Wow! That was as improbable a win as a team can have. Ohio State, who had lost a school record 17 in a row, fell behind early, a deficit that went to as many as 12, but the Buckeyes kept fighting and clawing and outscored Michigan State 22-7 over the final 11:05 to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat when Dale Bonner’s triple dropped just before the horn to defeat host Michigan State 60-57 and in the process, snapped the road losing streak. Playing without second leading scorer Jamison Battle, Ohio State took their first lead with 11 seconds to play and after Michigan State split a pair of free throws, it set up Bonner’s heroics, sending the entire Buckeye team to the floor mobbing the senior, who hit the biggest shot of his career. Ohio State improved to 16-12, 6-12, while Michigan State dropped their second straight home game to fall to 17-11,9-8. Ohio State was led by a career high 14 from Devin Royal while Roddy Gayle added 12 and 8. Bruce Thornton chipped in 12 and Felix Okpara scored 10.  The Spartans were led by Malik Hall’s 15 and Tyson Walker’s 12. Neither team shot it particularly well with Ohio State hitting just 38%, including 3 of 17 from deep, but 1 real big one. Michigan State hit 40% of their attempts and just 4 of 16 from long range. The Spartans transition game enabled them to get control of this game for 30 minutes, out scoring Ohio State 22-8 in the fast break, but Ohio State got to the glass in a big way against a very good rebounding team, to out rebound Michigan State 39-33, keeping Michigan State from getting multiple attempts down the stretch enabling Ohio State to fight back and ultimately get the win. 

For the third straight game, a Buckeye opponent raced out to a big early lead after an early bucket and a pair of threes had the Spartans up 8-2 lead with Ohio State’s only score coming from a Roddy Gayle dribble drive. Ohio State scored the next four when Gayle dropped in a pair of free throws and Okpara dropped in a short jumper. A steal and score for Michigan State extended the lead before an Okpara rebound and flush trimmed the deficit to 2. After a Buckeye turnover, a Spartan triple extended the lead and at the first media timeout, Michigan State led 13-8. Devin Royal banged down a pair of freebies to slice into the lead and a steal and score by Gayle cut the lead to 1. A pair of Spartan free throws stopped an over 4 minute scoring drought and upped the lead to 3 and after an OSU miss, another Sparty bucket added to the lead. A Bruce Thornton triple cut into the lead but a loose ball rebound and bucket by the Spartans increased Michigan State’s lead back to 4 and at the under 8 media timeout, The Spartans led the Buckeyes 19-15. Out of the timeout, Michigan State went to the stripe and both fell to extend the lead, but a 12 footer by Royal dropped cutting the lead back to 4. Quickly the other way, MSU scored at the rim to answer and after Zed Key split a pair of free throws, the Spartan lead stood at 5. After the under 4 media timeout, Michigan State added to their lead with a bucket and a pair of free throws before a Thornton scoop and score cut it back to 7 as Ohio State got back on the board after missing 7 of their previous 8 shots. A pair of Ohio State attempts to cut into the lead came up empty and Michigan State made them pay, hitting a triple to extend the lead to 10 and Jake Diebler took a timeout with 42 seconds left in the half. A pair of Thornton free throws trimmed the lead and after Tom Izzo called a timeout, the Spartans looked for the final score of the half. It took three tries, but a runner off the glass at the horn dropped and Michigan State took a 32-22 lead into the locker room. Poor shooting doomed the Buckeyes in the first half as Ohio State shot an abysmal 24% from the floor and just 1 of 10 from the arc, while Michigan State made 40% of their attempts and 4 of 9 from long. In addition to the lack of offense, Michigan State took advantage in transition, out scoring Ohio State 11-3 on the break. Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 7 and Roddy Gayle added 6, while the Spartans were led in the first 20 minutes by 9 from Malik Hall. 

