Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from ugly win over Indiana

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans handles the ball during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second half at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 31: Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a play during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second half at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

2. Miles Bridges needs to rise to the occasion in games like this

No, I’m not attempting my best Dan Dakich impression here, but Miles Bridges does need to rise to the occasion in tight games on the road. Michigan State needed big shots from Bridges down the stretch or just an impactful performance, but he got lost in the thick of things.

Too often he was disappearing outside the 3-point line like he was criticized for doing earlier in the season. He had been much better over the past five games, averaging about 22 points per game and looking like the player we expected after last year, but he regressed on Saturday night.

Whether it was fatigue after playing a heavy workload or just the fact that he wanted to get his teammates involved, he looked out of sorts.

In a hostile environment with Indiana surging back from down by double-digits, Bridges should have risen to the occasion and made some big plays. He looked sloppy all game long down to the final buzzer — his foul on a made lay-up, resulting in an and-one, with just three seconds left was a major mental lapse.

Bridges will get a chance to buck a potentially dangerous trend in Iowa on Tuesday night.

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