It was supposed to be the perfect story for Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. One more win meant he would break former Indiana coach Bobby Knight's record for most Big Ten wins of all-time, at home, in front of a packed Breslin Center.

However, the Hoosiers had other ideas.

In upset fashion, Indiana defeated Michigan State, 71-67, behind good performances from the Hoosiers' big men.

The Spartans allowed Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau to combine for 33 points and 22 rebounds.

Poor perimeter shooting and turnovers cost the Spartans again. They shot 17% from 3-point range and 38% from the field on the night. Michigan State had eight second half turnovers as well.

Jaden Akins (14 points), Jase Richardson (13) and Frankie Fidler (12) all scored in double figures for Michigan State. Tre Holloman led the team with seven assists to go along with nine points. Jaxon Kohler led the Spartans with seven rebounds.

The Spartans did win the rebounding battle, 36-31, and they grabbed 12 offensive boards. However, Indiana was much better from the field (48%), and the Hoosiers made three more shots than Michigan State, despite taking five less.

This was Michigan State's first home loss of the 2024-25 season.

With the loss, Michigan State falls to 19-5 overall and 10-3 in the Big Ten. The Spartans sit one game behind Michigan for the top spot in the conference. Michigan State has now lost three of its last four games after its 13-game winning streak.

Here is what went down inside the Breslin Center on Tuesday night:

Jase Richardson stayed in the starting lineup after his 29-point performance on Saturday against Oregon. Jeremy Fears Jr. returned to the starting five after missing last game with an illness. Akins, Kohler and Szymon Zapala joined them in the starting lineup.

The Spartans started strong on the glass, grabbing two offensive rebounds on the first two possessions of the game. Zapala grabbed the first and put it back for an easy two. Kohler grabbed the second offensive board and made a bucket through contact.

Michigan State opened the game with an 8-4 advantage in the rebounding battle in the first four minutes. Despite getting off to a slow start shooting from the perimeter, the Spartans jumped out to a 10-4 lead at the first media timeout.

Indiana cut Michigan State’s lead to two points thanks to four consecutive points by Ballo, then the Spartans went on a 10-0 run after a sequence of four missed shots in a row. Holloman, Coen Carr, Carson Cooper, Fidler and Richardson all had two points to contribute to the run.

Indiana answered back with a 6-0 run of its own. The Hoosiers applied a lot of on-ball pressure on whoever was playing point guard for the Spartans.

Akins broke the Michigan State scoring drought with a tough layup to extend the lead to 22-14 heading into the under-8 media timeout.

Indiana went on a 14-7 run to cut Michigan State’s lead down to one point at the under-4 media timeout. Ballo scored six points for the Hoosiers in that stretch to reach double digits for the game.

The Spartans trailed for the first time in the game after Ballo made a pair of free throws at the 1:57-mark of the first half. Following two more made free throws on Cooper’s third foul, Indiana ended the half on a 9-0 run and had the 32-29 advantage heading into the locker room.

Michigan State only scored nine points in the final 11:16 of the first half as Indiana’s press and zone defense was giving the Spartans fits.

Michigan State’s perimeter shooting was poor in the first half. The Spartans went just 2-for-12 from 3-point range (17%). They shot 32% from the field as well.

Ballo was a problem for Michigan State in the first half, as he had 12 points and seven rebounds at the break.

On the bright side, the Spartans only had three turnovers in the first half and they won the first half rebounding battle, 22-19 (seven offensive rebounds).

Richardson led the Spartans with six points at halftime while Akins had five points, but was 2-for-7 shooting. Kohler led the Spartans with six points to go along with his three points.

Michigan State did have some foul trouble with its bigs. Cooper had three fouls in the first half while Kohler and Zapala both had two.

Michigan State’s scoring drought and Indiana’s scoring run continued into the second half. The Hoosiers scored the first six points of the second half as turnovers started to emerge as a problem for the Spartans. They had three turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half.

