Bloomington, Ind. — With a little more than a minute left in Sunday's 73-51 blowout loss to Indiana, MSU was subjected to an "overrated" chant that rang down from the bleachers in Assembly Hall.
But it wasn't necessary. No one seems to have any delusions about where the Spartans fit in the Big Ten puzzle — least of all Tom Izzo.
He warned the Green and White faithful one week ago that conference victories would be hard to come by.
"Let's not make any mistakes: This team is not ready to get into Big Ten play," he cautioned after his club's final preconference warm-up.
Anyone who turned a deaf ear to Izzo's plight — and instead focused on the Spartans' 13-2 out-of-conference record — is certainly paying attention now.
For the second consecutive year, MSU started its conference season with two road games, far away from the friendly confines of Breslin Center.
For the second consecutive season, the Spartans failed to come away with a win in either game.
And for the second consecutive season, the Green and White will face an uphill climb if they want to make any noise in the Big Ten. Sunday's loss, coupled with Thursday's 62-60 defeat at Iowa, puts MSU well behind the eight-ball.
Many perceived this to be a "fun" year for Izzo. But the 2006-07 campaign hasn't been a walk in the park .
The Spartans were thin from the get-go, and injuries to Raymar Morgan and Maurice Joseph made matters even worse.
"Everybody thinks I've enjoyed this team," Izzo said. "I haven't enjoyed them at all. It's not their fault, it's just — we don't practice. We just can't practice. Just not enough players, just not enough players to compete against."
"It's been a miserable two months of practice. It's just been miserable."
Morgan and Joseph may be back, but Izzo clearly has some work ahead of him. Which holes are in need of repair? How much time do you have? The Spartans' list of current woes is nearly as long as U-M's NCAA Tournament drought.
Protecting the basketball would be a good start. Poor interior defense and ice-cold shooting will come and go. But MSU won't win another game for the rest of the season if they hand out free possessions like they did on Sunday. Between giving up 12 offensive rebounds and turning the ball over 20 times, the Green and White essentially gave the Hoosiers 32 extra possessions. The result?
"We made some bone-headed turnovers," junior guard Drew Neitzel said. "Some of them were forced, but some of them weren't forced."
He can say that again.
Marquise Gray fired a pass out of a double-team to Isaiah Dahlman, but the ball ricocheted off the freshman wing's hands and out of bounds. Travis Walton was bodied up by a defender at the top of the key and lowered his shoulder to create separation, earning an offensive foul. Idong Ibok came down with a defensive rebound, but took an extra hop when he landed, and was whistled for traveling.
Playing three of the next four games in East Lansing is just what the doctor ordered. Of those four upcoming opponents, only Illinois should pose a serious threat. The other three — Northwestern, Penn State, and Minnesota — are likely to finish in the bottom third of the Big Ten standings. And even the Fighting Illini have fallen on hard times, losing their first two conference contests.
MSU may be 0-2 today, but 4-2 could be right around the corner.
Ethan Conley is a State News men's basketball reporter. He can be reached at conleyet@msu.edu.
