The win ties up the two teams atop the Big Ten standings, with MSU holding the tiebreaker — at least until the teams meet again March 4 at Breslin Center for the final game of the season.

Even though MSU took care of Ohio State, head coach Tom Izzo isn’t exactly confident in his team’s ability to hold the lead.

“If you can get someone to forfeit the next five games, I’d feel a little better,” Izzo said. “The Big Ten is the best it’s ever been. I said to my staff (Saturday morning), ‘We have to be prepared, because we could lose four or five in a row real easy.’”

This week, the Spartans host No. 21 Wisconsin (19-6, 8-4) on Thursday, a team tied for second place, then travel to Purdue (15-9, 5-6) on Sunday.

Senior forward Draymond Green took a few moments to take in the win in Columbus but moved on fairly quickly.

“It just means we came to Ohio State and got a win. It’s a great win; tomorrow it’s gonna mean nothing,” Green said. “We’re just trying to take everything one day at a time and get wins. At the end of the season, everything will be proved by records.”

Stingy D
Izzo praised his team’s defense Saturday night, saying it was likely the best they’d played all season.

The Spartans held the Buckeyes, who average 77 points on 49.1 percent shooting, to 48 points on 26.4 percent.

Ohio State center Jared Sullinger had 17 points and 16 rebounds, but also had 10 turnovers and missed 10 shots, leaving a lot of Buckeye possessions empty.

Izzo credited that to the Buckeye supporting cast of forward Deshaun Thomas and William Buford having poor showings.

“Buford had a not very good game, and Thomas didn’t have a very good game, so it all falls on poor Sullinger,” Izzo said. “(And) Ohio State missed some shots they normally make.”

Buckeye guard Aaron Craft said the MSU defense threw off their normal offense.

“They limited us to one shot, and they shrink the floor,” Craft said. “Our guys weren’t ready for it tonight. … We got a little bit selfish and were just taking shots for ourselves.”

Sully Sullinger
Although Sullinger put up solid numbers, much of the credit in the win goes to the MSU center duo of junior Derrick Nix and sophomore Adreian Payne.

“It’s kinda hard to completely get in his head, but those guys did a great job,” Green said. “Jared is a great player. They did a great job containing him and not letting him have a field day. It was a hard fought 17 and 16, about all you can ask for.”