Hoosiers dine in Spartan hell

EAST LANSING, Mich. – At the end of IU’s 103-74 loss to Michigan State, Spartan guard Drew Neitzel kissed the “S” in the middle of the court – a tradition for graduating seniors at the Breslin Center on Senior Day. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers likely kissed their Big Ten title hopes goodbye. \nThe IU men’s basketball team’s 29-point loss on Sunday put the Hoosiers’ chances of capturing their first Big Ten championship since 2002 in grave condition. \nThe 103-74 thumping bumped IU out of a three-way tie with Wisconsin and Purdue for first place in the conference. Now, the Hoosiers are left looking up in the Big Ten standings and time is running out. \n“It’s going to be tough for us to win it now,” freshman guard Eric Gordon said after the loss.\nWith just two regular-season games remaining, IU no longer controls its own destiny. \n“We’re going to need a little help,” IU interim coach Dan Dakich said. “For the first time in a long time we’re going to need a little help. So hopefully we get it.”\nThe Hoosiers had no response for the Spartan’s hot shooting. Michigan State shot 75 percent from behind the 3-point line in the first half and 54.2 percent in the game. \nIt was IU’s most lopsided loss since Wisconsin drubbed the Hoosiers 79-45 on Jan. 6, 2004.\nCapturing the Big Ten title is all IU players have talked about since former coach Kelvin Sampson resigned on Feb. 22. \n“I know that these kids have been through a lot,” Dakich said. “It’s been 10 days. That’s no excuse.”\nThe Hoosiers have a slight cushion between them and the fourth-place Spartans (23-6, 11-5), but they might have a hard time improving their position.\nWith just two games remaining for each of the two teams atop the Big Ten, neither plays against a team with a plus-.500 record in the conference. \nThe No. 10 Badgers (24-4, 14-2) play Penn State (14-14, 6-10) in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday before traveling to Northwestern (8-19, 1-15) next Sunday. No. 16 Purdue (23-6, 14-2) hits the road this week, playing at Ohio State (17-12, 8-8) on Tuesday and Michigan (9-20, 5-12) on Sunday. \n“Now it’s in the hands of two other teams, basically,” senior forward D.J. White said. “There’s nothing we can do about that. All we can do is win our two games and see what happens.”\nThe Hoosiers host Minnesota (18-10, 8-8) on Wednesday before they travel to Penn State next Sunday.\nGordon thinks a Big Ten title will be hard for this team to find. \n“Hopefully we still get a chance to reach that, but with only two games left, I mean it’s still hard to think,” Gordon said.\nThe loss likely won’t change IU’s Big Ten tournament seeding. Had they finished in a three-way tie with Purdue and Wisconsin, the Hoosiers would have been seeded third in the Big Ten tourney because of their combined record against the Boilermakers and the Badgers. If Purdue were to lose and finish the season tied with IU, the Hoosiers would earn the No. 2 seed in the tourney because IU beat Purdue 77-68 in the rivals’ only matchup of the year. Wisconsin beat IU in Madison and Bloomington this season. The Hoosiers finished third in the Big Ten last season.