EAST LANSING, Mich. — Victor Oladipo shook off a sprained left ankle to lift top-ranked Indiana to a 72-68 victory over No. 4 Michigan State on Tuesday night.

Oladipo’s go-ahead put back, dunk and free throws in the final minute gave him 19 points to go along with 9 rebounds, 5 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 consecutive - 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.

With the Spartans trailing by three with 3.7 seconds left, Harris was fouled on a threepoint attempt. He missed the first one and after making the second, he deliberately missed the third.

Olapido got the rebound and he hit two free throws to seal the victory.

“We were right there,” Gary Harris said somberly. “And, we could’ve won.”

Keith Appling had missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with a little more than a minuteleft.

“I’d say I was more upset than surprised,” he said.

Cody Zeller had 17 points - nearly doubling what he had in the previous matchup against Michigan State - while Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford scored 12 each for the Hoosiers.

Oladipo and Zeller went over the 1,000-point mark of their careers in the game, joining Hulls and Watford in the club, to give the storied program four players with that many points on the same team for the first time.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons,” Izzo said. “They’ve got a lot of experience.”

Harris, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball last year, missed a layup in a crowded lane with 16 seconds left and finished with 19 points. Adreian Payne scored 17 and the rest of their teammates struggled offensively.

Appling, Michigan State’sleading scorer, was held to six points on 1-of-8 shooting.

“My quarterback struggled a little bit,” Izzo said.

NO. 15 BUTLER 68, DUQUESNE 49

INDIANAPOLIS - When Butler’s shooters finally warmed up, Duquesne looked lost.

Rotnei Clarke scored 16 points, Khyle Marshall added 14 and the reeling Dukes had no answers as the 15th-ranked Bulldogs pulled away.

Butler (22-5, 9-3 Atlantic 10) rebounded from its only home loss this season by matching its second-largest victory margin of the season.

Duquesne (8-18, 1-11) was led by Derrick Colter with 11 points and Jerry Jones with nine. But it lost for the 15th time in 17 games and dropped to 46-116 all-time against ranked opponents.

NO. 2 MIAMI 54, VIRGINIA 50

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Reggie Johnson made a tie-breaking layup with 5.7 seconds left and the Miami Hurricanes overcame a ragged offensive performance for the second game in a row to beat Virginia and remain unbeaten in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Durand Scott added two clinching free throws with 4.1 seconds to go for the Hurricanes, who earned their 14th consecutive victory. The victory came two nights after they rallied late to beat Clemson 45-43.

The Hurricanes (22-3, 13-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) improved to 12-0 at home.

Virginia (18-8, 8-5) fell to 0-6 in Miami.

SAINT LOUIS 76, NO. 24 VCU 62

ST. LOUIS - Jordair Jett scored all 16 of his points in the second half and Mike McCall, Jr. added 15 to help Saint Louis win its eighth consecutive and take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 by beating Virginia Commonwealth.

Led by Jett and Cody Ellis, who contributed 10 points, Saint Louis’s bench outscored VCU’s 34-14. Dwayne Evans scored 14 for Saint Louis (20-5, 9-2).

VCU (21-6, 9-3) was led by Juvonte Reddic with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

NO. 17 MARQUETTE 67, SETON HALL 46

NEWARK, N.J. - Vander Blue scored 19 points and No. 17 Marquette used a sizeable rebounding advantage to beat Seton Hall.

The victory enabled the Golden Eagles (19-6, 10-3 Big East) to hold on to first place in the conference with their fourth victory in the past five outings. The Pirates (13-14, 2-12) dropped below the .500 mark for the first time this season - their worst league mark in 29 years.

Fuquan Edwin had 14 points and Aaron Cosby 11 for Seton Hall.

Sports, Pages 24 on 02/20/2013