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Michigan State makes program history, creeps into NCAA tourney conversation with upset win over No. 4 Ohio State
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Welcome back to the NCAA tournament talks, Michigan State.
Something has clicked for the Spartans, as Tom Izzo’s squad has strung together three-straight victories this week with the latest being a 71-67 upset victory over No. 4 Ohio State. Michigan State also defeated No. 5 Illinois on Tuesday and took down Indiana over the weekend.
Aaron Henry was the team’s leading scorer again Thursday, scoring 18 points while knocking down 7-of-11 shots from the floor. Gabe Brown was the only other Spartan to reach double figures, scoring 11 in the win. Michigan state got 8 points from Jeremy Langford, Marcus Bingham Jr. and Joey Hauser, too.
With the win, Michigan State improved to 13-9 overall with a 7-9 mark in B1G play. Just a week ago, after a 10-point loss to Purdue, Izzo’s team was out of the March Madness picture, sitting at 10-9 with a paltry 4-9 record in the league.
Thursday’s night win also resulted in program history in East Lansing. With Tuesday’s win over Illinois, the victory over Ohio State marked the first time ever Michigan State has beaten Top 5 opponents in back-to-back games. It was the first time it’s happened in college basketball since UCLA in 2016-17.
Michigan State is in the middle of a 13-day stretch in which it is playing 6 games. So far, it’s worked out well for Izzo and his team. The Spartans still have Maryland, Indiana and a pair of games against No. 3 Michigan on the schedule.
A few more wins, and the Spartans may be securely in the NCAA tournament picture by the time the B1G Tournament starts.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB