At the end of January, Michigan State looked like a very good basketball team. The Spartans were 19-2, had a big win over Texas on their resume, and seemed like a group of players who were going to be an awfully tough out in March.And now it's March, and the Spartans don't look like a good team anymore. They went 3-4 in February, with home wins against Northwestern, Penn State and Iowa -- arguably the three worst teams in the Big Ten -- and losses at Penn State, Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin.
And that means that, to the extent that there are must-win games in the early days of March, today's game against Indiana is a must-win. The Hoosiers have actually responded very well to the Kelvin Sampson mess and are riding a five-game winning streak. An Indiana win today would make it crystal clear that there are three solid teams in the Big Ten, and the Spartans aren't one of the three.
The Spartans are still 16th in RPI, so it's not like they're in any danger of missing the Tournament. But if this team has aspirations of more than just getting to March Madness, it's time for Michigan State to start playing like it.