Also, Kohler picked up his third foul early in the second half which forced him to exit the game. However, Ballo picked up two fouls early in the second half to give him three for the game. Ballo exited the game as a result with the score at 38-31 in favor of Indiana.

While Ballo was on the bench, Michigan State went on a 6-0 run. Akins made Michigan State’s first 3-pointer since the 5:41-mark of the first half (over 10 minutes of play) to cut Indiana’s lead down to three points.

Indiana responded defensively as the Spartans turned the ball over on two consecutive possessions, which helped Indiana get its lead back to seven points, 42-35, at the under-12 media timeout.

Ballo checked back into the game for the Hoosiers following two made free throws by Fidler which made it a 42-39 game.

Indiana outscored the Spartans 6-2 with Ballo in the game before he picked up his fourth foul, resulting in him going back to the bench.

Immediately after, Richardson got the Spartans going with a 3-pointer to hit double figures for the game.

Akins also hit a tough layup, which was followed by two Cooper free throws, and Indiana had a 50-48 lead with 6:17 remaining in the game.

Cooper picked up his fifth foul on an and-1 play by Reneau. Indiana’s lead was at five points with Cooper fouling out of the game. He ended with seven points and five rebounds.

Indiana went on a very quick 6-0 scoring burst thanks to two buckets by Reneau and a transition dunk by Trey Galloway off of a Holloman turnover. That forced Izzo to call a timeout with 3:12 remaining as the Hoosiers had a 61-52 lead.

Michigan State had several fouls to give before Indiana would enter the bonus. The Spartans started fouling the Hoosiers with just under three minutes left in the game until they sent Galloway to the line, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

Michigan State got back in the game thanks to a made second chance layup by Richardson, which cut Indiana’s lead down to five points at the 2:23-mark of the second half.

On Indiana’s next possession, Michigan State forced a shot clock violation. Mackenzie Mgbako attempted a hook shot and made it, but he didn’t get it off on time so it was waived off.

Then Holloman hit a floater from the Big Ten logo in the paint to cut Indiana’s lead to three points, forcing Indiana to call a timeout.

Indiana left some points on the board on the next possession when Mgbako only hit one of his two free throws on a shooting foul. However, Richardson turned the ball over on the next Michigan State possession.

Free throws continued to be an issue for the Hoosiers as Myles Rice missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Akins scored a putback layup for the Spartans on the ensuing possession and Indiana had a 62-60 lead with 32 seconds remaining.

Michigan State fouled Rice again. He hit both of his free throws to give Indiana a four point lead.

Ballo fouled out of the game for Indiana after he hacked Fidler on a shot attempt. Fidler hit both free throws to cut the lead back down to two.

Next, Reneau went to the line for Indiana, hitting one free throw with 22 seconds left to give Indiana a three point lead. It seemed as if the Spartans had a chance since it was back to a one-possession game and MSU had the ball.

The Hoosiers opted to foul and they sent Fidler back to the line with 14 seconds remaining, where he hit both.

Michigan State sent Mgbako to the line as the Spartans trailed by one point. He made both free throws and Izzo opted to take his final timeout as his team trailed by three points with 13 seconds remaining.

Once again, Indiana fouled without letting MSU get off a three point shot. The Hoosiers sent Holloman to the line, where he made both free throws to cut Indiana’s lead back down to one point with nine seconds left.

Indiana targeted Mgbako on the inbounds pass and he caught the ball out of bounds. However, Fears Jr. was called for a push off foul, much to the (loud) dismay of the Spartan fans in Breslin.

Instead of MSU getting the ball back with a chance to win, Mgbako hit both free throws and Indiana fouled Holloman again with five seconds remaining. Holloman made the first free throw, purposely missed the second foul shot, but Indiana’s Anthony Leal got the board and was fouled right away.

Leal hit both free throws to give Indiana the 71-67 lead and the Spartans were out of time and down by two possessions.

Izzo’s Big Ten wins record is on hold for at least one more game as the Hoosiers pulled an upset over Michigan State, 71-67.

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