To put it lightly: he's back.
Senior guard Chris Hill broke out of a nearly two-month long shooting slump with 26 points to lead the No. 13 MSU men's basketball team to a 83-69 win over Ohio State on Wednesday night at Breslin Center.
"It sure is nice to have No. 5 back," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "I can't tell you how good he feels. I'm happy for him."
Hill, despite not starting for the second straight game, came off the bench and knocked down all five shots he took in the first half and continued in the second half, hitting three out of five shots. His only misses came with less than three minutes to play and with the Spartans comfortably ahead.
After getting a spinning lay-in to fall, giving MSU (16-4 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) a one-point lead late in the first half, Hill waved his arms in the air, showing rare emotion, as Ohio State (6-8, 5-5) took a timeout to stop the 9-0 MSU run that had given the Spartans their first lead since the score was 27-25.
"I knew it was there," Hill said. "It was just a matter of making some shots and going from there."
Hill said he had no secrets, he has just been working on his shot.
Despite not starting because of the flu, MSU junior guard Maurice Ager had another solid game, chipping in 18 points. Senior guard Kelvin Torbert made his first start of the season in Ager's place.
"Maurice Ager deserves a Purple Heart," Izzo said. "He was sicker than a dog this morning. I didn't know if he was going to play at all."
The Buckeyes got a great performance out of forward Terence Dials, who poured in 22 points, but could not get going in the second half, scoring only eight. He did not shoot well from the free-throw line, only hitting 2-of-7 shots.
"He's real tough," MSU junior forward Matt Trannon said. "He's a big, tall athlete. He goes hard all the time."
Freshman guard Drew Neitzel started at the point again and was effective in the first half before giving way to the streaking Hill for most of the second half. Neitzel had three points and a career-high seven assists, all in the first half. His three points were on a triple within the first two minutes of the contest.
Izzo said he does not know who will start at point guard on Saturday.
MSU got a scare midway through the first half when Trannon suffered a bruised tailbone after diving for a loose ball and flying into the chairs on the MSU bench.
He went to the locker room for examination and returned with less than five minutes left to play in the half.
Lost in the shuffle of Hill's great performance was a second straight double-double by junior center Paul Davis, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
MSU plays Michigan at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Crisler Arena, in Ann Arbor.
