Subscribe to TheHoosier.com to stay up to date on the latest Indiana Athletics news and headlines.

Indiana basketball traveled to East Lansing on Tuesday night for a clash with the Michigan State Spartans.

Despite a vicious Michigan State comeback, Indiana survived and upset the Spartans, 71-67, snapping a five-game losing streak.

Here's how it happened.

In the second half of Saturday's tilt with Michigan, Indiana deployed a zone to slow down a high octane Wolverine offense and it worked like a charm, allowing the Hoosiers to erase double-digit deficit.

Indiana's defense provided very little resistance in the first handful of minute of Tuesday evening's contest with Michigan State, but the Hoosiers fell back into the defense, forcing Michigan State to rely on its Achilles heel: three point shooting.

The Spartans entered the game, dead last in the conference in three point percentage, shooting a dreadful 29.2 percent on the season.

Indiana trailed Michigan State by as many as a dozen in the first half, but the zone stymied the Spartan offense, which shot 2-of-12 from long range in the game's opening 20 minutes.

The Hoosiers held the Spartans to no points in the half's final 4:11, allowing Indiana to end the half on a 9-0 run to take a 32-29 lead at half.

It was apparent early that Indiana's plan of attack offensively was going to be using Oumar Ballo in heavy doses, and the plan worked to perfection in the first half.

After just six points on Saturday against Michigan, Ballo had 12-first half points on an efficient 5-of-7 while hauling in seven rebounds.

More importantly, Ballo stayed out of foul trouble, picking up his lone foul with less than three minutes left in the half.

The Arizona transfer wasn't as lucky in the second half, picking up his second and third fouls in less than five minutes into the frame, forcing Indiana's most productive player to the bench for five-plus minutes.

Ballo was whistled for his fourth foul a mere two minutes later on what appeared to be a very late call by the official Michael Reed.

Though Indiana was fluttered early, the Hoosiers were resilient on the back of Malik Reneau, who finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Ballo fouled in the closing seconds, finishing the game with a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Though it wasn’t pretty late, Indiana spoiled Tom Izzo's first crack at surpassing Bob Knight's record of most Big Ten wins.

Mackenzie Mgabko made his final four shots from the charity stripe to seal the deal.

The Hoosiers held the Spartans to 67 points, making it just the fifth time Michigan State has been held under 70 points this season.

As a team, Indiana shot 48 percent from the field, all while holding Michigan State to 38 percent and an abysmal 4-of-23 from beyond the arc.

Indiana led by as many as nine and never relinquished the lead after Oumar Ballo made a pair at the line to give the Hoosiers a 30-29 lead with 1:57 left in the first half.

The win marked the first time the Hoosiers emerged victorious in six games, the first since Indiana beat Ohio State in overtime in Columbus on January 17th.

–––––

Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!

– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content

– Interact with fellow fans on TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board