Redshirt junior forward Keita Bates-Diop drives to the basket in the first half of Ohio State’s 80-64 win against No. 1 Michigan State. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Ohio State and its sixth man showed up in the Schottenstein Center Sunday.
The crowd of 17,599 was as loud as it has been in years and the players did everything they could to keep the fans energized as the Buckeyes (13-4, 4-0 Big Ten) stunned No. 1 Michigan State (15-2, 3-1 Big Ten) in an 80-64 upset. It was Ohio State’s first win over a top-ranked opponent since Feb. 25, 2007 when it beat No. 1 Wisconsin 49-48.
After the game had ended and all the fans who had stormed the court began making their way to the exits, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann had a moment to reflect on the game that had just unfolded.
“Whoa. That was quite an afternoon,” Holtmann said Sunday. “We’ll enjoy this one today here. I can’t say enough about the crowd. The energy was outstanding. Obviously to be expected, we played an incredible team and incredible program, but wow, they really lifted us and lifted our guys.”
Buckeye fans celebrate following the game against Michigan State on Jan. 7 in Value City Arena. Ohio State won 80-64. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Ohio State ended the first-half on a 16-2 run, capped off by an improbable buzzer-beating 3 from Youngstown on the half-court image by redshirt senior guard Andrew Dakich to take a 41-29 lead, the largest halftime deficit the top-ranked Spartans have faced this season.
“That really was a critical stretch. It was all things kind of went in our favor at our point,” Holtmann said Sunday. “All that kind of played into it and it broke open what was a really close game.”
The Spartans appeared to seize momentum early with forward Miles Bridges making a mid-range jumpshot and forward Jaren Jackson making a 3 to put them up 5-0 just 36 seconds into the game. About a minute later, Jackson made another athletic layup, spinning while in the air to put his team up 7-2. Bridges finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Jackson had 11 points before fouling out with 9:49 left in the game.
But Ohio State remained in the game and progressively began to take over momentum. With every make by Ohio State and miss by Michigan State, the Schottenstein Center was brought to life.
A mid-range jump shot by Tate to bring the Buckeyes to within two and subsequent make by redshirt junior forward Keita Bates-Diop sent the crowd into a frenzy as the Buckeyes took a 12-11 lead. A 3 by Bates-Diop gave his team some breathing room and extended its lead to 15-11. He led the game in points with a career-high 32 and added seven rebounds.
Bates-Diop caught a pass from Dakich in stride as he raced towards the basket, slamming it home for a one-handed dunk to give Ohio State the 31-29 lead with 1:05 left and forcing the Spartans to call a timeout.
Tate took over the game for Ohio State in the final minute of the first half, making a layup to put Ohio State up 33-29. He blocked a layup attempt on the other end of the court by Jackson, dished it over to redshirt senior guard Kam Williams back in the Buckeyes’ offensive side of the court who knocked down a 3 to push the team’s lead to 36-29. Bates-Diop then made two free-throws resulting from a technical foul on Michigan State’s bench.
The Buckeyes resumed their roll right out of the gate in the second half. Just 11 seconds in, Williams caught a pass from freshman center Kaleb Wesson and threw down a thundering one-handed dunk to put Ohio State up 43-29. After a Spartan possession, Williams knocked down a 3-pointer to go up 46-31.
Ohio State junior guard C.J. Jackson made a defender fall to the ground with a crossover to the left and drove to the basket for a short-range jumper in the paint to put the Buckeyes up 65-42 with 12:23. Tate followed that up with a layup to give Ohio State the 67-42 lead, its largest lead over the Spartans.
Ohio State junior guard C.J. Jackson (3) brings the ball down the court in the second half in the game against Michigan State on Jan. 7 in Value City Arena. Ohio State won 80-64. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Michigan State began to regain some momentum, going on a 10-0 run to cut Ohio State’s lead down to just 69-55. But a dunk by Bates-Diop ended the run and shifted momentum back in the Buckeyes’ corner as the team went on a 8-2 run.
The run brought back memories for several of the Ohio State players to last season when the team often blew leads late. And those memories proved fuel for the team to try and avoid letting up at the end.
“We’ve been in situations where we’ve been up 20 and we’ve lost in the last one minute. It happened multiple times last year,” Tate said. “I think me, Keita and the guys that were here last year just continue to have those flashbacks in our mind. We call it, ‘Don’t fold. Like don’t fold like a lawn chair.’ And that’s all we kept saying was we are not folding today. And we got it done.”
The Buckeyes shot 53 percent from the field — 47 percent from the 3 — while Michigan State shot just 39 percent from the field and 28 from beyond the arc. Ohio State outscored Michigan State 30-24 in the paint and 10-4 in points off turnovers despite losing the turnover battle 12-6.
Ohio State will celebrate its upset victory today, but the players and coaches both said after the game thoughts will quickly turn to facing Maryland, which comes to the Schottenstein Center Thursday at 7 p.m.
