Bloomington, Ind. - As usual, Alan Anderson wanted to be the Spartans' leader and help his team to victory.
Saturday night, the sophomore forward did just that. Moreover, he did it without playing a single minute.
"That was a very memorable game for us when you consider the injury Alan Anderson suffered with 10 minutes left to go in practice (Friday)," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "We had to come practice early this morning just to get our morale up because we were so down.
"Then Alan Anderson came into the locker room, and in all honesty, it was a ray of fresh air and light. It was very positive - reminiscent of Mateen Cleaves when he was injured. He was very vocal and I think that had a lot to do with how we responded tonight."
The 6-foot-6 Minneapolis native was sidelined for his team's thrilling 67-62 overtime victory, after suffering an open dislocation of his pinkie finger on his right hand during a Friday practice.
The injury will put him out for three to four weeks, but Anderson called himself a "quick healer" and said he expects to be back sooner. Despite having a claw-like brace on his right hand Saturday, Anderson was all but distraught and was the team's most enthusiastic supporter on the bench.
"I was part of it," Anderson said. "I was on the floor, on the bench, in the huddles. I felt like I was out there with them the entire time. I just have to keep myself motivated and turn my attitude from sadness into happiness and energy for (my teammates)."
Without one of their floor leaders, the Spartans (13-8 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) won in Assembly Hall, giving them their first conference road win.
There were times the Spartans desperately needed a leader on the floor.
MSU never trailed by more than four, but there were numerous occasions it had the opportunity to erase the deficit or take a commanding lead.
The Spartans took their biggest lead of the night at 37-30 four minutes into the second half and forced Indiana (14-8, 4-5) to call a timeout.
But MSU couldn't deliver the knockout blow. In the next five and a half minutes, the Hoosiers would answer every Spartan basket, eventually taking the lead at 48-45. The 18-8 run had the Indiana crowd cheering at deafening levels.
Izzo didn't take a timeout during the run. But the team needed a boost.
"I didn't just sit on the bench," said Anderson, who was very vocal during the defensive drought. "I yelled things to help them out and make them better. I also looked at how I can get better."
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said making it through the next three of four weeks without Anderson will be tough.
"Obviously, it's a huge blow to them, losing Anderson who is one of their best players," Bilas said. "I don't think there is one player that will have to step up, it's everybody. There will be different roles for everybody, but if the way they played (Saturday) is any indication, they will make it through."
