Unlucky 13

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Whether or not the IU men’s basketball team believes in superstition, the number 13 proved to be unlucky for the Hoosiers on Saturday night. For the 13th straight time, the IU men’s basketball team lost at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. This time, however, the Hoosiers led the Spartans by 13 points shortly after halftime, only to surrender 46 second-half points to Michigan State en route to a 66-58 defeat Saturday night.\nMichigan State coach Tom Izzo said he was proud of his team’s “gutsy” performance, but he acknowledged the great effort of both squads.\n“I’ll tell you right now, that was not the prettiest game in America, but it was one of the guttier efforts by both teams,” he said after the game. “With (IU coach) Kelvin (Sampson) and I, it seems like whether he’s at Oklahoma or here, or if I go back to Northern Michigan and we play, it’s probably gonna be a brawl.”\nThe Hoosiers took advantage of 14 Spartan turnovers in the first half of the game to take the advantage into halftime. IU then expanded its lead to 13 within the first minute of the second half on three free throws from freshman guard Armon Bassett. But that’s when things began spiraling out of control for the Hoosiers.\nWith 15:03 remaining in the game, a Raymar Morgan dunk sparked a 14-0 run for the Spartans – one of two second-half runs by Michigan State – and gave them the lead for good.\nMichigan State guard Drew Neitzel exploded in the second half with 15 points after tallying just two in the first half. The junior poured in 3-of-6 3-pointers in 39 minutes of action, despite committing eight turnovers in the contest. Neitzel was one of three Spartans in double figures, along with Morgan – who led the squad with 18 – and guard Travis Walton, who tallied 13 points and dished out six assists.\nSampson said after the game that Neitzel provided the most impressive performance of the night and put the win in place for the Spartans.\n“I’ve never seen a kid that can go almost away from the basket and turn his body and get balanced and still put a great stroke on the ball like him,” Sampson said. “Those were hard shots. And I bet you every person from Michigan State thought they were going to go in. That’s a great tribute to that kid.”\nBassett led all scorers in the game with a career-high 25 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting. The freshman started at point guard in place of injured senior Earl Calloway, who sat out his third straight game with a shoulder injury. Sampson said after the game that he thought his senior guard would be ready to play against the Spartans.\n“I think we’re better with Earl at the point and Armon at the two,” he said. “But (Earl’s) gotta be comfortable. That’s a confidence issue. He’s gotta have confidence that he can play with that injury.”\nBassett and junior guard A.J. Ratliff combined for 21 of the Hoosiers’ 30 first-half points. While Bassett stayed hot throughout the game, Ratliff went scoreless in the second half.\nIU junior forward D.J. White remained silent for most of the night, tallying just nine points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field. The Hoosiers’ big man also committed five turnovers.\nWith the loss, the Hoosiers fell to 18-9 overall, 8-6 in the Big Ten and into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten. IU has two regular-season games remaining – including a road trip to Evanston, Ill., on Wednesday to face Northwestern – before beginning postseason play.\n“We gotta bounce back,” Sampson said. “We have a big week coming up.”