Michigan State Basketball: Report card for tough loss at Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Aaron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Aaron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball lost a tough come-from-behind game at Indiana on Thursday night. The Spartans didn’t play well, but how’d they grade out?

Losing a third straight game to Indiana in disappointing fashion hurts, but Tom Izzo’s team showed some real growth on the road. No, the Spartans didn’t play well, but they didn’t fold when down by 15 in the first half.

Indiana extended its lead to 15 before the Spartans cut it to four before heading into the locker rooms down seven. Then in the second half, Michigan State was the better team, taking a three-point lead with under 10 minutes left before crumbling down the stretch. Cassius Winston caught fire a little too late and a missed Xavier Tillman put-back with a couple of seconds left was the difference between overtime and a loss in regulation.

Michigan State may still be the best team in the Big Ten but it needs to win games like this if it wants to stay ahead in the conference title race.

The Hoosiers didn’t quite have the same level of talent as the Spartans, but they dominated in the post with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Joey Brunk and that was all they needed to pull off the upset in Bloomington.

How did the Spartans grade out on Thursday evening against the Hoosiers?