The No. 4-seeded Michigan State Spartans kicked off Big Ten Tournament play in Chicago on Friday afternoon with a quarterfinals matchup against the No. 13-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, but had an early exit. OSU defeated MSU by a final score of 68-58.
Ohio State came into the game on a hot streak, winning four of its last five games, including two Big Ten Tournament wins over Wisconsin and Iowa. Despite being without star freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh, the Buckeyes continued the strong play on Friday.
Michigan State won the opening tipoff, but Ohio State forced a shot-clock violation. OSU would also turn it over on its first possession, but did get on the board first thanks to a step-back jumper from Justice Sueing, but the Spartans then reeled off seven-straight points. Buckets from Tyson Walker and Mady Sissoko, and a 3-pointer by Joey Hauser, gave MSU an early 7-2 lead.
The teams then traded baskets for a few minutes, including two 3-pointers from Sueing. A layup from Ohio State freshman Bruce Thornton gave the Buckeyes a 12-11 lead with 12:42 remaining in the first half, and OSU did not relinquish it for the rest of the game.
From that point on, Ohio State would close out the first half on a 22-13 run, taking a 33-24 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.
After beginning the game by making four of its first six shots, Michigan State made just five of its final 23 shots of the first half. The Ohio State defense frustrated Michigan State, and MSU shot just 9-for-29 overall (31%) in the first 20 minutes, including 1-for-9 from 3-point range (11%).
Ohio State shot much better than Michigan State in the first half. The Buckeyes shot 14-for-27 from the floor (51.9%) and were strong from 3-point range, making five of its nine attempts from behind the arc (55.6%).
Sueing and Thornton led the Buckeyes at the half with eight points each, while Hauser led the Spartans with seven points after the first 20 minutes of play.
Michigan State came into the second half looking more focused. The Spartans came out of the locker rooms on a 10-3 run, cutting Ohio State’s lead to just two points, 36-34, with 16:35 to play.
Ohio State woke back up, however, as Thornton and Sueing hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Buckeyes’ lead back out to eight points at 42-34 with 15 minutes to play. A turnaround jumper from Hauser then made it 42-36, but then free throws from OSU’s Isaac Likekele and a layup from Thornton extended the Buckeyes’ lead back out to double-digits at 46-36 with 11:29 left to play.
MSU then scored three quick points when Walker split a pair of free throws and Jaden Akins made a jumper, cutting the deficit to seven points with 10:16 remaining. Once again, the Buckeyes were able to respond, however, as freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. hit a 2-point jumper and a 3-point jumper to put Ohio State up 51-39 with 8:05 to play.
A jump shot from Michigan State’s A.J. Hoggard was immediately answered by a 3-pointer from Sueing, giving Ohio State a 54-41 lead with 7:37 remaining in the game.
Michigan State got some momentum after Sueing picked up his fourth foul and exited the game with 6:40 remaining. The Spartans put together a 9-2 run, which included a 3-pointer by Hoggard, making the score 56-50 with Ohio State still in the lead with 4:54 left to play.
Once again, though, Ohio State countered Michigan State’s run. Gayle scored five quick points, including another 3-pointer, and OSU was once again up by double-digits, 61-50, with 3:13 to play.
Akins then hit a pull-up jumper for the Spartans, but the Buckeyes went on a 7-2 run from there to go up 14 points, 68-54, with just 49 seconds remaining. The Spartans scored the final four points of the game, but it was too little, too late, and Ohio State won by the aforementioned final score of 68-58.
Ohio State is on an impressive run right now. OSU becomes the lowest seed ever (No. 13) to reach the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes will play Purdue on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the conference tournament championship game on Sunday.
In the four games prior to Friday’s contest, Michigan State shot 58% from 3-point range and averaged 87.5 points per game in that span. In Chicago, the Spartans shot just 19% from deep (3-for-19) and 38% overall (21-for-55).
Ohio State shot 45% overall from the field (25-for-56) and a strong 53% from 3-point range (10-for-19).
Ohio State was led by Thornton (21 points), Gayle (15 points) and Sueing (14 points). Hauser led Michigan State with 15 points, while Hoggard, Walker and Akins each scored 10 points.
Michigan State will find out its placement in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.