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With four minutes to play and Ohio State trailing Michigan State by eight points, Jared Sullinger went up for a basket against former AAU teammate Adreian Payne. It looked like Sullinger was hacked on his way to the rim, but a charge call sent Value City Arena into a frenzy of boos. OSU head coach Thad Matta looked daze and confused while Jared’s dad, Satch, glared at the court with his hands on his hips.
For the first time in 40 games, the Buckeyes (21-4, 9-3) fell on their home floor, 58-48, to Michigan State (20-5, 9-3), and in the process blew a chance for a two-game lead in the Big Ten standings.
Ohio State opened the game with a 9-4 lead, but both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively. Sullinger finished with a triple-double, but not the kind he will put on his résumé. The Buckeyes’ star sophomore grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to go with 17 points, but also turned the ball over 10 times in the loss. It did not help that Sullinger’s teammates were largely ineffective against the Spartan defense.
The Buckeyes shot just 26.4 percent from the floor and made only two of their 15 shots behind the arc. They closed the rebounding gap to 37-34 in favor of Michigan State, but the Spartans dominated the game inside, outscoring Ohio State 30-12 in the paint.
Sophomore point guard Aaron Craft scored 15 points and played lockdown defense on MSU point guard Keith Appling for most of the night, but Deshaun Thomas and William Buford combined for just 12 points on 4-of-24 shooting. They were 0-of-7 behind the arc and totaled three rebounds and one assist.
Inside, the Spartans got 15 points and four rebounds from Payne, a former teammate of both Sullinger and Craft on the “All Ohio Red” AAU team. Payne was 6-for-6 from the floor and added four rebounds in 20 minutes while splitting time with Derrick Nix.
Izzo called it the best game of Payne’s career at Michigan State. The Spartans also got 14 points from Appling, who also had seven turnovers, and 12 from Draymond Green. The biggest difference in the game may have been the rebound boost they got from Branden Dawson (8) and Brandon Wood (7), two guys who aren’t known for their rebounding.
It was a season-altering victory for the Spartans, who would have fallen two games back in the race for the Big Ten title with just six games to play. Instead, they are tied with Ohio State atop the conference standings and they will host the Buckeyes in East Lansing in the regular-season finale on March 4.
Sophomore point guard Aaron Craft scored 15 points and played lockdown defense on MSU point guard Keith Appling for most of the night, but Deshaun Thomas and William Buford combined for just 12 points on 4-of-24 shooting. They were 0-of-7 behind the arc and totaled three rebounds and one assist.
Inside, the Spartans got 15 points and four rebounds from Payne, a former teammate of both Sullinger and Craft on the “All Ohio Red” AAU team. Payne was 6-for-6 from the floor and added four rebounds in 20 minutes while splitting time with Derrick Nix.
Izzo called it the best game of Payne’s career at Michigan State. The Spartans also got 14 points from Appling, who also had seven turnovers, and 12 from Draymond Green. The biggest difference in the game may have been the rebound boost they got from Branden Dawson (8) and Brandon Wood (7), two guys who aren’t known for their rebounding.
It was a season-altering victory for the Spartans, who would have fallen two games back in the race for the Big Ten title with just six games to play. Instead, they are tied with Ohio State atop the conference standings and they will host the Buckeyes in East Lansing in the regular-season finale on March 4.
