The script was set perfectly for Kyle Taber’s final game in Assembly Hall.

Family and friends ascended upon Bloomington to say farewell to the senior captain. Chants of ‘Ky-le Ta-ber’ were heard throughout Assembly Hall. And in a game in which IU was a heavy underdog, the Hoosiers had a chance to knock off a legitimate top ten opponent.

But alas, as has been the case throughout most of this season of transition for Indiana basketball, the Hoosiers couldn’t come up with a big play down the stretch. The final result: A hard fought 64-59 loss to Michigan State.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t come out right,” Taber said. “We battled and it was a great game. It was fun to be apart of something like that.”

Despite going 8:43 without a field goal in the second half, the Spartans (24-5, 14-3 Big Ten) clinched the Big Ten title outright for the first time since 1999.

Kalin Lucas scored 15 points to lead Michigan State and Raymar Morgan added 14 points, including a thunderous put back dunk with 27 seconds remaining to give MSU a four-point cushion.

The Hoosiers (6-23, 1-16) cut the lead to two on a pair of Nick Williams free throws with just under 16 seconds remaining, but Lucas answered with a pair of free throws to wrap up the victory.

“It was a great game. Our guys were in it the entire way, to the very end,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said.

Indiana missed eight free throws and several opportunities to tie the game after cutting Michigan State’s lead to two with 3:31 remaining.

Verdell Jones led four Hoosier scorers in double figures with 15 points. Malik Story and Williams added 11 each and Matt Roth had 10.

Taber finished with three points, five rebounds and two assists in his final home game.

“We went down with a fight,” IU’s lone senior added. “I’m proud of what my teammates were able to do for me.”

Up next: Indiana concludes the regular season with a 7PM ET matchup on Sunday at Wisconsin. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Bawa sighting: 7-0 signee Bawa Muniru was in attendance and Jared Poertner of the H-T/Hoosier Scoop talked to the big man.

• Box score
• Postgame Quotes
• Tom Crean Audio
• Malik Story Audio
• Kyle Taber Audio
• Verdell Jones Audio

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The All-Big Ten preview is ITH’s look at our picks for the top players in the Big Ten this season. Today: Raymar Morgan of Michigan State.

Raymar Morgan returns to East Lansing for his junior season as arguably the top returning player in the conference. (Sorry Robbie Hummel.) Morgan was a second team All-Big Ten selection last season and averaged 14 points and six rebounds for a team that reached the Sweet Sixteen and then ran into Derrick Rose.

With the departure of the inconsistent Drew Neitzel, Tom Izzo will now rely on Morgan to be his go-to-guy and he should thrive in that role. According to Izzo, Morgan worked tirelessly on the one major hole in his game, the three-point shot, during the offseason. If he can consistently hit from outside, he becomes a huge matchup problem.

Ultimately, the player of the year in the conference probably comes down to Morgan and Hummel and I’m giving Morgan the nod because I think Morgan is the more complete player and I like the Spartans to win the Big Ten.

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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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.

Steve Grinczel is the Michigan State beat writer for the Booth Newspaper chain, which includes the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, and Saginaw News — and MLive.com. He recently took the time out of his busy schedule to give Inside the Hall an in-depth, early look at Michigan State hoops for 2007-2008. Check out Steve’s Spartans Insider blog by clicking here.

Inside the Hall: With Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan returning and a solid incoming freshman class, what are the expectations going to be like this year in East Lansing?

Steve Grinczel: While MSU has had some terrific NBA-caliber talent and experience come through the tunnel in recent seasons, the most the program seemed to generate is a hopeful hum. That said, I expect a buzz that’s been conspicuous by its absence in recent years will be back in 2007-08. To some, the Spartans are building toward a run to the Final Four that will be played in Detroit in 2009. However, Neitzel’s reputation for not being denied preceded him to East Lansing and as a senior he’s down to his final season of eligibility. This is a payoff year for him, and I’m certain he’s expecting nothing less than leading MSU to its first Big Ten title since ‘01 and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Neitzel has the credentials as a scorer and set-up man to justify likely preseason All-America honors. And, the backcourt should be as good as any in the country with point guard Travis Walton establishing himself as a lock-down defender. Morgan showed why he’s considered a special player during his injury-slowed freshman season and should make a big jump with a year under his belt.

Goran Suton and Marquise Gray struggled to find consistency in the frontcourt, but should have ironed out those problems with experience. I look for lanky 7-foot Tom Herzog, who redshirted last season as a freshman, to be the surprise player of the Big Ten. A true postman who likes to play with his back to the basket, his skills and athleticism defy the first impression of being ungainly. Then there’s senior Drew Naymick, whose breakout second-half-of-the-season was critical to the Spartans’ 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

A lack of depth forced Coach Tom Izzo to go against everything he holds near and dear and slow things down last season. With three athletic freshmen coming in, MSU will be back to its withering, up-tempo game. All-in-all, things are falling back into place for the Spartans.

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As we told you last Tuesday, Inside the Hall will be counting down the days to Midnight Madness by giving you our preseason look at the 2007-2008 Big Ten Men’s Basketball season.

For the next five weeks, we’ll reveal one player from our preseason All-Big Ten team. This portion of the preview will culminate on August 27, when we reveal our pick for Big Ten Player of the Year.

Now, onto the festivities.

This first selection was really a no-brainer, Raymar Morgan of Michigan State. Morgan was a member of last year’s Big Ten All-Freshman team as selected by the league coaches.

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