Sunday, Jan. 7 4:00pm ET
Haston's 6th career trey beats MSU
RECAP
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BOX SCORE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Michigan State arrived at Assembly Hall
on Sunday with the No. 1 ranking, an unbeaten record and the
nation's longest winning streak.
Kirk Haston's buzzer-beating 3-pointer changed all that.
| | Kirk Haston's lets his game-winner fly over Zach Randolph as time expires on Sunday. |
Indiana beat the Spartans 59-58, its first win over a top-ranked
team in more than a decade and certainly the biggest victory in the
post-Bob Knight era.
The loss cost Michigan State the No. 1 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today poll released Sunday night. The Spartans fell to third, with Stanford taking over the top spot.
"I just put a little extra arch on it and started heading to
the other end," said Haston, who had just four 3-pointers in his
career before Sunday. "I looked up at the clock and saw all zeros
and that's when I knew we had a win."
Or at least he thought the Hoosiers (10-6, 1-1 Big Ten) had a
win.
Haston was immediately tackled by his teammates, right in front
of the Michigan State bench, as students poured onto the floor, a
rarity in Bloomington.
But in the midst of the frenzied celebration, the officials
opted to review the shot on replay -- making sure it was from behind
the 3-point line and that there was no time remaining. When the
conference ended, the Hoosiers had their first victory over a
top-ranked team since 1987 and their first ever at Assembly Hall.
"It's a big win for us, that goes without saying," said
Haston, who finished with 27 points. "To be the only team to beat
this team, and we beat them two times in a row pretty much, and
they're one of the best teams in the country if not the best team
in the country, it's a big win for all the past players here and
all the players on the team."
It was easily the biggest win in coach Mike Davis' brief career,
one that began in September when Knight was fired.
Davis called a timeout with 8.3 seconds left to design the play
he wanted -- and he opted for the win.
"I didn't want to go to overtime," he said. "If we missed the
shot, we missed it."
The Spartans (12-1, 1-1) had won 23 straight games since losing
their last trip to Assembly Hall on Feb. 26, 2000. The loss means
Stanford will most probably move up one spot to No. 1 in the AP poll as well when it is released Monday morning.
"It's sad to see the win streak end," Izzo said. "But it's
good to know that reality is still reality."
The reality Sunday was that the Spartans played an
uncharacteristically bad game.
The defending national champions finished with 19 turnovers, one
short of a season high.
They shot just 38.9 percent from the field, managed only seven
steals and seven assists, and leading scorer Charlie Bell was
limited to just three field goals and 11 points.
Most notably absent was their ability to finish. They missed
three of four free throws in the final 29 seconds.
"They gave us a lesson in how to play hard," Izzo said. "For
some reason, we just didn't come out. Turnover after turnover early
in the game hurt us, foul trouble hurt us.
"But I'm happy we lost. You get what you deserve. If we had
won, it would have been a false impression of what went on here."
What went on, was that Indiana fought all out, even after
falling behind 46-40 midway through the second half.
The Hoosiers responded with a 9-0 run midway through the second
half, sparked by another 3-pointer by Haston.
Michigan State regained the lead at 55-53 with 4:15 to go and
led until Haston's game-winner from just right of the top of the
key.
"I told them remember why we won because we fought the entire
game," Davis said. "There's no reason not to play like that every
night. We beat the No. 1 team in the country. But we're still
10-6."
Jason Richardson led the Spartans with 15 points.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Michigan State Clubhouse
Indiana Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
Coach Mike Davis talks with the College Hoops 2Night crew after Indiana's upset over the Spartans.
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Coach Tom Izzo felt his Michigan State team got what it deserved.
wav: 132 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Indiana's Kirk Haston comments on his buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
wav: 106 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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