3 Instant Takeaways from Indiana Basketball's 77-64 Loss to Michigan State

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The groans grew louder, the frustration rose higher and the anticipation for what loomed grew stronger within Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Kur Teng, once again, was on the doorstep of making Indiana basketball's fears come true.

The Hoosiers, after trailing by as much as 13 points, were suddenly down just 6 points with 13 minutes remaining in the second half. Indiana was a defensive stop and a basket away from seizing momentum and pulling within one possession before a lively white out-themed crowd.

Indiana forced one miss but couldn't grab the rebound. Indiana forced another miss but again failed to secure the board. Finally, Teng, who'd made a few momentum-quenching shots already, buried another. The Hoosiers drew back within 5 points just over one minute later, then Teng, again, hit a 3-pointer in transition.

Indiana never came within two possessions again.

The Hoosiers (17-12, 8-10 Big Ten) suffered a 77-64 loss to No. 13 Michigan State (24-5, 14-4 Big Ten) on Sunday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

Here are three takeaways from Indiana's fourth consecutive defeat.

Michigan State makes timely shots, thrives offensively

Michigan State entered halftime shooting 58.3% from the field while going 7 for 13 from 3-point range. The Spartans averaged 1.5 points per possession and scored on 19 of their 30 first-half possessions.

Indiana's defense marginally improved in the second half, but the Spartans remained proficient at hitting key shots. They finished 49% from the field and were 12-for-24 shooting from 3-point range.

Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jaxon Kohler tallied 21 points apiece while Teng had 18 points.

IU's struggles against ranked teams continue

Indiana may have met its ceiling.

The Hoosiers are now 1-8 against teams currently ranked in the top 25 and 1-7 in Big Ten play. Subsequently, they've had trouble against Quadrant 1 teams.

After losing to Michigan State, Indiana is 2-11 against teams in college basketball's top quadrant, and its wins came in back-to-back games — vs. Purdue on Jan. 27 and at UCLA on Jan. 31. There's a gap, be it talent, skill or execution, between the Hoosiers and the nation's best. It's coach Darian DeVries' job moving forward to eliminate the margin.

NCAA Tournament hopes take another damaging hit

Indiana appeared headed toward its first March Madness appearance in three years after a win over Oregon on Feb. 9 gave the Hoosiers five victories in a six-game stretch. They haven't won a game since.

Losses on the road to Illinois on Feb. 15 and Purdue on Feb. 20 were missed opportunities for resume-boosting wins, but Indiana was underdogs in both. Blowing a double-digit lead to Northwestern on Feb. 24 served as a punishing hit, but the Hoosiers had a chance to, in a sense, cancel it out with a win over Michigan State.

Instead, Indiana suffered another double figures defeat. The Hoosiers entered Sunday ranked No. 38 in the NET, a number that won't fall too much given Michigan State's strong metrics.

But Indiana will most likely be on the outside looking in of most tournament projections. The Hoosiers were once in strong standing. Now, they're free-falling.