Senior forward Matt Costello said it wasn't hard to stay motivated to play Ohio State for a third time in three weeks, especially with all the upsets that have occurred. Costello said the MSU players did not want to be the next victim.

"Yes," Costello said when asked if seeing the upsets gave MSU extra motivation going into the game. "... I mean we saw that those two teams (Indiana and Iowa) didn't come out with as much fire as they had throughout the season and, I mean, they took a slug. So we had to be ready to play when we came here today. I feel like we did our job."

After falling behind 4-2 early, MSU used a 9-1 run, sparked by its defense to take an 11-5 lead heading into the first timeout of the game. During the run, MSU got a block by freshman forward Deyonta Davis and two steals, one of which led to an alley-oop from senior guard Bryn Forbes to Valentine who then threw it back to Davis for the fast-break finish.

MSU shot just 35 percent from the floor in the first half, including only 29 percent from the 3-point line with a 1-of-5 first half shooting performance from Forbes.

From there, MSU continued to add to its lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Valentine as MSU took a 10-point lead with Ohio State struggling to beat the stingy Spartan defense, shooting just 41 percent in the first half.

Despite the early lead, MSU head coach Tom Izzo was not pleased with his team's play in the first half, saying his team came out "sluggish" Friday night.

"We didn't play very well in the first half," Izzo said. "It was uncharacteristic. (Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello) were right. Coaches were upset, players were upset. It wasn't loafing. It just wasn't being us. We weren't moving the ball like we do. And really the best thing that happened is Bryn struggled, best thing for our future, because we had to learn to play without (Forbes). He had some good shots; didn't go in."

However, Ohio State would battle back and cut the MSU lead to just six at 25-19, led by junior forward Marc Loving who ended the game with nine points and freshman guard JaQuan Lyle who ended the game with 10 points.

Forbes said Izzo got after the team at halftime for not playing as well as the MSU coach was hoping they would, which Forbes said the players took to heart.

“You know, Izzo wasn’t happy,” Forbes said. Our first half wasn’t great, we made a lot of mistakes. He let us hear it, and I think guys took it to heart and really listened and really tried to change things. We came out and out defense in the second half, at the beginning, we got like five straight stops - so that was great.”

The MSU players responded by opening the second half by using an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 15. MSU led 41-26 just two minutes into the second half, forcing Ohio State coach Thad Matta to call a timeout as the MSU fans rose to their feet in excitement.

From there MSU never looked back as MSU extended its lead to 54-34 as Ohio State's shooting woes continued. Ohio State ended the game shooting just 40 percent on the night while shooting 1-of-11 from the 3-point line.

Valentine, who also worked to inspire the team at halftime, came out focused in the second half and was key in jump-starting MSU's second half run as he hit two 3-pointers to open the half.

"We got back to playing Michigan State basketball, you know," Valentine said. " ... In the second half we settled down, got the shots we wanted. And we got on transition too, and that led to easy buckets. Deyonta Davis, he was really good in the second half. He was blocking shots, talking, being around the rim on offense. He was great for us in the second half and led to us getting that lead."

After starting off slow in the first half, Davis finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds adding two blocks and two steals. MSU head coach Tom Izzo said after the game he was proud of how Davis responded in the second half.

"We challenged DD (Deyonta Davis) at halftime," Davis said. "I challenge guys all the time, and I love to see a young guy respond. And he really did. He did some good things."

MSU shot the ball much better in the second half, shooting 60 percent as MSU attacked the hoop. MSU outscored Ohio State 30-14 in the paint in the paint in the second half after scoring just 12 points in the paint in the first half. MSU outscored Ohio State 42-30 in the paint while out-rebounding Ohio State 40-29.

No. 2 MSU (27-5, 13-5) will take on No. 18 Maryland Saturday. Tip time is scheduled to be approx. 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on CBS.