It was expected that the Hoosiers would drop their sixth straight game, given the fact that it was in hostile territory against a conference leader. However, Coach Mike Woodson had one more magic trick up his sleeve – a zone defense that stifled the mighty Spartans.

Malik Renea scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half, while Oumar Ballo added 14 and Luke Goode 10 overall to help Indiana beat No. 11 Michigan State 71-67, leaving Tom Izzo “on the brink” of breaking Bob Knight’s Big Ten wins record. The Hoosiers are now 15-10, 6-8 in the Big Ten, with their first Quad 1 victory of the season. Woodson is stepping down after the season and this win gives the Hoosiers a little more cushion to have some kind of a postseason, even if it’s only a Big Ten Tournament appearance. 

The Spartans (19-5, 10-3) lost for the third time in four games and dropped to third in the standings behind Michigan and Purdue. Izzo remains at 353 Big Ten wins, matching the mark Knight set at Indiana while winning three NCAA titles. Michigan State’s Jaden Akins scored 14 points and Jase Richardson had 13, while IU’s Myles Rice had 10 points, including two free throws with 30 seconds left to put the Hoosiers ahead by four points. Anthony Leal sealed the victory with two more free throws in the closing seconds. The Hoosiers got to sixty first, 61-52, with 3:14 remaining. 

Ancient history had Indiana as the preseason pick to finish second in the Big Ten, ranked as high as No. 14 in the AP Top 25 in late November. The Hoosiers showed some of that potential, coming back from a double-digit deficit early in the game to lead at halftime and for the entire second half. Down goes Sparty!