When his team lost early in the Big Ten season at Indiana and Illinois, Ohio State coach Thad Matta spoke of a still young and developing group not being able to handle the adversity that comes with playing on the road in the conference.

The Buckeyes were more than a month older, and theoretically more seasoned, when they imploded against Michigan State on Saturday night in the comfort of their arena. How did they handle that?

“Obviously not well enough,” Matta said yesterday.

“But I still say this: We’re still a work in progress.”

The progress they are making will be tested the next three weeks as Ohio State finishes the conference season with four of its final six games on the road. The run starts tonight at Minnesota, a quick turnaround from Saturday night’s game that guard William Buford said is “a great thing” for the team.

“We get to show the world that (Saturday) was a fluke,” he said.

Ohio State fell three spots, to No. 6, in the Associated Press poll yesterday, equaling its lowest national ranking of the season.

Saturday’s 58-48 loss, the first for the Buckeyes in 40 home games dating to 2010, featured offensive execution that literally was that. Confronted by a tough Michigan State defense ranked among the best in the country, players freelanced rather than stick to the game plan and shot 26.4 percent from the field.

Although the Spartans’ defense had something to do with getting them out of their game, Matta said the Buckeyes were complicit.

“There were times when they had nothing to do with where we were going,” he said. “Why we were going there? We’re not exactly sure. We weren’t thinking at the level (necessary). Now, maybe they made us not think that way, I’m not sure. But we just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be.”

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith repeated yesterday what even Michigan State coach Tom Izzo acknowledged after the game, and again after reviewing video of it.

“I just thought they missed. There are going to be days like that sometimes. The ball just doesn’t go in,” Smith said. “Michigan State is a very talented defensive team; they’re very talented, period. But I just thought, being at home, the rim just wasn’t kind to (Ohio State) … and pretty soon it kind of gets in your head a little bit.”

It certainly did.

“Honestly, we looked like spoiled brats out there if you look at the tape, arguing with one another, complaining about calls. We just looked like spoiled brats out there,” center Jared Sullinger said.

Sullinger was the most animated on a day he complemented a double-double in points and rebounds with 10 turnovers as Michigan State’s guards were able to cheat inside off Ohio State’s shooters and scrape the ball out of his hands.

Sullinger got to see himself during an hourlong film review on Sunday. The Buckeyes went over what they did wrong, set about correcting it and moved on.

“I think I’m speaking for the whole team (in saying) we just chalked it up (to a bad day) and said we’ll get ’em back on March 4th at their place,” Sullinger said. “And then we focused in on Minnesota.

“You’ve got to have a short-term memory. If we keep dwelling on this Michigan State game … we’re not going to be able to focus on the next game and we’re going to let one slip past us. We’ve just got to stay focused on the present.”

Minnesota, like Michigan State, likes to control games with pressure defense.

“We’d like to hope we’d be on the same level as Michigan State,” Smith said.

Ohio State would hope it plays at a much higher level than it did against the Spartans.

“We just need to not do what we did against Michigan State,” Sullinger said. “As long as we stay with the system … I believe we can come out with a win.”

bbaptist@dispatch.com