Michigan State went on the road for a tough matchup in Columbus against Ohio State, but left with a commanding win. MSU held OSU to its fewest points in a matchup between the two programs since 1996 as the Spartans return home to East Lansing with a 62-41 victory.

For those wondering, Michigan State defeated Ohio State 55-41 in East Lansing on Feb. 7, 1996. OSU's 41 points in both outings mark the lowest amount scored by either team in the series since 1950.

The win moves Michigan State to 16-9 overall and 8-6 in Big Ten action, while Ohio State drops to 11-14 overall and 3-11 in league play.

Michigan State forward Joey Hauser led all scorers on the day with 22 points, powered by 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, matching his career-high in East Lansing for made 3-pointers previously set against Western Michigan on Dec. 6, 2020. Hauser fell just shy of a double-double on the day with eight rebounds to go along with two assists and a block.

Guard Tyson Walker was the only other Spartan to reach double-digits with 10 points, and he added a team-high two steals as well. Point guard A.J. Hoggard added six points to go along with a team-leading five assists.

Just one player for Ohio State hit double figures, with guard Sean McNeil scoring 10 for OSU.

Both teams struggled on offense to start the game, shooting under 27% percent early on before Michigan State finally started to sink baskets down the stretch of the first half. It also did not help that MSU suffered four-straight turnovers on offense after Ohio State took a narrow 6-4 lead at the 15:30 mark.

Neither Michigan State nor Ohio State were able to break into double-digits until over halfway through the opening half. The honors for that breakthrough went to MSU’s Hauser as he hit a 3-pointer with 8:26 left to give MSU a 12-9 advantage.

Michigan State finally took off on offense over the final seven minutes of the half. The Spartans mounted a 13-3 run as Ohio State managed just 1-of-11 shooting during that same stretch. MSU also took advantage of a sloppy OSU offense, scoring eight points off eight OSU turnovers.

Michigan State led 27-14 at the break. The 14 points scored by the Buckeyes in the first half marked a season low for OSU, with the previous being 22 points against Nebraska in Lincoln on Jan. 18.

Ohio State came out of the locker room with adjustments in mind as the Buckeyes methodically ate into the Spartans’ lead to open the second half. Ohio State managed to cut it to single-digits on a layup by Zed Key with 16:20 left, but MSU was able to rally it back to a 12-point lead twice from there.

OSU gave a strong punch soon after, mounting a 7-0 run to cut it within five points, trailing MSU 38-33 with 11:24 remaining. MSU suffered a scoring drought of over two-and-a-half minutes as OSU tried to take control of its home court. Michigan State was able to rally and mount an 8-0 run of its own, forcing Ohio State to call a timeout with 6:54 left and Michigan State in the lead at 49-35. The Buckeyes failed to score for over three-and-half minutes during that stretch.

The timeout did little to halt the Spartans as they finished the game on a 21-4 run in the closing stretch before sending in the victory lineup of Steven Izzo, Nick Sanders, Jason Whitens and Davis Smith (to join Carson Cooper on the court) with just over a minute remaining. McNeil managed to get in a jumper in the closing seconds to finish scoring for the day and Michigan State notched the 62-41 win.

MSU returns to action next against Minnesota as the Golden Gophers visit East Lansing on Wednesday. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and will broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Discuss Michigan State's victory over Ohio State in the Spartans Illustrated premium forums.