Hoosier Fans: Take Your Hand off the Panic Button, the MSU Loss Wasn't That Bad

Raise your hand if you were convinced that Indiana would win against Michigan State in East Lansing last night.

If your hand is in the air: Really?

If your hand is by your side: Why are you angry with the outcome?

There are plenty of Indiana fans and media outlets that were waiting for last night’s result to legitimize their claim that this is the same old IU team that can’t win in the Big Ten, that the Kentucky win was a fluke. I’m not saying they aren’t entitled to their opinion; I’m just saying they’re wrong.

Indiana went into a very difficult environment last night and was beat by a good Michigan State team that played an even better game. There were plenty of negatives and some positives as well, but nothing substantial enough to alter expectations for this team in either direction. Here is what I took away…

The Bad

• Indiana went through two 10-minute stretches (15:00-5:00 in the first half; last 10 minutes of the second half) that were flat-out bad. The offense was stagnant, the defense didn't communicate and they did a poor job of boxing out.

• The Hoosiers back-court, most notably Jordan Hulls, wasn't ready for the ball pressure from Michigan State. This caused big problems with entry passes into the post and initiating the offensive sets in general. On top of that, they weren't active enough setting ball screens to overcome the lack of dribble penetration.

• Jordan Hulls had his worst game in an Indiana uniform. All of his flaws were exposed, and he didn't shoot well enough to make up for it. He was completely over-matched by Keith Appling from a quickness and athletic standpoint. Appling torched Hulls all night on offense, finishing the game with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds. The story wasn't much different on the other end of the floor. Appling's smothering defense didn't give Jordan an inch of breathing room, forcing poor turnovers and not allowing Hulls to initiate the offense. On top of that, Jordy was 2-of-8 from the field and 0-of-4 on three-pointers, many of which were on good looks.

• Expanding on the Hulls theme, the Hoosiers desperately need a pure point guard in order to truly operate Tom Crean's offensive system. Indiana won't be able to consistently win against strong defensive teams until they get a point guard quick enough to break down opponents of the dribble to create opportunities on offense (hint hint: Yogi Ferrell). FYI, I'm not saying this team can't win with Hulls, he does some very good things on the court; he's just better suited to play off the ball.

• Cody Zeller had his welcome to the Big Ten game. He looked like a freshman for the first time all year. Zeller was shoved around in the paint all night on both ends. He was in poor position to box out on the defensive end, and he wasn't holding his seals nearly long enough on offense to allow time for his teammates to get him the ball in the post. The good news is there aren't many teams in the Big Ten that have physical enough 4's and 5's to make this a common occurrence. The bad news is that one of the teams that does is Indiana's next opponent, and Zeller will once again have his hands full with Jared Sullinger. Don't expect to see many more "deer in the headlights" games from Cody.

• Derek Elston was completely out of place on the floor last night. He made bad decisions on offense and was consistently out of position on defense. Hopefully most of that was rust, because Indiana needs him to be a lot better than that.

• Lastly, Indiana's lack of depth was exposed last night, especially with Will Sheehey out of the lineup. The fact is that the Hoosiers aren't anywhere near deep enough to overcome off-nights from multiple players (re:Hulls/Zeller/Elston), and last night was a prime example.

The Good

• Indiana came back from an 18-point deficit in one of the toughest environments in college basketball in their first Big Ten road game this season. If you still weren't convinced that this is a different team this year, the 25-2 run they went on should have sealed the deal. Every single person who watched this game had to believe that it was going to result in a blowout when the Spartans went up 34-16. The Hoosiers not only came back, but they were able to take a nine-point lead and put themselves in a legitimate position to win this game with less than 10 minutes left. They simply ran out of gas, but the final score of 80-65 is not indicative of how close this game was.

• Christian Watford was officially in beast mode again. His 26 points and 10 rebounds were much of the reason Indiana stood a chance in this game. Even more impressive was the way he got those numbers. Between this game and his performance against Kentucky, it's fair to say that I have seriously misjudged his athleticism and aggressiveness. He was scoring inside and outside last night, moving incredibly well with and without the ball. And he did it all against Draymond Green, who is one of the Big Ten's premier players. Watford was also able to keep Green in check on offense, holding him to only 11 points and four assists, which are well below his season averages.

• Victor Oladipo continues to be Indiana's most improved player; he is going to be pretty special by the time he leaves Bloomington. As good as Christian Watford was, Oladipo was the catalyst behind IU's 25-2 run. His ability to completely disrupt Michigan State's offense and cause turnovers were the main reason for many of the Hoosiers' points on the other end. Unfortunately, Crean had to give him a breather when he ran out of gas. With Sheehey also unavailable, that allowed Michigan State to get back in the game and eventually win it.

A key reminder for everyone is that IU has not won at Michigan State since 1991. Think about all of the great Indiana teams there were in that time span, and not one of them was able to come away with a win in East Lansing.

Indiana had an off night. They lost one game; there is no need to panic. And you know what? They will most likely lose another game on Saturday night against arguably the best team in the country, Ohio State, whose only loss came without Jared Sullinger in the lineup. And you still shouldn't panic then. Indiana is a good (not great) basketball team, and nothing that happened in the last 24 hours changes that.

This article originally appeared on Hoosier Cafe