Photo courtesy of IU Media Relations:

t was bound to come at some point, and few should be surprised that point came Wednesday night at the Breslin Center.

This Indiana team, despite being much improved, was going to lose a game at some point and it made a good deal of cosmic sense that their first loss would come in East Lansing where the Hoosiers haven’t won since the early ‘90s.

After a 12-game winning streak to start the year, IU finally suffered a setback to Michigan State by an 80-65 margin.

Gauging fan reaction throughout the game was fascinating, as Hoosier sentiments swung all over the map. They started optimistic at Indiana’s chances at a win; grew frustrated then disgusted with the Hoosiers’ inability to get anything going against the Spartan defense; transitioned to optimism as IU went on a run of their own to take a nine-point second half lead and finally fell back to frustration and acceptance as Michigan State went on a 20-point run of their own to seize control of the game.

The contest seemed, in reality, to be three games in one – The Spartans controlled the first as they played with a higher energy level than any of Indiana’s opponents this season.

Michigan State hit open shots, ran the break and crashed the boards and the Hoosiers were unable to respond with an adequate level of energy. Indiana didn’t show any indication that it would have something to ‘hang its hat on’ during that span and as the Spartans took an 18-point lead with 5:11 remaining in the first half, it appeared that the rout was on.

That is, until Matt Roth and Christian Watford combined for three consecutive three-pointers that cut MSU’s lead to single digits. Their shots woke up an IU offense that had struggled without Will Sheehey (who missed Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury) and sparked the momentum shift in Indiana’s favor, keying a 13-2 run going into the half.

The second segment of the game continued for the first nine minutes of the second half as the Hoosiers took the lead and expanded it to nine points with 11:07 remaining in the game.

At that point, the momentum shifted for the final time. Michigan State took the game by the throat as they ripped off a 20-0 run over a six-minute span to take an 11-point lead.

Indiana would not threaten again. When asked about the game swinging so far in both directions, the Spartans’ coach, Tom Izzo was able to understand the Indiana perspective.

“Knowing Tom, neither of us are very pleased (about the runs),” said Izzo. “You just can’t do that… They were down and out, and came out like gangbusters but then we did the same thing. Those were two damn good teams tonight… Indiana’s come a long way and that doesn’t surprise me one iota.”

Izzo’s compliments of this Hoosier team were spot-on. Despite off-nights for both Cody Zeller and Jordan Hulls (the two combined for eight points, and Hulls shot 0-4 from beyond the arc), Indiana managed to engineer a 27-point swing after trailing by nearly 20 points.

Anyone who watched last year’s team knows that they weren’t capable of such a feat in such a hostile road environment, and that this bunch managed to pull it off speaks to how far they’ve come since last season. When asked about the Hoosiers’ performance though, Tom Crean didn’t seem interested in searching for moral victories, particularly with regard to Michigan State’s 20-0 second half run.

“We haven’t been on the bottom end of a run like that,” Crean admitted after the game. “We learned some tough lessons inside a very tough atmosphere against a very good team. Now we’ve just got to go back home and make corrections.”

“You can prepare all you want,” he continued. “But when bullets are flying, you need to be ready at drop of the hat and that’s where the communication needs to come in. Defense needs to be a constant with us.”

Though Izzo’s positive points were accurate, Crean’s criticisms of his squad are just as valid. Indiana’s intensity during the middle of the game was underlined by a less sharp focus both early and late, which allowed MSU to make their runs and ultimately win the game. Crean made sure to mention after the game that this is still a young team with things to learn and improve. The Hoosiers looked tentative early – which put them in that deficit to begin with – and fell into being tentative again late – which caused the offense to stagnate and gave the Spartans the chance to put IU away.

Of particular note was Cody Zeller’s ineffectual play. Zeller had an off-game due largely to the physicality of Adreian Payne, Derrick Nix and Draymond Green. Thanks to the defensive efforts of the Michigan State big men, he finished with a career low 4 points and as he struggled, so did the Indiana offense.

As Crean noted after the game, Zeller will need to prepare for the physicality of B1G play and adjust accordingly.

In evaluating this game though, it’s important not to be too hard on the Hoosiers. Depending on which poll one consulted, the Spartans are ranked either 16^th or 17^th in the country. Their only two losses are to North Carolina and Duke and they play their home games in one of the most hostile environments in college basketball. Kelvin Sampson never won there. Neither did Mike Davis. Hell, Bob Knight’s last win in East Lansing came with Calbert Cheaney on his roster.

There are certainly adjustments to be made and plenty of room for improvement, but this loss came on the road against a top-20 team, without one of Indiana’s best players and was closer than the final score would indicate.

A wise man once said, “You can’t win them all.” If there was a time, place and situation where a loss was acceptable, this was probably it. As long as the Hoosiers don’t make a habit of it, this loss shouldn’t prove too worrisome.

There is plenty of season still to be played though and, as tough as the B1G is, there’s the risk of Indiana falling into the rut that plagued the last three seasons.

Which path will this season take? New Year’s Eve at Assembly Hall against Ohio State could give the next answer.