The Ohio State Men’s Basketball team celebrates during the Ohio State-Michigan game on Feb. 21. Ohio State lost 87-92. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Although it is not another top-5 matchup, the Buckeyes will battle a team Thursday that is no stranger to knocking off high-caliber competition.
No. 4 Ohio State (18-5, 12-5) makes its final road trip of the regular season as it heads to East Lansing, Michigan, to take on Michigan State (12-9, 6-9). Despite claiming a 79-62 victory over the Spartans Jan. 31, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said Michigan State is a much improved team since their last meeting.
“They’re playing really physical, aggressive, and they’re just in a better rhythm offensively,” Holtmann said. “They’re just playing in a better rhythm and more confidently.”
The Spartans have started to find their rhythm down the stretch, winning back-to-back games against Indiana and No. 5 Illinois. Michigan State’s triumph over the Fighting Illini have put the Spartans firmly on the bubble for an NCAA tournament appearance.
Known for his team’s late-season execution, Holtmann pointed to legendary Spartans head coach Tom Izzo for Michigan State’s late season turnaround.
“They’re playing kinda how you thought they would coming into the season and obviously Tom’s teams, we know how good they get as the year goes on,” Holtmann said. “It’s a credit to him and his staff that they keep getting better.”
Leading the charge for the Spartans’ postseason push is junior forward Aaron Henry, who enters Thursday’s bout coming off one of his best two-game stretches of the season — averaging 23.5 points per game on 50 percent from the field.
Henry’s 20-point outburst against the Illini Tuesday played a key role in Michigan State’s first top-5 win of the season.
Supporting Henry from the perimeter is graduate guard Joshua Langford — who missed much of his junior season and all of his senior season due to a foot injury.
Against the Illini, Langford produced one of the best performances of the season — dropping 13 points while corralling a career-high 16 rebounds.
As Langford has battled back to full health, Holtmann praised the veteran guard for his overall impact on the Spartans.
“As a fan of college basketball and a fan of that young man, watching him from a distance, you really do feel good and happy for him,” Holtmann said. “He’s really important for them and he’s a really good player.”
In an effort to avoid its first two-game losing streak of the season, Ohio State will have to make do without senior forward Kyle Young.
Holtmann said Young, who sustained a concussion near the end of Sunday’s game against No. 3 Michigan, is ruled out for Thursday’s contest.
Despite only providing the Buckeyes with 8.7 points per game, Holtmann said Young’s playstyle is not matched by anyone else on the roster.
“We don’t have a guy on our roster that plays quite like Kyle and kinda brings his multi-dimensioned energy and rebounding and physicality,” Holtmann said. “Obviously it’s a concern.”
Young leads the team with 1.9 offensive rebounds per game, and Holtmann mentioned graduate forward Seth Towns, freshman forward Zed Key and redshirt junior guard Musa Jallow as players that need to step up in Young’s absence.
With Young out, the Buckeyes will begin the first game of a daunting three-game stretch to finish the regular season. Following the trip to East Lansing, the Buckeyes will play host to No. 9 Iowa and No. 5 Illinois.
Holtmann said the stretch will show a lot about his team’s maturity, and although the Buckeyes are clinging to a No. 1 seed, the fourth-year Ohio State head coach said finishing the season strong is the No. 1 priority.
“I think you’re aware of [the seeding],” Holtmann said. “I think honestly you’re just trying to play well and finish playing well and finishing doing things well and playing effectively. That’s probably No. 1 and No. 2 is trying to get healthy.”
The Thursday bout is set to tip at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
