Buckeyes were rocking early, but Sparty rolled at the end
The Ohio State men’s basketball team, ranked No. 14 in the nation, hosted No. 8 Michigan State in Value City Arena on Saturday. Here were two ranked teams — one up-andcoming, the other with a powerhouse pedigree — colliding with a noontime tipoff in front of a national television audience and a sold-out arena. Close your eyes and you almost could hear Mills Lane, the great boxing judge and Claymation star of “Celebrity Deathmatch,” growling, “Let’s get it on.”
The crowd was about as loud as it has ever been in the Schott at the tail end of the first half. There was this play.
Big Kaleb Wesson stole the ball, dove into the first row to save it, and tipped it to C.J. Jackson, who lunged and lobbed the ball in the direction of Andre Wesson, who one-touched the ball back to Jackson, who penetrated to the right elbow and dropped a pass back to Andre Wesson, who took a dribble inside the arc and then droppassed to Duane Washington Jr. — who stuck a three from the corner. Boom.
Moments later, Ohio State took a 43-36 lead into halftime and there was this feeling that a there was a statement being written. Ultimately, it was this: Michigan State (12-2, 4-0) kept its cool and drew away for an 86-77 Big Ten victory over the Buckeyes (12-2, 2-1).
“They were better than us in a lot of ways,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “Certainly, when you allow a team to shoot 76 percent in the second half and score 50 points on your home floor, your chances are slim and none.”
There were 14 lead changes in the game — nine in the second half. It was clear that these were two solid teams, worthy of their respective rankings. This could have been one of those games where the last team that had the ball wins, but it evolved differently.
Even in the first half, the Spartans were both getting to the rim and getting open looks from beyond the three-point line. They just weren’t very efficient offensively — or tight defensively. Goodness, they fell prey to a number of back-door cuts. Not very Sparty.