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Michigan State Vs. Indiana: Outright Big Ten Within Reach As Spartans Hit The Road

Picked by the media to finish fourth during the preseason, Michigan State can claim the outright Big Ten title with a win Tuesday in Bloomington.

Michigan State can lock up an outright Big Ten title on Tuesday when the Spartans take on Indiana in Bloomington.

MSU is currently 13-3 in the conference, a full two games ahead of second-place Ohio State, which is 11-5 following its home loss Sunday to Wisconsin.

The Buckeyes have not won consecutive games since Feb. 7, while the Spartans have won 10 straight, most recently a 62-34 dismantling of Nebraska. That win helped push MSU up to No. 5 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls and moved them a step closer to nabbing .

Indiana, meanwhile, has righted the ship after a shaky January. The Hoosiers were just 5-4 on the month, including losses to Minnesota and Nebraska. Following a Feb. 1 loss at Michigan, the Hoosiers were just 5-6 in the conference.

But since then the Hoosiers have gone 4-1 in the conference and 5-1 overall (they had a game against North Carolina Central last week) to stabilize their season. They are currently 22-7 and 9-7 in the Big Ten, good for No. 18 in the AP poll.

Freshman Cody Zeller leads the Hoosiers in scoring and rebounds, going for 15.4 and 6.5 per game. He did, however, have his worst game of the season against Draymond Green and MSU back on Dec. 28: Zeller had just four points and three boards in the 15-point MSU win.

Even with a loss, MSU can do no worse than a tie for first. The Spartans host Ohio State on Sunday.

Tuesday’s game tips at 7 ET and will air on ESPN.

For more on the Michigan State Spartans, go to The Only Colors. You can also head over to SB Nation’s main NCAA Basketball hub at SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.