This scar will heal

It was inevitable.

A loss.

Those will happen when IU is playing without a sophomore who averaged 10.7 points a game like Will Sheehey. It will happen when the opposition is 38-5 at home in the past three seasons, dating back to the 2009-2010 campaign.

But that ugly “L,” which blemishes the face of an undefeated record like a pimple on prom night, also brings with it telling signs of weakness.

In addition to injury and road environment, IU also lost at Michigan State on Wednesday night, 80-65, for reasons not beyond their control.

Defeats will happen when starting point guard Jordan Hulls shoots 2-of-10 from the field with three turnovers. It will also happen when the Hoosiers’ leading scorer, freshman forward Cody Zeller, is held to 11 points below his season average coming into the game, both because of difficulty in the post and a failure to feed it to him. It happens when IU coach Tom Crean’s squad allows a 20-0 run in the second half after going on a 23-2 streak of its own, en route to allowing the Spartans to shoot 54.7 percent from the field.

The one-dimensional IU offense was reminiscent of last season, as junior forward Christian Watford was the only threat, scoring 26 points, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point arc and pulling down 10 rebounds. The next-highest Hoosier scorer was senior guard Verdell Jones III, who chipped in 15 fewer points than Watford.

IU’s offense is at its best when everyone gets involved and several players stand as scoring threats. Obviously that’s tough without Sheehey, but somebody — Oladipo, Elston, Roth — needed to step up.

It was clear early that Hulls was not going to have one of his nights of better shooting.  He dished out five assists, but his horrendous shooting made him more of a hazard than a help.

Senior guard Daniel Moore did not record even a full minute of playing time. What harm could it have done to mix it up a bit when Hulls’ shot was asking to be taken to the backyard and put to pasture?

But never fear, the sky is not falling in Bloomington.

There are still 18 more games to play in this regular season.

If I were an IU fan, I’d rather see the Hoosiers drop games like this, in which they weren’t even favored and learn from their mistakes early in the season. Sure, a win is a win and a loss is a loss, but which of the latter would be favorable in March?

A loss to the likes of Michigan State away and No. 2 Ohio State are going to sting a lot less come tournament time than upset defeats to the Big Ten’s bottom-feeders.

You feel that, Hoosier Nation? Yes, that familiar sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. It’s the realization there are still very, very good teams in the Big Ten.

IU is likely among that group, but for now, take an aspirin and try to feel better in the morning. The hangover from this loss shouldn’t take too long.