3 takeaways from Michigan State basketball's crushing loss at Indiana

1. This team is limping into the postseason

Michigan State just broke its three-game losing streak on Wednesday with an ugly win over Northwestern in East Lansing and the Spartans had a chance to really conjure some momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament, but let a seven-point second-half lead slip away in just 1:40 and lost a one-point road affair.

The lost wasn't "bad" by any means as Indiana has been playing much better lately, but it's one of those games that was in the bag but the Spartans let it slip away with lazy play late.

Michigan State had a chance to improve to 19-12 and maybe even move up a seed line with the win, but it stumbled after overcoming a 17-point first-half deficit to take a seven-point lead. Instead, the Spartans are 18-13, heading into the Big Ten Tournament having lost four of five games despite having all the momentum just a couple of weeks ago.

In fact, the Spartans were 17-9 facing a really winnable two-game home stretch and two wins likely would have seen them crawl back into the AP Top 25. Instead, they lost to Ohio State and Iowa at home before putting up a fight at Purdue and then beating Northwestern in the ugliest Senior Night in recent memory. Sunday's loss was the rotten cherry on top of the mud sundae.

This team needs to figure something out quickly because a quick trip home seems to be in the cards for the tournament.