Ohio State stuns Michigan State
Keita Bates-Diop had a career-high 32 points and Ohio State stunned No. 1 Michigan State 80-64 on Sunday at Columbus, Ohio.
The Buckeyes (13-4, 4-0 Big Ten Conference) put together a 12-0 run to finish the first half and kept their foot on the gas to give first-year coach Chris Holtmann a signature victory.
“This is a moment our fans and our players will remember for a long time,” Holtmann said. “It feels really good.”
It was the third consecutive victory for Ohio State.
The Spartans (15-2, 3-1) lost for the first time since falling to then-No. 1 Duke by seven points Nov. 14.
Michigan State went into the game against Ohio State leading the nation with a 53.3% field-goal percentage but shot only 39% and committed 12 turnovers.
Joshua Langford and Miles Bridges each scored 17 points for the Spartans.
Bates-Diop made 12 of 21 shots. His previous career high was 27 points against Iowa on Thursday.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said a confident Ohio State team ran into the Spartans on an off day. The Buckeyes were ready for them. It was a simple as that.
“Don’t go searching now,” Izzo said. “We’re 15-2 and we had great practices. There was no thinking that we were better than we are. We ran up against a team that played awfully well, and the place was hopping.”
at No. 9 Wichita State 95, South Florida 57: Shaquille Morris scored 15 points to lead the Shockers (13-2, 3-0 American Athletic Conference), who shot 62.7% from the field. Malik Martin scored 15 points for the Bulls (7-10, 0-4).
at No. 15 Miami 80, No. 24 Florida State 74: Bruce Brown scored 23 points and the Hurricanes (13-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) won at home for the first time since Dec. 5. The Seminoles (12-3, 1-2) lost for the third time in their last six games. Florida State cut a 16-point second-half deficit to four points with 24 seconds left. Braian Angola had 16 points for the Seminoles.
at No. 19 Cincinnati 76, Southern Methodist 56: Jacob Evans III and Gary Clark each scored 18 points, and the Bearcats (14-2, 3-0 AAC) extended the longest active home-court winning streak in the nation to 35 games. They are playing at Northern Kentucky University while their campus arena is renovated. The Mustangs (12-5, 2-2) shot only 35.7% from the field and had 18 turnovers.