No. 13 Ohio State caught Michigan State in the midst of a uncommon skid and beat the blue-blood Big Ten program for the first time in its last five tries.
The Spartans had 20 days off because of COVID-19 issues and then lost to Rutgers by 30 points on Thursday night. The shooting went cold again in the second half on Sunday, and the opportunistic Buckeyes cruised to a 79-62 rout.
E.J. Liddell had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Justice Sueing added 17 to lead the Buckeyes (14-4, 8-4 Big Ten), who again played solid defense. They’ve won three in a row and six of seven.
The Buckeyes led by 12 at the half Sunday behind nine points from Liddell and seven from Justin Ahrens, including a pair of 3-pointers. Five Spartans picked up two fouls each in the opening frame and that caused some shuffling of the lineup.
The Spartans got within nine with 4:20 left, but their shooting just got worse as they missed nine of their last 10 shots from the floor. They hit just 25% in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes shot 45%, including 33% (6 for 18) from 3-point range.