Indiana 70, Michigan State 55

Ouch...

Okay, I didn't expect MSU to win, but I didn't think they'd lose by 15.  I also didn't think Draymond Green would be about the only Spartan player to show up to play (and Green was outstanding, scoring 29 of MSU's 55 points and playing with passion the entire game).  The rest of the team really looked fairly lifeless.  Appling seems to lack confidence in his shot, and Payne seems to have turned into the invisible man since the Ohio State road win.  The only other player who looked halfway decent, besides DayDay, was Thornton.

Now, Indiana does deserve credit.  Zeller had an excellent game, Olidipo looked faster than a speeding bullet throughout the entire game (how may times did he zip through defenders to the basket?). Watford and Jones also made some big shots and the Hoosiers fed off the crowd, and those fans were jacked to the moon for this game.

Anytime it seemed MSU would make a run in the second half, Indiana would either answer with a huge basket, or MSU would have a few empty possessions in a row. I see, looking at the box score, that MSU shot 39 percent from the field, but it sure seemed worse than that.  The free throw disparity was not that great considering it was a road game.  Though IU shot considerably more free throws than MSU in the first half, by the end of the game it was only 22-17 in the Hoosiers favor.  IU made 19 of 22 from the charity stripe, while MSU only made 10 of their 17. MSU also was out rebounded 30-28 and had 13 turnovers to IU's 9.  All of that adds up to an "L".

I have now spent the better part of an hour verbally sparring with Michigan fans on Facebook, since Michigan fans always seem to crawl out of the woodwork any time MSU loses a game.  Talk about a huge waste of time and energy on my part.

Time for the Spartans to regroup and get ready for a better effort on Senior Day at Breslin Center.  In the meantime, I'll be rooting for Northwestern and Illinois--and try to remind myself that it's not the end of the world.

Coming up next, the Indiana Hoosiers

In a half-hour, the MSU basketball team will take on Indiana for a chance at an outright Big Ten championship.  How motivated will the Spartans be after already clinching a share of the title?  After hearing Izzo talk about not being satisfied, and with a senior leader like Draymond Green on the floor, I suspect motivation will not be a factor.  The biggest question might be, how well will Indiana play?  The Hoosiers demolished Minnesota on the road (though I wonder how flat the Gophers may have been after what must have been a demoralizing loss to MSU last week). Still, the Assembly Hall crowd should be revved up, and I expect IU to come out with tremendous energy.  The Spartans biggest challenge might be weathering the initial onslaught of energy that the Hoosiers may bring in the beginning of the game.  I have to give a slight edge to the Hoosiers tonight, but the Spartans should be highly motivated, so it will be a dogfight.

Although the Spartans definitely don't want to back into an outright championship, it still might happen (if IU beats them tonight).  Ohio State has been stumbling, and they have a road game coming up tomorrow night against a desperate Northwestern team that is fighting to get into its first ever NCAA tournament.  It's also senior night in Evanston, so expect even more electricity from the crowd and the Wildcats.  Michigan, the other Big Ten team in line for a share of the conference crown, finishes the season with two road games against Illinois and Penn State.  Though Illinois has had a disappointing season, they may still have one or two wins left in them.  Penn State is a tough out at home (just ask Purdue).

It should be an interesting week of Big Ten basketball.  I'll be tuning in to tonight's game and will try to write a follow-up in here after it's over, win or lose.

Can't believe I'm saying this, "Thank you, Badgers!"...

...though it's not as if the Spartans needed their help that much, because I believe they should win at least one of their remaining two games, and with Ohio State free falling the way they are, it's hard to imagine the Spartans losing on senior day at Breslin Center.

Tom Izzo has his seventh Big Ten title in 17 seasons as MSU's head coach.  Quite an amazing feat. As I wrote to a friend on Facebook, we have gone from the most underachieving, frustrating team of the Izzo era last year to the most overachieving, hardworking team of the Izzo era this season.  It's been an incredible turnaround and has to rank as one of Izzo's best coaching jobs.  However, Tom Izzo would probably agree that a coach's job is much easier when he has players who work well together and want to work hard, and when said coach also has a senior leader like Draymond Green.

Speaking of Day-Day, he has now officially joined the pantheon of great Spartan basketball players.  That Mt. Rushmore of the MSU hardwood includes such luminaries as Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Gregory Kelser, Scott Skiles, Steve Smith, and Mateen Cleaves.  It will only be a matter of time (three years maximum?) before Draymond Green has his number hanging in the rafters of the Breslin Center.

While I'm on the subject of the pantheon of Spartan hardwood greats, what more does Tom Izzo need to do to further cement himself as the greatest coach in Michigan State athletics history?  Is there even a debate that he's the greatest we have ever seen in East Lansing, regardless of sport?  I suppose an argument could be made that Biggie Munn is the best, but Biggie was only football coach for seven seasons.  And as good as Duffy Daugherty was as football coach, he doesn't have the hardware that Izzo has, and his career took a precipitous slide after high water mark of 1966.  As I see it, Izzo is the best coach in MSU history.