Chicago - After the first half, the Spartans were saying "ouch" and following the second half, they stood in disbelief.
After being dismantled in the first half and trailing by as many as 19 points, the Spartans charged back and took their first lead of the game 3:43 left. But in the end, it was a banked free throw by Buckeye reserve forward Charles Bass with 6.1 seconds remaining that sealed MSU's fate.
Sophomore guard Chris Hill had an open 15-footer from the baseline to win the game, but it clanked off the iron, signifying a 55-54 MSU defeat.
"It was a terrific, terrific, terrific win for our guys," Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien said. "We were holding on in the second half for dear life. It was like fools gold in the first half because they weren't making shots. We knew they were going to make a run, but I thought our guys did a great job of keeping their composure."
MSU head coach Izzo was a little more blunt about his team's performance.
"Ohio State beat us in every way shape or form," Izzo said. "We had some shots, we missed. We had shots at the elbow, we missed. We had some dunks, we missed. We had some layups and free throws and we missed. We didn't deserve to win - they did.
"Don't question why Chris' last two shots didn't go in because they weren't suppose to."
Prior to the last-ditch heave, Hill missed a fairly open 3-pointer that would have put MSU up three.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Spartans (19-12), while the Buckeyes (17-13) are one win away from stealing an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. They will play the winner of the Indiana-Illinois game in tomorrow's championship contest.
Freshman guard Maurice Ager's 15 points led the Spartans, while sophomore guard Chris Hill and sophomore forward/guard Alan Anderson added 12 and 11, respectively.
The game kicked off with the Matt Sylvester and Paul Davis show. Three minutes into the game, the Buckeye forward had seven points while MSU's freshman center had six as Ohio State had a 7-6 lead.
Then the Spartans went stone cold from the field as the Buckeyes scored 18 straight points to take a commanding 25-6 lead. During the 11:22 stretch the Spartans were scoreless, MSU committed seven turnovers and went 0-for-9 from the field.
The Spartans rallied back, but still trailed by 12 at the half, 29-17. MSU shot 15 percent from the floor (3-for-20) in the first frame while committing nine turnover.
"My message was, I was really disappointed with how we played," Izzo said. "I told them at the half that they embarrassed themselves and the university."
It took some time, but Izzo's message finally stuck in the second half.
With Ohio State leading 39-23, the Spartans went on a 12-0 run sparked by the hustle of Anderson and the hot shooting touch of Ager.
MSU, however, could never knot the score. Instead, the Spartans took the lead. Ager launched a 3-pointer with 3:43 to go that gave MSU a 51-50 lead - its first and last of the game.
Hill tied the score at 54 about two minutes later with a deep triple. Bass missed a layup and Hill missed his open triple before Bass' free throw sealed the game.
"It's definitely frustrating and this team has to learn to get through it," Hill said. "We can't come out the way we did. We have to be able to step up and take ownership and get this team over the hump."
The Spartans will now wait until 6 p.m. Sunday to find out their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
To see where the selection committee will send the Spartans, check www.statenews.com.
