The Spartans’ NCAA Tournament chances remained intact as Alan Anderson stepped to the line and connected on two free throws, giving MSU a 57-54 win against Indiana.

Sunday’s win all but wraps up a bid for the Spartans (17-10 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) in the NCAA Tournament. It also gives them momentum going into the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

Indiana (18-9, 10-4) came into the game atop the conference, and left shaking their heads wondering what happened.

The Spartans got off to a sluggish start and it seemed like this would be a repeat performance of the first matchup against Indiana.

The Hoosiers knocked down 14 three-pointers in that game, en route to an 83-65 blowout.

A lot has changed since that game, and the Spartans kept plugging away and picked up quality wins over Illinois, Ohio State and Minnesota.

The Spartans faltered against Northwestern, but their play of late is reminiscent of the Spartan defense and rebounding that has been the hallmark of Spartan basketball for the last five years.

On Sunday, Indiana star Jared Jeffries was held to just 11 points in limited minutes because of foul trouble.

If the Spartans play of late isn’t evidence enough that the team belongs in the tournament, then just look at their record against top 25 teams.

MSU has five wins over top 25 teams. Besides beating Indiana, Ohio State and Illinois, the Spartans defeated Oklahoma and Arizona. More importantly, the win over Indiana lifts their record to 3-2 against ranked Big Ten opponents.

With an 8-6 conference record, the Spartans are guaranteed at least a .500 league record.

The team travels to Ohio State on Tuesday before returning home Saturday to wrap up the Big Ten regular season against Iowa. Two wins would improve their seeding, but Sunday’s win put a stamp on their ticket to the Big Dance.

Coming into this season the team lost a solid nucleus of seniors and two early entrees to the NBA, and the team wasn’t expected to be a Big Ten contender.

Three consecutive Final Four appearances and four straight Big Ten titles is a hard act to follow, but freshmen Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert and Anderson have done their best.

Besides the inexperience and lack of scholarship players, the team has been hit by injuries.

I remember at the beginning of the season, coach Tom Izzo said if he can keep this young team healthy, they would have the ability to compete in the Big Ten.

Losing junior forward Adam Ballinger to a foot injury early and sophomore guard Marcus Taylor to back spasms and a concussion were huge losses. Add sophomore center Jason Andreas and Anderson to the mix and there goes the team’s depth.

Throughout all that the team continued to battle.

There were times on Sunday when it looked like the team wasn’t going to be able to make a serious run in the game.

But they cut the lead to seven at halftime and Ballinger’s three late in the game tied it up. Ultimately, the Spartans persevered.

The toughness instilled by Izzo and his staff and the team’s willingness to never give up are intangibles that the selection committee should look at.

Sure there are plenty of records and computer rankings that factor in, but when one looks at the Spartans they have to look at more than that.

This team has had it’s ups and downs during the season, but then came February.

Since the win at Illinois on Feb. 3, the Spartans have begun to click and the fans have began to see that they were making their final push.

I don’t think the NCAA will overlook the Spartans and I don’t think any other Big Ten teams should overlook them either.

The Big Ten tournament is wide open and I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a run and take home the title.

All in all, the team is starting to jell and that should be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament, but that shouldn’t be their only goal.

I expect Izzo and company to sit down comfortably for the selection show two weeks from know and see their names on the screen.

And I also expect to hear their names after they knock off the higher seeds.

Ryan Wallace, a State News sports writer, can be reached at wallac89@msu.edu.