60 points. Sounds like the perfect team to beat the #1, #2, and #5 teams in the country, right?

It's been fun for Indiana at home this season, but tough living on the road for the Hoosiers and the rest of the Big Ten (Andy Lyons/Getty)

Indiana is the perfect Jekyll-and-Hyde illustration of life at home versus the road in the Big Ten.  The Hoosiers soar at Assembly Hall, where they’ve been able to knock off the likes of Kentucky, Ohio State, and most recently Michigan State.  They came into conference play on fire, 12-0 and looking to make a statement in head coach Tom Crean’s fourth year in charge of the program.  They are the first IU team in history to knock of the then-#1 and #2 ranked teams in the same season.  They’ve also lost to two league opponents with a combined conference record of 11-21.

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