BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The general wasn’t in attendance but the troops he recruited were ready for war.
In a matchup that marked the first time in 29 years that former Indiana head coach Bobby Knight wasn’t preparing for the Spartans, unranked Indiana (10-6) upset No. 1 MSU (12-1) on Sunday, 59-58.
Center Kirk Haston hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the game to earn the Hoosiers their first win in the school’s history over a No.1 team at home.
The last time Indiana defeated a No.1 team was in 1987, when the squad defeated Nevada-Las Vegas.
The last time MSU lost - Sunday’s defeat brought the school’s 23-game winning streak to a stunning end - was against Indiana last year.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo said a win would have given a false impression of his team’s effort, which took place in front of the Hoosiers first sellout crowd of the season.
“This might sound corny, so take it how you want to take it, but I’m happy that we lost,” said Izzo, while Hoosier fans continued to rush the court after the game. “As I have lived my life the last three or four years, I’ve seen that you get what you deserve. We didn’t play Spartan basketball and we got what we deserved.”
Haston, who was heavily recruited by MSU in high school, led all scorers with 27 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Jason Richardson had a team-high 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Spartans in the loss, while senior guard Charlie Bell added 11 points.
In a first half that saw the Spartans commit six turnovers in the first 8:13, the Hoosiers were able to halt a 6-0 MSU scoring run early with a Haston jumpshot to tie the game at 12.
Bell acknowledged the fine play of the Hoosier guard trio of Dane Fife, Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby, who helped instigate a good portion of MSU’s 19 turnovers in the game.
“They aren’t the most talented backcourt in the Big Ten or the country, but you have to give them credit because they came out and played hard,” Bell said. “They just really took it right to us. The way we played we didn’t deserve to win tonight.”
Both teams grabbed and relinquished the lead for the next seven minutes of the half until a layup by guard Tom Coverdale put the Hoosiers up 28-27 at halftime.
The second half was much similar to the first, with MSU earning its largest lead at the 12:06 mark after a Richardson three-pointer to make it 46-40.
Indiana charged back, igniting a 9-0 run after a Haston layup with 7:35 remaining to lead 49-46. The Hoosiers would later capitalize off a key Bell turnover with 1:50 remaining to cut the deficit to one, 56-57.
MSU missed two opportunities in the final 29 seconds to close the door on Indiana. Richardson drew two fouls in that half minute, but failed to connect on both attempts.
The Saginaw native said it was more a lack of effort that led to the loss - not failing to convert.
“I didn’t think we had the game won at the foul line,” Richardson said. “We came out strong in the second half, but I think we gave up a little bit due to the fact that we had so many turnovers.”
Freshman center Zach Randolph hit one of two free throws with 10 seconds left to put MSU up 58-56. But then Haston hit the shot that erupted the 17,123 fans gathered at Assembly Hall.
Senior forward Andre Hutson said the team has to improve from this early conference loss and prepare for a Wednesday home matchup with Northwestern.
“We had some players that made some key plays and some others that didn’t make plays tonight,” Hutson said. “Their best players made the best plays and they ended up winning. We just have to learn from our mistakes and respond.”
Eric Lacy can be reached at lacyeric@msu.edu.
