The Michigan State men’s basketball team defeated Ohio State by a final score of 84-78 on Sunday.

The Spartans celebrated senior day, honoring seniors Malik Hall, Tyson Walker, Jason Whitens and Joey Hauser (although, Hauser did not participate in the “walk” after the game because he did so last year).

Here is what stood out from the Spartans’ victory over the Buckeyes.

Michigan State defeated Ohio State by six points, and led for 38:34 out of a possible 40 minutes, but the Buckeyes eventually made the Spartans work for it. OSU got the scoring started on the day with a pair of free throws from freshman Brice Sensabaugh, and later led 4-2 with 19:00 to play in the first half, but that was the last time the Buckeyes led.

Michigan State took a 43-34 lead into halftime, but Ohio State challenged the Spartans in the second half, outscoring MSU 44-41 in the final 20 minutes of play. Defensive lapses by MSU at times kept OSU in it. However, each time the Buckeyes went on a run, the Spartans were eventually able to counter it and hold the lead.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo was complimentary of Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann and his team.

“I give Chris (Holtmann) a lot of credit,” Izzo said. “When you change your team that late in the year, and do the things he's done – and he's played probably his best basketball the last four games – a lot of credit goes to him.”

As for the senior day festivities, Hall, Walker, Whitens and Hauser all started on Sunday, and all kissed Michigan State’s midcourt logo in the final seconds of the game, a senior day tradition for the Spartans. As mentioned, Hauser participated in senior day activities during the 2021-2022 season, so he wasn’t sure if he would kiss the logo again or not, but decided to go for it.

“I didn't really have a plan going into it because I wasn't gonna partake (in the) after the game stuff, but figured once I was the last guy, I had to do it, so no question about it at that point,” Hauser said about kissing the logo.

Izzo encouraged Hauser to kiss the logo, but wanted to respect whatever Hauser wanted to do. Ultimately, Izzo was happy for the senior forward.

“He told me that – he acted like it was a religion that you can't kiss the Spartan head twice – so, I said, ‘Fine, don’t kiss it,” Izzo said about Hauser. “And then he was out there and he got caught up in the emotion or something, and he did (kiss it), which is a little surprising to me, but he didn't wanna go through senior night again. But what a story it’s been for Joey.”

Hauser decided to return to Michigan State for another year of competition in 2022-2023 after debating moving on from college basketball after last season. He discussed how he has grown as both a person and a player over the last year.

“I think as a player, just my confidence, obviously, it's probably the most visible,” Hauser said. “I'm not afraid to take any shot. I'm not afraid to keep shooting after a miss. It's probably been the biggest thing for me as a player. I feel like (the confidence) was always there, just a matter of getting there, just buying into the process.

“As a person, just being around this program, being around Coach Izzo, you're gonna grow so much, whether you like it or not, he’s gonna force you to grow. He's gonna mold you into becoming a young man, so he's done a great job with that. I've grown in every aspect in my time here, especially over the course of the last 12 months.

Junior point guard A.J. Hoggard led Michigan State with 23 points and seven assists on Sunday. He was the only non-senior to start on senior day, and that was not something that he took lightly.

“It meant a lot (to start with the seniors),” Hoggard said in the locker room after the game. “I thought I wasn't starting tonight, and I wouldn't have had a problem with it at all. Senior night is special to those guys, and just to be out there with them is just fun. To be the junior, and to be a senior next year as well, just to see it, get a little taste of it, was fun.”