Ohio State stuns Michigan State, rolls into B1G Tournament semifinal matchup vs. Purdue

Ohio State rolled into the B1G Tournament after a disappointing regular season. However, the Buckeyes have not folded, rattling off 3 straight wins to advance to the semifinals against Purdue.

Offensively, it was Justice Sueing jumpstarting things for the Buckeyes in the first half. His hot shooting early allowed Ohio State to push a lead all the way to 9 points heading into halftime.

Down the stretch, Bruce Thornton took over as a matchup problem for Michigan State, finishing with a game-high 21 points and leading all players with 6 assists. Sueing finished with 14, Roddy Gayle Jr. added 15 and Felix Okpara added 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks.

With the win, the Buckeyes will become the lowest seed ever to play in the semifinals of the B1G Tournament. Ohio State — with 5 conference wins in the regular season — entered the weekend as the 13-seed and has 3 wins so far in Chicago.

When it was all said and done, the big story was Ohio State’s defense in the 68-58 win. The Buckeyes stifled what had been a white-hot offense for Tom Izzo’s squad while holding the Spartans to 38.2% shooting and a 3-for-16 afternoon from 3-point range.

Making the win even more impressive, Ohio State was playing without star freshman Brice Sensabaugh. After the game, head coach Chris Holtmann said the Buckeyes are waiting for more tests Friday evening to find out if Sensabaugh will be able to play in Saturday’s semifinal.

Joey Hauser led Michigan State with 15 points but the trio of Jaden Akins, AJ Hoggard and Tyson Walker struggled to find rhythm. Malik Hall went 0-for-6 from the field off the bench for the Spartans.