Bloomington, Ind. - If MSU's narrow victory over No. 16 Illinois last week moved the team off the respirator of Big Ten contention, Saturday's 67-62 dramatic overtime defeat of Indiana might have upgraded the team to stable condition.
Saturday's win was the Spartans' (13-8 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) third consecutive conference victory and their first road win since beating Kentucky in mid-December. The Hoosiers (14-8, 4-5) on the other hand, dropped their fifth consecutive game and were dealt their first home loss of the season.
And though the Spartans won the war against Indiana this regular season, this most recent battle was not without its casualties.
Sophomore guard Alan Anderson did not play because of an open finger dislocation suffered in practice Friday and freshman center Paul Davis was again hobbled by a turned ankle late in overtime.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo tabbed Saturday's nail-biter as "memorable."
"We gave and take, but I'm really proud of how the guys rallied," Izzo said. "I'm not sure I was ever prouder of a total team than I am today."
To Izzo's delight though, Davis' injury did not come until he had already assumed control of the game.
Davis led the team in scoring for the second straight game, tallying a career-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field. His six overtime points matched the Hoosier's entire team output in the extra stanza.
Davis - who revitalized his overall game since being out-hustled by Michigan's Daniel Horton in a 60-58 loss on Jan. 26 - was typically humble following the game.
"I think the term 'never relax' is in the back of my mind," Davis said of Izzo's defense-minded coaching mantra.
Sophomore guard Chris Hill, who launched a clutch 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the second half to give the Spartans a late three-point advantage, said the game was a statement about the team's potential and confidence.
"To go on the road, especially without Alan, proved what we can do," Hill said.
"Right after (Anderson's finger injury) we called a team meeting and said that we have every excuse to go down there and not win. This is obviously a tough spot to play - the highlight of any schedule is Indiana."
Hill finished with 12 points on a relatively poor 3-for-12 shooting night. He played a team-high 41 minutes.
The Indianapolis native might have deemed the Indiana trip as a "highlight" simply because of MSU's poor record in Bloomington. Saturday's game was only the 10th time the Spartans had won in Bloomington.
However, in a game that featured seven tied scores and nine lead changes, Indiana was never out of contention. Despite shooting 1-for-9 from the field in overtime, the Hoosiers connected on all four OT free-throw attempts. It was not until guard Bracey Wright dribbled the ball off his foot and into freshman guard Maurice Ager's hands with 0:11 remaining that the tide turned in MSU's favor.
Wright finished with 20 points. Indiana forward Jeff Newton led all scorers with 24 points.
Although Indiana's frustrations continue, head coach Mike Davis said he'd take positives and negatives from Saturday's contest.
"I walk away from this game disappointed," Davis said. "But you saw a better (Indiana) basketball team tonight."
But while the Hoosiers' coach is looks for positives, Paul Davis thinks Saturday's game was proof of growing team camaraderie.
"We've just got to keep progressing like that," he said.
