Columbus, Ohio - The Buckeyes turned into just another victim for the Spartans on Saturday afternoon.
MSU dominated Ohio State for most of the game, and despite some defensive lapses, picked up the 72-58 victory at Value City Arena. The win was MSU's fourth in a row.
"At times, we played pretty well and others we played pretty poorly and Ohio State definitely had something to do with that." MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "We used to get shaken by missing free throws and the crowd's involvement, but we were able to fight through it today."
Sophomore guard Chris Hill's 20 points were tops for the Spartans (18-11 overall, 10-6 Big Ten). Freshman center Paul Davis added 12 and sophomore forward Kelvin Torbert chipped in 11.
Coming off his career-high of 22 points against Iowa, senior forward Adam Ballinger scored 11 with his first basket coming with 6:25 left in the game.
Senior guard and Detroit native Brent Darby led the Buckeyes (14-13, 7-9) with 20, but half of those came from a 10-for-11 effort from the foul line. Darby finished 5-for-14 from the field.
"I think they gave me only one open look the whole day," Darby said. "That's Michigan State for you - they play real tight defense."
Center Velimir Radinovic and forward Zach Williams also hit double-digits for the Buckeyes, adding 13 and 10, respectively.
MSU's shooting touch was on fire for most of the game. The Spartans finished the game 24-for-38, a blistering 63.2 percent.
In the first half, the Spartans seemingly couldn't miss, finishing 15-for-22 with only two misses coming inside the 3-point arc. However, that magic didn't carry over to the second half - at first.
MSU started the second half 2-for-8 from the field and during that time, the Buckeyes were making what looked to be a historic comeback on their senior day.
Ohio State cut a 45-33 deficit to 45-43 during a six-minute MSU scoring drought. But once the Spartans found the net, MSU never looked back, finishing the game 7-for-8 from the field.
"That is what these games are about - who can make the most runs," sophomore guard Alan Anderson said. "They made that run, but we kept it together and we finally stopped them. Then we made a run of our own that they couldn't stop."
The Spartans sealed the game down the stretch by showing poise at the line. After being sluggish at the foul line the entire game, MSU hit its last 12 free throws.
"Michigan State gave a pretty good effort," Radinovic said. "They came in and did what they had to do - my hat goes off to them."
MSU plays next game at the Big Ten Tournament. With all the tie breakers, the Spartans are already slated in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game, but their opponent has yet to be determined.
