Not even close

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Another Big Ten season has eroded into failure and disappointment for the Michigan State Spartans.

While everyone continues to wonder when Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson will be done in Bloomington, they can stop wondering about MSU in East Lansing. The Spartans were essentially booted from the league race late Saturday with an 80-61 loss to the Hoosiers.

No. 10 MSU (20-5 overall, 8-4 Big Ten) came into the season favored to win the league, for the fourth time since its last title in 2001. For the fourth time - barring a series of unlikely events - the Spartans will finish with no hardware.

"It's tough. You work your whole career, your whole life for opportunities," MSU senior guard Drew Neitzel said quietly, after his 21-point night was wasted in the defeat. "They pass you up, they pass you by. It's not from lack of effort, from some guys. It's just tough, but we're not gonna quit."

One word best sums up the latest stymied quest: Turnovers. The Spartans simply can't keep from committing them in droves. MSU had 12 in the first half and 19 in the game, allowing an early 15-4 lead to squirt from its grasp.

MSU has been trying to fix its issue with giveaways all season, to no avail, which helps explain why coach Tom Izzo began his postgame news conference as such: "I'm disgusted, I'm embarrassed, and I'll take any questions you have."

"It's inexcusable," Izzo said moments later. "If I was an MSU fan, I'd be very disappointed in the coach, because I keep saying the same things and they don't change."

As for the other coach, he may not be with the Hoosiers for long. But Sampson and No. 13 Indiana (21-4, 10-2) are still solidly in the Big Ten race with the victory.

They got 28 points from super freshman Eric Gordon to humble the Spartans in an ESPN "Gameday" featured event.

Sampson could be fired soon in light of NCAA allegations, delivered this week, of major, repeat violations regarding phone calls to recruits. He was booed when he was introduced and shown on the arena big screen.

But the fans were roaring in approval soon enough.

MSU went up 15-4 early, using 10 points from Neitzel. That's when the Spartans started turning it over and the Hoosiers started taking over.

IU owned the rest of the half, outscoring MSU 37-18 for a 41-33 lead at the break. It was 52-39 before four minutes had passed in the second half, and the rout was on.

This one can't be pinned on Neitzel, who struggled to shoot and score in MSU's first four losses of the season. He was aggressive and led the Spartans with 21 points.

But the Spartans' leading scorer, Raymar Morgan, was invisible. Hurt in part by foul trouble, Morgan finished with a season-low three points.

"Yeah, it's a little bit low," Morgan said of his confidence. "But that's why you've got to keep working. It's something I've got to get over."

Freshman Chris Allen had 10 points for MSU off the bench.

The Spartans shook up the starting lineup, replacing junior Travis Walton with freshman Kalin Lucas, and forward Goran Suton with Marquise Gray. As it turns out, all four struggled at times, particularly Suton (no points, one rebound).

"We were a little dysfunctional out there, and I'm embarrassed with how we played," Izzo said.

MSU's defense was simply torched. The Hoosiers shot 54.4 percent from the floor, getting and hitting clean jump shots all evening.

They did it despite the loss of D.J. White, who hurt his knee in the first half.

White, the top candidate for Big Ten Player, finished with six points in 15 first-half minutes.

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@lsj.com.