EAST LANSING, Mich. — It was there for the taking — again. Indiana, desperate for a win that matters, had No. 12 Michigan State on the ropes at the Breslin Center, tied midway through the second half.
But then the floodgates opened, and the Spartans scored 19 unanswered points to roll to an 81-60 Big Ten victory on Tuesday night. It was the second straight loss for the Hoosiers, who are now 12-5 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten.
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It was also the second time in four days that Indiana completely melted down late in the game. They blew a 16-point in a loss to No. 10-ranked Nebraska on Saturday in Bloomington. The Hoosiers had 14 turnovers, shot just 43 percent from the field and got outrebounded 37-19.
Recurring issues, to be sure.
“I thought we would (learn from Nebraska),” Indiana coach Darian DeVries told reporters after the game. “I mean, the guys get it. They understand it. They know how important that is in both the areas of defensive rebounding, and their turnovers.
“We said it from day one. Those are the two biggest factors, in my opinion, in winning and losing basketball games. Tonight, we got beat in both.”
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The Hoosiers got off to a 17-10 lead, but then they had a hard time controlling Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. Fears, who is No. 2 in the country in assists, was all about attacking the rim instead. He had 19 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting, and he was 6-of-8 from the free throw line as well as Michigan State went on a 26-10 run. He finished with 23.
Michigan State led 39-32 at the break, but Indiana battled back to tie the game at 53-all with 11:19 left. But then everything fell apart. The Spartans scored 19 straight points and the Hoosiers couldn’t respond. Just seven points in more than 11 minutes won’t cut it.
The 60 points were their lowest total of the season, tied with the 60 they scored in a loss at Kentucky in December. Indiana also lost a second-half lead in that game.
“Those decision-making turnovers, we’ve got to do a better job, especially when you’re in that portion of the game,” DeVries said. “It’s like, you’ve gotten yourself into a tie game, there’s 11 minutes to go.
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“Being able to play off of two feet, make those sound decisions, still run good offense and still be aggressive, but prioritize the basketball more. And like I said, that’s disappointing for this veteran of a group as we have to be turning the ball over in these types of situations.”
Wilkerson led the Hoosiers with 19 points. No one else was in double figures.
“We’ve got to be better on the floor together,” Wilkerson said. “Just us moving the ball, and when things go wrong, we need to lean on each other and find a way to put out the fire.”
In four of their five losses — Minnesota, Kentucky, Nebraska and now Michigan State — the Hoosiers have been blown out with a second-half run. The Louisville loss was they only one where they fell behind early.
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Losing the late leads is a disturbing trend. They need to fix that, and quickly. They are in the midst of a stretch of four games against ranked teams, and need to find a way to get some Quad 1 wins to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee. They don’t have any so far.
Michigan State is now 15-2 on the season and 5-1 in the Big Ten. They are a tick behind Nebraska and Purdue, the last two remaining unbeatens in the league.
Indiana is back in action on Saturday, when it takes on Iowa at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Game time is 2 p.m. ET. Here is their complete schedule, with results in real time
