With plenty of help from Indiana, the Michigan basketball team's dream of grabbing a piece of the 2011-12 Big Ten title is still alive.

For now, anyway.

The 18th-ranked Hoosiers blasted No. 5 Michigan State, 70-55, on Tuesday night in Bloomington, Ind., shrinking MSU's lead in the Big Ten standings to just one game, with one to play.

The Spartans (24-5, 13-4) have already clinched a share of the Big Ten championship, but have also left the door open for both Ohio State and Michigan to grab a part of the prize.

Indiana guard Matt Roth celebrates as he comes off the court in the second half of the Hoosiers' 70-55 win over Michigan State on Tuesday.

AP Photo

Michigan (21-8, 11-5) still needs to get road wins over Illinois on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN) and Penn State on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN) to earn a share. Additionally, the Wolverines need Ohio State (23-6, 11-5) to knock off MSU in East Lansing on Sunday.

Should Ohio State beat Northwestern on Wednesday and the Spartans on Sunday -- and the Wolverines finish the week unbeaten -- the Big Ten title would be split three ways.

The Wolverines have not won a Big Ten championship since 1986.

In terms of Big Ten Tournament seeding, a three-team tie would be decided as follows:

1. Results of head-to-head competition during the regular-season. a. When comparing records against the tied teams, the team with the higher winning percentage shall prevail, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal (i.e., 2-0 is better than 3-1, but 2-0 is not better than 1-0).

b. After the top team among the tied teams is determined, the second team is ranked by its record among the original tied teams, not the head-to-head record vs. the remaining team(s).

2. If the remaining teams are still tied, then each tied team's record shall be compared to the team occupying the highest position in the final regular-season standings, continuing down through the standings until one team gains an advantage. a. When arriving at another pair of tied teams while comparing records, use each team's record against the collective tied teams as a group (prior to their own tie-breaking procedures), rather than the performance against the individual tied teams.

b. When comparing records against a single team or group of teams, the higher winning percentage shall prevail, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal (i.e., 2-0 is better than 3-1, but 2-0 is not better than 1-0).

3. Won-loss percentage of Division I opponents.

4. Coin toss conducted by Commissioner or designee.

Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.

Want to stay connected to Wolverine basketball in your Facebook newsfeed? “Like” AnnArbor.com's Michigan Basketball News & Views.