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Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from heartbreaking loss at Indiana

By Connor Muldowney

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to his team against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to his team against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 12: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans loses the handle on the ball as Eric Hunter Jr. #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers defends during the first half at Mackey Arena on January 12, 2020 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 12: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans loses the handle on the ball as Eric Hunter Jr. #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers defends during the first half at Mackey Arena on January 12, 2020 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. The road atmosphere got to MSU again

Once again, Michigan State got off to a slow start and that ended up deciding the game because if it weren’t for that 15-point first-half deficit, do the Spartans lose this one? Probably not, but the Spartans have a tendency to spot teams 10-15 points on the road and that’s never going to be good when it comes to trying to pull off comebacks.

The Hoosiers didn’t play very well in the second half and still won the game by four, which has to be a massive disappointment for Michigan State because they’ve lost to two teams in conference play that it shouldn’t have had a problem with.

Michigan State let the home atmosphere get to them early as well as late, struggling with a 3-point lead and the crowd getting back into it.

Even in critical situations, the Spartans floundered and that was evident because of the missed layups and a couple of missed free throws by Cassius.

The biggest miss of the game was Xavier Tillman’s botched put-back in the final seconds which would have tied the game.

Next. Michigan State's all-2010s starting five. dark

This team needs to remain level-headed and block out the road crowd because good teams must win these games.

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