No. 1 MSU had its 14-game winning streak snapped against Ohio State University on Sunday, getting thoroughly out-played by Ohio State from start to finish. With the loss, the Spartans fell to 3-1 in conference play, while the Buckeyes improved to 4-0.
Here’s five takeaways from MSU’s 80-64 loss to Ohio State:
Bates-Diop, Bates-Diop and more Bates-Diop
Buckeyes redshirt junior forward Keita Bates-Diop lit up the Spartans for a career-high 32 points on Sunday. The 6-foot-7 swingman did his damage efficiently, going 12-of-21 from the floor, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and shooting 86 percent from the charity stripe.
Bates-Diop hurt MSU from all over the court. He racked up points from in the paint, on the block, the free-throw line extended and above the 3-point line.
Coming into the game Bates-Diop was leading the Big Ten in scoring with 19.3 points per game, and he illustrated why against the Spartans. Several different Spartans were matched up against the forward throughout the contest, from Miles Bridges to Nick Ward to Joshua Langford. No matter who was guarding him, it didn’t matter. Bates-Diop was able to score at will.
Ohio State dominated the stat sheet
On the season MSU had led the Big Ten in 11 different statistical categories. A few of those categories were: field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, assists per game and blocks per game.
The Buckeyes won the advantage in all of those areas.
Ohio State was in the middle and bottom of the pack in 3-point shooting and overall shooting percentage in the conference coming into the game, but the Buckeyes were able to out-shoot MSU from the field and from 3-point land.
The more shocking statistics stemming from the game, however, were the assists and block totals for the Spartans. MSU charted only 13 assists and just a single block against the Buckeyes. The Spartans averaged 8.4 blocks and 22.4 helpers per contest before Sunday's game.
Nick Ward no show
Sophomore forward Nick Ward had been on a tear heading into the matchup against the Buckeyes, shooting at least 75 percent in each of his last five prior games.
Against Ohio State, however, Ward registered a pedestrian offensive performance. Ward scored just three points in 26 minutes with all of them coming from the free-throw line. The Ohio-product didn’t connect on the single field goal he attempted.
This isn’t the first time Ward has struggled on the road against the Buckeyes. Last season in his first return to his home state since he committed to MSU, Ward went 3-for-7 in 18 minutes.
Jackson foul trouble
Freshman forward Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out of the game with 11 points, but four of the freshman’s five fouls came in the second half.
This was the third time this season Jackson has been disqualified from a game because of foul trouble. No other player on the team has fouled out of a game more than twice.
Foul trouble has been an issue for the freshman throughout the season. Jackson committed four fouls or more in MSU’S first three games against North Florida, Duke and Stony Brook.
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Limited bench production
MSU accumulated only four points off their bench, all coming from seniors Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. and Gavin Schilling.
Freshman forward Xavier Tillman and juniors Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins all went scoreless against the Buckeyes after charting the score sheet in the Spartans' previous outing against Maryland.
