Indiana tops Michigan St.

Oladipo overcomes sprained ankle to carry Hoosiers to win.

The Associated Press

First Published Feb 19 2013 11:05 pm • Last Updated Feb 26 2013 11:46 am

East Lansing, Mich. • Victor Oladipo shook off a sprained left ankle with a spectacular performance to lift top-ranked Indiana to a 72-68 win over No. 4 Michigan State on Tuesday night.

Oladipo’s go-ahead putback, dunk and free throws in the final minute gave him 19 points to go along with nine rebounds, five steals and a block. Not bad for a guy who didn’t play after halftime of his previous game, just three days earlier, because of the injury.

Hoosiers coach Tom Crean insisted that the junior shooting guard "wasn’t even close" to 100-percent healthy.

"There’s no doubt his foot hurt," Crean said. "That mind was right, and that was the biggest thing."

Indiana (24-3, 12-2 Big Ten) broke a first-place tie in the conference — with four games left in the regular season — and moved a step closer toward earning top seeding next month in the NCAA Tournament.

"It was a huge win for us," Oladipo said. "We’ve come a long way."

The Hoosiers had lost 17 straight — since 1991 — on the road against the Spartans.

"Most of those guys weren’t alive," Crean said. "It didn’t affect them."

Michigan State (22-5, 11-3) blew opportunities at the line.

Trailing by three with 3.7 seconds left, Harris was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He missed the first one — setting off sighs in the sold-out arena — and after making the second, he deliberately missed the third.

Indiana got the rebound — Oladipo grabbed it, of course — and he hit two free throws to seal the win.

Missouri 63, No. 5 Florida 60 • At Columbia, Mo., Laurence Bowers had 17 points plus 10 rebounds and Missouri erased a 13-point deficit in the second half to rally past Florida. Phil Pressey added 10 assists, seven points, six rebounds and three steals for Missouri (19-7, 8-5 SEC).

Mike Rosario had 14 points for Florida (21-4, 11-2) but missed a 3-point try at the buzzer.

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