Indiana entered Sunday’s game at the Breslin Center with an opportunity to stay tied with Wisconsin and Purdue in the race for the Big Ten title.

After 40 minutes against the Michigan State Spartans, the Hoosiers all but eliminated themselves from contention. Tom Izzo’s club led 59-31 at halftime and cruised to a 103-74 win on senior day.

Raymar Morgan led the Spartans (23-6, 11-5 Big Ten) with 20 points and Drew Neitzel and Goran Suton added 17 points each.

Michigan State shot 78 percent from the field in the first half, including 9 of 12 from beyond the three-point line. The Hoosiers (24-5, 13-3), on the other hand, shot just 35 percent in the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, Indiana got within 17 at 75-58 before Michigan State pulled away down the stretch. The Spartans led by 32 at one point.

Eric Gordon’s 22 points paced the Hoosiers and D.J. White posted his 18th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Armon Bassett added 13 points and Jordan Crawford had 12.

The loss was the 14th straight at the Breslin Center for Indiana.

Minnesota will visit Assembly Hall on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. as the Hoosiers wrap up their home schedule.

Related:

• Box score
• Postgame quotes
• A step or two behind (Indianapolis Star)
• Michigan State beats Indiana 103-74 (AP recap)

The Hoosiers are finished with their cupcakes and the New Year is nearly upon us, which can mean only one thing: It’s Big Ten Preview Time! Here’s a look at the teams that will challenge the Hoosiers for the conference crown … or fall under the weighty boot of crimson dominance. Probably the latter. Today: Michigan State.

This is the last of these little previews that none of you comment on. We’ve been through the Big Ten from top to bottom, from Northwestern to Minnesota, and back. And it’s taken us until the last day of the previews to get to the one elite team outside Indiana in all the conference, Michigan State. How bad is the Big Ten this year?

Anyway, if there is an elite team in the Big Ten, it’s Sparty. (The Hoosiers are probably one rung below just yet, but we’ll get to that later.) Right now, Michigan State is the consensus favorite to win the conference, and with good reason: The Spartans are a well-coached batch of veteran players highlighted by strong, efficient guard play from a senior preseason All-American. Drew Neitzel is the glue that holds Michigan State together, a consummate point guard with the ability to score and distribute. Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan has been more impressive thus far this season, trailing Neitzel in minutes but scoring three more points (17) and grabbing seven rebounds a game. Morgan appears to have turned the corner from “potentially great post player” to “great post player” in the matter of two years; who knows what will happen if he continues to improve.

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Settle an argument, ITH-ers.

Your loyal correspondent PostmanE, ever fascinated with the joy of potential, has a half-cracked theory floating around in his brain. Big A has already politely disagreed with me, but it’s a good sports debate, so let’s hash it out.

See, I think — thanks to the confluence of a weak All-American class and an incredibly deep crop of freshmen — that, perhaps for the first time in history, a team composed entirely of freshmen would beat the preseason All-American team. In fact, I don’t even think it would be close.

Let’s go to the tape:

First Team Preseason All-Americans:
C Roy Hibbert
F Tyler Hansbrough
G Chris Lofton
G Drew Neitzel
G Darren Collison

Honorary, generous sixth man addition: F Brandon Rush

PostmanE’s Mighty Fightin’ Freshmen:
C Kevin Love
F Michael Beasley
G/F O.J. Mayo
G Eric Gordon
G Derrick Rose

Honorary spirit-based sixth man addition: G Adam Ahlfeld

I included Rush simply because the preaseason All-American team doesn’t really do a good enough job, in my opinion, of accounting for position, and if you had those six players and needed to field a starting five, you’d put Rush at forward with nary a blink. (I included Ahlfeld because you can’t put a price on overexuberance.)

But there you have it. Assuming all things are equal — that both teams are organized and coached well* — I take that group of freshmen in a heartbeat. The one mismatch would be Hansbrough on Beasley/Love; I would make Love bang with Hansbrough and have Beasley try subvert Hibbert’s size with athleticism, but that’s still a tough go. The big mismatch, the one that goes in the freshmen’s favor, is the guard play. I love Collison and Neitzel and especially Lofton … but any Rose/Gordon backcourt is not one I’ll pick against any day. Too athletic, too strong, too naturally talented and refined.

So, like I asked, settle a fun argument, ITH-ers. Who do you think wins this one, and why?

*Please, no arguments saying the freshmen would play like the McDonald’s game. Assume that they care, and that they’re coached by some strict taskmaster. Coach K, or something.

Andy Katz is a senior college basketball writer for ESPN.com. His “Daily Word” is a staple of ESPN.com’s college hoops coverage. He is also an on-air reporter for the World Wide Leader’s coverage of college basketball and the NBA draft. We recently caught up with him and got his take on the upcoming IU season, how Kelvin Sampson is perceived by his peers, Rob Senderoff’s resignation and a few other topics. We thank Mr. Katz for his time.

Inside the Hall: With D.J White returning and the arrival of Eric Gordon, IU is back in the preseason top 10 for the first time since the 1994-1995 season. Is this team capable of a run to San Antonio and which player, White or Gordon, is the key to getting them there?

Andy Katz: Both. The Hoosiers need balance to make it to San Antonio. They haven’t had those two working parts in concert in years. If the Hoosiers get an all-American season out of White and what should be a one-and-done stellar season out of Gordon then they will have the two most important pieces in place to make a run.

ITH: The preseason media poll penciled in Michigan State as the favorite to win the conference. Are the Spartans the team to beat in the Big Ten and if so, why?

Katz: The reason was experience. The Spartans return more overall experience and have the most important player to his team in the league in Drew Neitzel. Gordon may end up having just as good a statistical season but he’s still a freshman versus a senior. It’s hard to argue that point.

