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Indiana pulls off shocking upset of reeling No. 11 MSU
Indiana's Malik Reneau, right, celebrates after a score against Michigan State during the second half on Tuesday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana pulls off shocking upset of reeling No. 11 Michigan State

The Indiana Hoosiers shocked the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday night with a 71-67 win.

The win comes after a five-game losing streak and a stretch of seven losses in an eight-game span for the struggling program. Head coach Mike Woodson is just days removed from announcing he will be stepping down as the team's coach at the end of the season.

Indiana was a solid 48% from the floor, but struggled from long-range (3-of-13). Junior forward Malik Reneau (19 points, 12 rebounds) carried the load off the bench. Sophomore guard Myles Rice contributed 10 points off the bench, including this wild circus shot that even had the announcers in disbelief.

This steal from senior guard Anthony Leal, that led to a dunk on the other end by senior guard Trey Galloway, put Indiana up 59-52 and in excellent position to pull the upset with 3:49 remaining.

This continues a recent slide for the Spartans that has seen them drop three of their last four games. While the free throws (21-of-25) kept them in the game, it was poor three-point shooting (4-of-23) that prevented them from getting in a rhythm all night.

Senior guard Jaden Akins led the way with 14 points with freshman guard Jase Richardson (13 points) and senior forward Frankie Fidler (12 points) close behind. Prior to the recent struggles, Michigan State had won 13 in a row. 

Now sitting one game back of in-state rival Michigan in the Big Ten standings, the Spartans must generate more offense than they have in their last three losses after failing to score 70 points in each of them.

Perhaps the most surprising part of Indiana's win was its defense. Coming into the game, the Hoosiers were 234th in the country in opponent points per game (73.5 PPG), per NCAA.com

Sitting at 15-10 and only 6-8 in the conference, Indiana still finds itself in the bottom half of the Big Ten standings and needs a strong defensive performance like it got on Tuesday to have any shot of putting more wins together.

Colby Colwell

Colby Colwell is a freelance contributor with a bachelor’s in Computer & Information Technology and a minor in Psychology from Western Kentucky University. With a deep passion for sports, especially NASCAR, he offers his substantial knowledge along with his adept writing skills. When he’s not writing, Colby enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with his family

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