Hoosiers look to end losing streak against No. 11 Spartans

Most of the teams in the Big Ten have had a losing streak this season, but none have had it as bad as IU.

As the Hoosiers enter tonight’s contest against the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans — No. 1 in the conference — they will be looking to end a six-game losing streak.

But the Hoosiers have one reason to have a glimmer of hope: they’ve picked an opponent that has also been suffering lately.

The Spartans come to Bloomington having lost three of their last five, two of which came on the road to No. 14 Wisconsin and Illinois.

IU coach Tom Crean said while most of the Hoosiers’ conference rivals have gone through rough patches this season, their veterans and past experience has helped them buck the poor play, something the six-freshmen deep Hoosiers don’t have.

“I don’t have a lot of options right now when things are not as smooth,” Crean said.

In his pregame press conference on Monday, Crean mentioned three areas where the Hoosiers need to improve: defensive energy, rebounding and offensive unselfishness.

They can see a good example of all those things from Michigan State. The Spartans are No. 4 in scoring margin and No. 1 in rebounding and in assists in the Big Ten.

While the Spartans had a three-game losing streak ­— ended with a 65-54 win against Penn State on Saturday — those were also the team’s first conference losses all season.
They can look at their record if they need a confidence booster, but IU doesn’t have that luxury. Instead, Crean said the team needs to regain a winners mentality.

“We’ve got to get the believability that you can play and win,” he said.

While their losses against Illinois and No. 4 Purdue were only by two and three, respectively, they lost the next three by a combined 62 points.

The lack of winning doesn’t just hurt their record, but also team morale.

Since his team has been struggling, freshman guard Jordan Hulls said he just tells himself that all the losses and hours of practice will eventually lead to a win.

Still, Crean said the losses are taking a definitive toll on his team.

“I think it’s hard to be close when you haven’t had a lot of success,” Crean said.