Michigan State extended their half time lead, scoring the first bucket of the second half, before a Thornton jumper from the left elbow dropped. After another Spartan deuce, Scotty Middleton dropped in a jumper from the stripe to answer. Ohio State got a little closer when Thornton got to the rim off the bounce and scored off the glass with a scoop. Michigan State stopped the mini Buckeye run with a two on their end, but Gayle got to the rim off a dribble drive and scored with a reverse lay-in. Quickly the other way, Michigan State scored at the rim to answer and after Middleton was fouled attempting a three, the under 16 media timeout was called with Michigan State leading 40-30. Out of the timeout, Middleton went to the stripe for three and knocked in just 1 of 3 as Ohio State had missed 4 out of 5 attempts early in the second half. Michigan State went to the line on their end and they didn’t miss, knocking down a pair to go ahead by 11. A Bonner triple cut the lead back to 8 and after Royal swiped the pocket of a Spartan, he scored at the rim on the other end to get to within 6. The Buckeyes had two trips to get even closer but failed and in transition, Michigan State scored to stop the Buckeye run and after another Buckeye miss, another transition bucket for the Spartans extended the lead back to 10 and Ohio State took a timeout with 12:17 to play and Michigan State controlling this one, 46-36. An Ohio State turnover turned into a dunk on the other end and just as Ohio State had momentum, Michigan State had scored 6 straight. A Royal bucket ended the 6-0 run, but a Spartan runner dropped near the end of the shot clock answered. A powerful Okpara dunk off a Gayle feed cut the lead back to 10 and at the under 12, Michigan State led 50-40. A Royal fade dropped out of the timeout and on the other end, Royal grabbed a steal and then hit a 15 foot jumper to cut it back to 6. A tough fade away shot at the end of the shot clock ended the Buckeye 6-0 run, but Okpara scored in the lane to answer right back and at the under 8. Michigan State still led, but Ohio State had scored 8 out of the last to 10 to close the deficit to 52-46. An offensive rebound and score by Key, who scored as he was fouled cut the deficit. Key dropped in the free throw to cut the lead to 3 with just under 7 to play. A defensive stop and an Okpara jump hook cut it to and Michigan State took a timeout with 5:51 to play and the Spartans clinging to a 52-51 lead as the Buckeyes had out scored Michigan State 13-2. After the timeout, a short jumper for the Spartans ended a 4 minute field goal drought and bumped the lead back to 3 and at the final media timeout of the game, Michigan State led 54-51. After a Buckeye steal,. a pair of Gayle free throws closed the deficit to 1 with just over 2 minutes to play, but a wild shot on the other end by Michigan State fell and Ohio State took a timeout with 1:28 to play and Michigan State leading 56-53. Ohio State trimmed the deficit back to one when Okpara fed Royal with a post to post feed and Royal finished off the window. A Michigan State miss and a Bonner steal off the Spartan offensive rebound put the ball back in the Buckeyes’ hands and Jake Diebler took a timeout with 31 seconds left on the clock and Michigan State leading 56-55. A foul turned the shot clock off and Michigan State took a timeout with 18.5 to go. Gayle was fouled at the rim with 11 seconds to go, putting Roddy on the stripe where he splashed down the first to tie it and Tom Izzo called timeout. Out of the timeout, Gayle knocked down the back end to give Ohio State their first lead. Michigan State got down to the other end where a questionable foul call was called putting the Spartans at the stripe with 6.4 to play. One of two dropped to re-tie the score. Ohio State had one last chance and racing up the floor, Thornton fed to Bonner on the left wing and a fade away triple that was heavily defended hit nothing but net ending the road losing streak and sending the Buckeyes home with an improbable win.  

It was a tough game to watch for 30 minutes as Ohio State really struggled offensively without Jamison Battle. Michigan State was taking advantage as they like to do, getting the ball up the floor quickly and converting before Ohio State got set.  To their credit, they kept fighting and they were able to get guys to step up that haven’t for much of the season to this point. Freshman Devin Royal, who has shown flashes of late, did it on both ends of the floor, picking up a couple key steals and found offense in and around the paint and hit a huge jumper during the final stretch. Additionally, Felix Okpara, who was much maligned on the offensive end, found a little offense in key moments and played as well as he has all year on the offensive end, showing an aggressiveness and toughness that has been needed. It was always going to be a tough task to win in that building, something Ohio State hasn’t done since 2012 and playing without Battle was going to make it even tougher, but the character and fight this team continues to show is a credit to them and the staff and on back to back Sunday’s on national tv, they’ve been able to pick up massive quad 1 wins. While the mountain to sneak in the tournament is steep, it’s certainly not impossible, but regardless, they are finishing this tough year with a flourish and they have 3 more regular season games to finish even better. 

The Buckeyes head back home for the final two regular season home games of the year, the first happens on Thursday evening with Nebraska coming to Columbus for a game scheduled to tip at 6:30 PM on FS1

-Jason Harris