East Lansing — Michigan State had been in this spot before, and things did not go well.
It was almost exactly a month ago when the Spartans held a 17-point second-half lead at home against Purdue, only to fumble the game away with an offense that couldn’t find its way and an inability to make the big play when it mattered as the Boilermakers pulled out the one-point victory.
That loss stung, the first of four in a row in a skid that did not end until Michigan State beat Nebraska over the weekend.