The No. 2 MSU men's basketball team (26-5, 13-5 Big Ten) defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday from Breslin Center, 91-76. The victory clinches the Spartans the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
And fittingly on senior day, much like they have all season long, it was MSU's seniors which led the way.
Senior guard Denzel Valentine led the way with 27 points, 13 assists and four rebounds while senior forward Matt Costello added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Bryn Forbes finished with 14 points.
"Nothing was handed down for these guys," MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo said of how far his seniors have come. "And I sure as hell didn't hand anything down. They worked. They earned it. They did it."
Ohio State was led by 21 points from junior forward Marc Loving and 18 points and five assists from freshman guard JaQuan Lyle.
The Spartans jumped out to a early 17-10 lead at the 13:15 mark of the first half, prompting an OSU timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Buckeyes went on an 11-4 run to tie things back up 21 a piece with 10:12 to go in the first half.
The Spartans did manage to halt the Buckeye's run, and were able to take a 47-37 lead into the half, a half in which they shot an astounding 19-for-28 from the field for a 67.9 shooting percentage.
The second half saw the Spartans steadily pull away. The lead got as large as 20, as the Spartans went on to win on senior day, 91-76.
For the game, MSU shot a blazing 34-for-51 from the field for a 66.7 percent shooting percentage and had 29 assists on 34 made baskets.