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Big Ten media day is this afternoon in Chicago and the Big Ten announced the following this morning:

Michigan State has been selected as the preseason Big Ten favorite for the 2007-08 men’s basketball season, as voted upon by a 22-member media panel. Indiana and defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State are ranked second and third, respectively. In addition, Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel was named the Preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team by Illinois’ Shaun Pruitt, Indiana’s D.J. White, Ohio State’s Jamar Butler and Penn State’s Geary Claxton.

The preseason All-Big Ten team that I did over the summer was nearly identical to the one selected by the media. The only difference was that I had Raymar Morgan in place of Pruitt. I also had Neitzel as the player of the year with D.J. a close second.

As far as the order of finish in the conference, you can make a case for Michigan State or Indiana. Everyone else is playing for third.

Steve Grinczel, a Michigan State beat writer, gave us an excellent breakdown of the Spartans a few months back. If, and it’s a big if, Tom Izzo can find consistency in the frontcourt, I would also give the nod to Neitzel and Co. However, considering the options up front are Goran Suton, Marquise Gray, Drew Naymick, Idong Ibok and Tom Herzog, I would say consistency from that group is a longshot. Gray is an effective player when his head is in the game and the rest of the gang is relatively unproven (or not any good) sans Suton.

So, who do you have to win the conference? Player of the year? Surprise team? Coach of the year? Newcomer of the year? Let’s hear your thoughts.

Another day and another hoops preview is on the newsstands. This time its The Sporting News, which is publishing for the last time on its own after merging with Street & Smith’s.

Here’s the rundown on the magazine from the IU perspective:

1. The Hoosiers are picked as the No. 10 team in the country. Michigan St. is No. 9.
2. Michigan St. is the pick to win the Big Ten with the Hoosiers taking second.
3. Eric Gordon is a first team All-American joining Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina, D.J. Augustin of Texas, Chase Buddinger of Arizona and Chris Lofton of Tennessee.
4. Gordon and D.J. White are both on the first team All-Big Ten along with Geary Claxton of Penn St., Shaun Pruitt of Illinois and Drew Neitzel of Michigan St.
5. Jamarcus Ellis is the given the nod as the best transfer in the Big Ten.
6. Gordon is the league’s best freshman.
7. White is recognized as the top NBA prospect and top shot blocker in the Big Ten.
8. Kelvin Sampson is called the best interview among Big Ten coaches.
9. Tom Izzo is their pick for the best coach in the Big Ten.
10. And finally, their top five teams nationally: UCLA, Memphis, North Carolina, Kansas and Georgetown.

I agree with most of the predictions here, although calling D.J. the best NBA prospect would seem to be a bit of a stretch. I’d say Mr. Gordon should have that distinction. I think most of us can agree that the Hoosiers and Spartans are the two best teams in the league. And it’s nice to see Jamarcus Ellis get some love. He’ll be a huge addition, no doubt. Is it time to start playing games yet?

It’s taken over a month to do it, but I finally have my complete All-Big Ten preseason team. Drew Neitzel, the senior point guard from Michigan State, rounds out my list of five and is my preseason pick for player of the year.

Joining Neitzel on the first team are Raymar Morgan of Michigan State, Jamar Butler of Ohio State, Geary Claxton of Penn State and D.J. White from our beloved Hoosiers.

When I first saw Drew Neitzel as a freshman during the 2004-2005 season, it was hard to imagine him as someone with the potential to become an all-league player. Quite frankly, he looked over matched during his first couple of seasons. And then, he got better. A lot better.

Neitzel came into his own last season for the Spartans when coach Tom Izzo needed a go-to-guy. Neitzel was a role player his first two seasons, deferring to the likes of Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown and Paul Davis. In fact, Neitzel never had a scoring average in double figures before last season.

As a junior, he led the Spartans in scoring at 18.1 ppg and was an absolute load for opposing defenses. More importantly, he emerged as the leader on a team that won a game in the NCAA Tournament, something that Brown, Ager and Davis were unable to do in their last season together.

Neitzel returns for his senior season in East Lansing with no shortage of accolades. Most publications have him tabbed as a first or second team All-American. He’ll be the centerpiece and the captain of a Michigan State team that is expected to start the season ranked in the top ten.

Expect an encore performance for the Grand Rapids native as the Spartans will battle it out with IU for the conference crown and Neitzel will try to nab the player of the year title over D.J. White.

I’ll continue my conference preview over the next couple of months and break down my predictions for the order of finish in the conference. And if we’re lucky, E and R will chime in with their picks as well.

Over at Sports Illustrated today, Luke Winn threw down an interview he conducted with Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel. (I swear DN should have graduated two years ago. Seems like he’s been there forever.)

Within it, Neitzel talks about playing on the road in the Big Ten, namely at Assembly Hall:

It’s a tough conference to play on the road. Every place is unique, and sometimes it depends on what kind of a year a team is having. Illinois is tough. Indiana might be No. 1, though. It’s not just their student section; it’s their whole fan base. They love basketball. The arena [Assembly Hall] is huge. It’s like a theater — it goes up really high on both sides, and the sound seems to echo in there. It feels like the fans are right on top of you, and they get pretty loud.

I haven’t been to a lot of other Big Ten arenas, (only Illinois’ Assembly Hall and Northwestern’s um, high school gym) but I’d have to say Drew’s right: the other Assembly Hall is right up there with IU’s. With the Orange Krush student section literally on the court, the atmosphere can get rather raucous in there. I’d actually give the edge to the Illini on a few different facets, (namely student section and crowd continuity) but IU has more seats which should equate to more sound, no?

Let’s just call this a draw. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Illinois and Indiana fanbases, it’s that they like to agree, right?