Miss.

But Ward made the back end, tying the game at 66. Though it was enough to keep the Spartans alive in regulation, a 3-pointer from Indiana freshman Romeo Langford at the beginning of overtime set the tone for the rest of the period, and allowed the Hoosiers to seal a 79-75 upset win against the sixth-ranked Spartans at the Breslin Center on Saturday.

"Don't feel sorry for us, we got what we deserved," MSU coach Tom Izzo said. "Players are gonna have to learn, that (we) are everyone's big game."

The Spartans (18-4, 9-2) shot a season-low from the free throw line in their first home loss — finishing 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) for the game, surpassing the previous low against Northwestern (53.3 percent).

Cassius Winston scored a game-high 26 points and tied the team-high with eight rebounds and led MSU with seven assists.

Ward finished with 11 points and six boards with 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. He went 1-for-9 from the line.

The upset ends a seven-game losing streak for Indiana (13-9, 4-7) and ends a four-game skid in East Lansing. The loss also marks MSU's second in a row — the first skid of the season.

"Tremendous win for our team," IU coach Archie Miller said. "I thought guys really stepped up. We really played hard and competed. For the first time in a while, we really shared the ball. "

Despite entering the game ranked 12th in the conference in 3-point shooting, the Hoosiers went 10-of-20 from beyond the arc, led by Devonte Green and Aljami Green, who had three apiece. 

Langford led the Hoosiers with 19 points on 6-of-18 shooting and five made free throws.

The Spartans were held scoreless for nearly seven minutes during an 0-for-9 shooting spell after getting out to an early 9-6 lead. Winston made his second 3-pointer of the game to end the skid and put MSU within a basket, trailing 13-12, with 9:56 left in the first half. 

Later in the first half, Hoosiers starting forward Juwan Morgan injured his left shoulder while diving for a loose ball with 6:04 till the break. From that point, the Spartans ended the half outscoring IU 13-8 to take a 31-28 lead into halftime. 

Morgan remained out for the remainder of the game and Miller said his status is still unknown.

Izzo said his biggest concern from the game was MSU's inability to rebound defensively. Indiana took a 48-40 overall rebounding advantage, including 20 offensive boards.

"It's totally an effort thing, and we don't work on it," Izzo said. "We play wimp ball now. We're so afraid of the injuries and everything. There's no excuse for anybody but me."

It marks the third time in four games the Spartans were out-rebounded.

"We gotta make a promise to ourselves that we're not going to get beat," said Winston, who played 44-plus minutes. "You know, we're not going to get out-worked. If a team is gonna beat us, they're gonna out-play us that's as simple as we can put it. Guards have to do a better job helping those big guys and the big guys gotta do a better job doing their job for the whole game."

Frustrations with officials

Frustrations from Izzo and Miller rose steadily in the closing minutes prior to halftime after missed foul calls on both sides — Winston lost his headband after coming down on hard contact on an attempted layup in transition. On the Hoosiers' next possession, Langford was also hit to the ground without a whistle.

Izzo said he believed there were a number of missed calls.

"I'll be honest with you, if it costs me $20,000, $10,000, I really don't give a damn — I did not like the way the game was called," he said. "There were some charges, there were some things, the consistency with this hooking thing is off the charts. One time it is, one time it isn't. 

"But that's our fault too, how the officials are going to do what's called is the way that the coaches' association wants it."

Up Next

The Spartans resume play Tuesday against Illinois (7-15, 3-8) on the road. The Illini beat then-No. 21 Maryland 78-67 at Madison Square Garden in New York Jan. 26, which marked the team's only win against a ranked opponent.

"It’s just more motivation to bounce back," Winston said. "We know what we’re capable of, we’re a really good team and we have to get back to that standard."