Michigan State Basketball: Indiana was a bad loss, but don’t give up hope

Michigan State basketball to Indiana was awful, to say the least. Three losses in Big Ten play have been to teams it should have beaten, but don’t overreact.

This loss is embarrassing. There’s no way around it. A game they had, up big in the second half, Cassius Winston playing like the All-American he is. Yet Indiana came back to win. There are no excuses. There’s no way to explain it.

With Purdue’s thumping of Ohio State, it looks like any chance at a Big Ten regular season title will have to come with two home wins (possibly with Kyle Ahrens out as well), and hoping for Purdue to drop one of their two final games.

As a fan, negativity will creep into your mind. How could this team lose to Indiana twice? How could it blow this opportunity? Winston played a good game, how is it possible we gave up that lead? But use me as a voice of reason, the season is not over — far from it. The regular season title hopes, or at least the outright hopes, are pretty much gone. But that doesn’t mean the season can’t be successful.

A lot has been accomplished so far this year. With three starters, and one of our top backups consistently dealing with injuries all year, two starters out for the rest of the regular season, Michigan State has still managed to compete for the Big Ten Title and looked good doing it.

It went into Ann Arbor and beat Michigan. The Spartans are on the top for most Quadrant 1 wins in the NCAA and they have played well the majority of the season, even when we doubted them. This isn’t college football where one loss can derail a season. There is still hope.

Obviously, Michigan State has to win out these two games to even have a chance to win a regular season title. But not only that, to keep them in line for a No. 2 seed. All of that is possible, they’ve shown us they can do it. If they do that, and make a little run in the Big Ten Tournament, keeping their No. 2 seed, I think they can still make it far in the tournament.

Like I said in my article about Nick Ward, as long as Winston stays healthy (and Kenny Goins and Matt McQuaid can play) this team can go far if they get some luck, and good matchups in the bracket. It would be nice if Aaron Henry could quit his rollercoaster season and start giving some steady play as well. But do not give up on this team yet, even with the most frustrating losses they’ve had this year.

With the three frustrating losses (Indiana twice and Illinois) they have shown positives. Today, I would argue they played well in most of the first half and in the second half early on. They just blew it. Against Illinois, when they looked awful the majority of the game, they fought back.

They also have beaten some good teams. And have blown out some ranked ones. One bad loss on a bad second half against Indiana, in Bloomington, doesn’t mean the world will end.

Spartan Nation will have to show out against Nebraska and Michigan. Bring the best atmosphere in the Big Ten. The Alumni Izzone should be rocking for Nebraska and those members who come back for Michigan better make it their best game of the year.

If Michigan State can get the momentum swinging its way again after this dismal loss, there is still a lot to hope for. This game was a letdown, no doubt, but I believe that this team has shown enough to receive the benefit of the doubt. That this team will make a run come March. I may be wrong. But I would bet on it.

If Winston stays healthy, and Goins and McQuaid play well, this team has a chance to do some damage, as it has been stated for a while now. Just let today be a reminder that no team is safe in college basketball. And that we should be grateful to have won eight Big Ten Titles, and have gone to seven Final Fours under Tom Izzo.

On a disappointing day for Michigan State sports fans, here’s hoping for a strong finish to the season, and some momentum going into the postseason. It’s time we get back to the Sweet 16, at the very least.