Ohio State basketball loses at Michigan State: 3 things we learned

Ohio State traveled to East Lansing to cap off the regular season. It battled but fell to a Michigan State team with a lot on the line.

The starts have to be better against quality teams

It’s kind of become a trend. Ohio State goes away from home, gets off to an ugly start, then has to expend all kinds of energy to claw all the way back. That’s hard enough, and it shows fight, but climbing out of such a hole against really good teams is not the blueprint for beating those have the athletic ability of a team like Michigan State.

Going forward, all games will be away from home. And while it’s not the same as being in an opponent’s arena, the Buckeyes will need to settle in early at a neutral site going forward, or it’ll most likely be an early exit in tournament play.

It’s hard to fathom why it takes some time to settle down and focus, but somehow that mindset has to be there at the jump.

Next … Throw this one away