Ohio State Basketball: Spartans defeat Buckeyes, give Tom Izzo 600th win

The Michigan State Spartans went on a big run in the second half to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes 77-70 and give Tom Izzo his 600th win.

The Ohio State Buckeyes gave the top seeded Michigan State Spartans all they could handle for the first 23 ½ minutes of today’s game. After Kaleb Wesson picked up a flagrant foul with the game tied at 40 it was all Spartans.

They went on a 35-14 run the next 12 minutes to put the game out of reach. The Buckeyes finished the game strong by scoring the next 16 points closing the gap to 5 with 9 seconds to play but ran out of time to complete the comeback.

Guard Cassius Winston was fouled after the inbounds play and sank two free throws to give Michigan State and Tom Izzo a 7 point victory.

The Spartans had balanced scoring to say the least as 8 players scored at least 7 points. The three players in double figures were Cassius Winston with 18, Foster Loyer 14 and Matt McQuaid 12.

Keyshawn Woods had another outstanding game for the Buckeyes scoring 16 points and Andre Wesson had 14. C.J.Jackson also chipped with 8 points.

Stats provided by ESPN.com.

Quick takes:

Why in the world did the freshman guard Loyer decide to have a breakout game against Ohio State? He hit his first four shots from behind the arc which matched his season total before today.

I totally admire Tom Izzo and the job he has done with his Michigan State basketball program. I have always enjoyed the sound, fundamental basketball the Spartans play but that’s not the most interesting thing about watching one of their games.

I always look forward to seeing how quickly coach Izzo gets in a bad mood. I think it was slightly after the tip-off today, and he was mad until the final buzzer.

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How many coaches would get all over the Big Ten Player of the Year to the point he would stay away from the huddle during timeouts and sit away from him on the bench?

He also chewed out Kyle Ahrens after he had to stretch out his back just to return to the game. And the young Loyer got an earful when he made mistakes at the end of the game.

Coach Izzo is an equal opportunity offender and a joy to watch.

Kaleb Wesson has to find a way to stay on the court. His frustration foul when he elbowed Matt McQuaid in the head was unacceptable and changed the game. His fifth foul just after re-entering the game with about 10 minutes to play was a head-scratcher.

Next. Buckeye offense will be better in 2019. dark

Winning one out of two games in the Big Ten Tournament the Buckeyes have almost assured themselves of an NCAA Tournament bid. Coming back to keep today’s game close at the end probably kept them from a play-in game. We will find out soon on Selection Sunday.

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