With a three point lead, freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr. inadvertently fouled Indiana freshman guard James Blackmon Jr. with 5.3 seconds left. Though it initially appeared as though Blackmon was in the process of shooting a 3-pointer, the refs correctly called it a non-shooting foul.

Blackmon made both free throws, and senior guard Travis Trice split a pair on the next possession to give MSU a two-point lead.

In what might be the most inexplicable mistake of the season, junior guard Denzel Valentine fouled Indiana junior guard Yogi Ferrell with two seconds left as Ferrell raced up the court.

Head coach Tom Izzo's shocked expression said it all.

Ferrell split his trip to the line, and Indiana fouled Clark with 0.7 seconds left. Clark missed the first free throw, and with a one point lead, it would've made more sense to miss the second free throw and let time expire.

Clark accidentally made the free throw. Izzo turned around and rested his head on the scorer's table in disbelief.

Lucky for MSU, Indiana junior guard Nick Zeisloft's halfcourt heave fell short

Though the ending left a lot to be desired, MSU (21-10 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) managed to defeat Indiana (19-12, 9-9) at Assembly Hall, 74-72.

With the win, MSU secures the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will begin tournament play next Friday at 9 p.m. at United Center in Chicago.

With senior forward Brandon Dawson sitting the game out, the Spartans saw contributions across the board, led by a pair of players averaging a combined six points per game entering Saturday.

In Dawson's absence, sophomore guard Alvin Ellis III submitted the best game of his career with a career high 16 points. Clark added 13 points and five rebounds, four of which were offensive.

Trice led MSU 21 points, and Valentine had seven points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

MSU's role players picked up the slack in the first half. With Valentine, Trice and Forbes combining to shoot 5-for-19, Ellis and Clark stepped up to shoulder much of the load.

Clark scored all six of his first half points on offensive putbacks, and Ellis played a well-rounded half to score nine points.

A behind-the-back circus pass from Valentine to Ellis in the corner for three allowed MSU to tie the game at 34 before the break.

The second half was a runny, back and forth affair. Indiana scored the first four points before MSU responded with a 9-0 run.

MSU got two offensive rebounds on an early possession to set up a corner 3-pointer by Clark, and Ellis raced down the court on the next offensive possession for a quick layup.

Trice made his second bucket of game at the 16:13 mark, hitting a shot off-balance to give the Spartans a 43-38 advantage.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Zeisloft and freshman guard Robert Johnson gave MSU the lead again, but a breakaway dunk and 3-pointer by Trice returned the lead back to the Spartans, 48-44.

In what was becoming a shootout, Zeisloft and Trice traded 3-pointers going into the second media timeout with 12 minutes to play.

Valentine drained his first 3-pointer of the game to give the Spartans their biggest lead of the game 58-52.

In the middle of the zone, Clark found sophomore forward Gavin Schilling all by himself under the rim for a dunk to extend MSU's lead to eight with 6:23 left.

Trice drained a trio of free throws a minute later to push the lead to nine, 65-56.

A steal-and-slam by Clark stretched the lead to 11 with 3:50 remaining, spurring boos from the Assembly Hall crowd. Indiana's ensuring run fell just short.