Well, it wasn't looking good for the Spartans when they were down 16-4 early on in last Saturday's game at the Indiana Hoosiers.  But somehow, someway, they figured out a way to get a huge road win and keep themselves alive for the NCAA Tournament.

The Spartans rallied from behind to defeat the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall 78-71 to move to 11-9 overall, 5-9 in Big Ten play.

Junior forward Aaron Henry (pictured) had his best game as a Spartan.  27 points and 5 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.  Josh Langford and Gabe Brown each had 14 points while playing 36 and 29 minutes, respectively.

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It looked to me like head coach Tom Izzo shortened his rotation because of the Foster Loyer injury, and the ineffectiveness of Julius Marble and Malik Hall.  He found a fivesome that worked, and stayed with it.  Henry, Langford, Brown, Watts, and Bingham all played big in a game they had to have.

But now the schedule gets tougher.  Illinois and Ohio State come to East Lansing this week.  The they head to Maryland next Sunday, before they finish with Indiana at home and a home-and-home with arch-rival and league-leading Michigan.

In my opinion, they need at least three of those to go in the win column (including the first round of the Big Ten Tournament) to make it to their 24th straight NCAA Tournament.  Anything less, and it's likely the NIT.  And around here, that's failure.  Even despite the COVID-19 issues they've had.

But like the title says:  They aren't dead yet!!!!

 

SEE MORE: Brock's Sports Bucket List

 

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