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Taylor-made win upsets Ohio State

February 27, 2002

Columbus, Ohio - A career night from sophomore guard Marcus Taylor propelled the Spartans past No. 18 Ohio State 81-76 Tuesday night.

Taylor lit the Buckeyes up for a career-high 32 points on 10-of-15 shooting. The Spartans shot 59.1 percent from the floor as a team.

After trailing 2-0, the Spartans (18-10 overall, 9-6 Big Ten) controlled much of the first half as Taylor scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes.

“I was just feeling it,” Taylor said. “Once I got on a roll, I kept being aggressive.”

But the Buckeyes (19-7, 10-5) took advantage of late MSU collapse to enter halftime up 36-31.

In the second half, Taylor again took over. His three-pointer with 15 minutes to play put the Spartans back on top. As a team, MSU shot 63 percent from the floor in the second half.

Spartan head coach Tom Izzo said Taylor’s stat line doesn’t do justice to his overall game.

“The 32 points doesn’t impress me as much as how (Taylor) led our team,” Izzo said. “When he’s playing like that, we are a different team.”

After Taylor’s three the lead changed hands six times, until freshman guard Chris Hill hit a three to give MSU a 68-65 lead. The Spartans never trailed again.

The Spartans sealed the game from the free-throw line, where they scored their final 13 points. MSU made 21-of-28 free-throws in the second half.

The Buckeyes committed just four team fouls in the first half as MSU made two of three from the charity stripe. In contrast, Ohio State was 6-of-12 for the entire game.

“I’m not sure if that wasn’t as well as we can play,” Izzo said.

The 81 points was the most the Spartans have scored all season.

Buckeye head coach Jim O’Brien agreed with Izzo.

“They came in and played as well as I’ve seen them play all year,” O’Brien said. “They got a lot of easy baskets in transition and stuffed it down our throats.”

The game also was MSU’s first win at Value City Arena. The Spartans were winless in their two previous meetings.

Ohio State was led by two seniors on senior night. Guards Brian Brown and Boban Savovic scored 21 and 17 points, respectively.

The Buckeye loss, coupled with Indiana’s 70-62 defeat at the hands of Illinois, creates a four-way tie atop Big Ten standings. Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin each have five conference loses.

The Spartans sit one game back.

MSU will finish the regular season Saturday against Iowa (16-13, 5-10) at Breslin Center.

Dan Woike can be reached at woikedan@msu.edu.

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