It has been 4,690 days since Matt Sylvester’s last-second shot sunk No. 1 Illinois at Value City Arena in Thad Matta’s first season with the program. Given a similar chance to put an early stamp on the program in Chris Holtmann’s first year, Ohio State found no need for theatrics or drama, no game-winning shot to cement a legacy.
This time, the Buckeyes just blasted No. 1 Michigan State. After trading baskets early, Ohio State (13-4, 4-0 Big Ten) blew the game open during the final minute of the first half, grew a lead as high as 25 points during the second half and beat the Spartans, 80-64, in front of 17,599 fans that yelled like they haven’t in years.
The win is Ohio State’s first against the No. 1 team in the country since a 49-48 win against Wisconsin to close the 2006-07 season and its first as an unranked team against the No. 1 team since Sylvester’s shot. It is the Buckeyes’ third in a row, their eighth in their last nine games and one that assuredly will put them in the national rankings Monday for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Entering the game, Ohio State had just one win in its last six games against top-five teams and was 3 for its last 18 against ranked teams. Unlike most of those, this has a fully healthy, confident Keita Bates-Diop. He won his matchup against star Michigan State freshman Jaren Jackson early and often, pouring in a career-high 32 points that tied for the second-most in arena history.
Tied at 29 when Joshua Langford hit a jumper with 1:49 left in the half, the Buckeyes closed the half with a flourish that bordered on the surreal. It started with a Bates-Diop diving strip of Nick Ward, which popped the ball to a waiting Andrew Dakich. Bates-Diop sprinted up the floor, caught Dakich’s half-court pass in stride and slammed it home for the lead.
The crowd roared and Tom Izzo used a timeout, but Langford traveled on the next possession with 56.3 seconds left. Jae’Sean Tate scored from the right block, then blocked Jaren Jackson – who is listed seven inches taller than Tate – leading to a Kam Williams three-pointer to make it a 36-29 lead. As the Buckeyes celebrated, the Spartan bench was slapped with a technical foul with 14.2 seconds left, giving Bates-Diop a pair of free throws he converted.
That made it a 38-27 lead, but Ohio State wasn’t done. Cassius Winston missed a jumper with about five seconds left, and Williams got the rebound and fed Dakich. A few feet beyond halfcourt, he banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer that sent the arena into near pandemonium.
It was a 16-2 run to close the half including a 10-0 run during the final 45 seconds. The 41-29 lead score marked the most first-half points allowed by the Spartans all season thanks to 16 points from Bates-Diop, and it only got better for the Buckeyes. Michigan State got as close as 14 points at 71-55 with thanks to a 13-2 run, but Bates-Diop broke his own career high with a dunk at 5:54 to stem the tide.
Jackson fouled out with 9:49 to play after scoring 11 points. The Spartans are the fifth top-15 team to lose to an unranked team this weekend, joining No. 2 Duke, No. 5 Xavier, No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 14 Arizona.
[email protected]
Reflecting on Iowa’s journey to the Sweet 16