Bridges has big game but MSU felled by OSU
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Michigan State went from perhaps its best defensive performance of the season to its worst. Tom Izzo’s players turned the ball over and failed to display the intensity and consistency they showed just four days earlier.
That’s a recipe for disaster, even against a last-place team.
The Spartans let an early eight-point lead evaporate before halftime, fought back in the second period, then fizzled down the stretch Sunday afternoon in a 72-67 loss at Ohio State.
“When you come in with a team that’s 0-4 and they’re at home, they’re going to be hungry. You have to make sure you lock in on them,” MSU freshman Joshua Langford said of OSU. “And we didn’t do a good enough job.”
It wasn’t like the Spartans (12-7, 4-2 Big Ten), who shot 50% for the game, weren’t scoring. But their 17 turnovers helped lead to 16 Ohio State points and the first Big Ten victory for the Buckeyes (11-7, 1-4). That included five giveaways in momentum-crushing final 6:17.
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Defensive breakdowns, however, sealed MSU’s fate.
The Buckeyes, who entered the weekend making just 32.6% of their three-pointers this season, drained 10 of 23 Sunday thanks to MSU’s struggles to guard against their high ball screens. And despite averaging just 41.9% from the floor in Big Ten play, Ohio State shot 50% (21-for-42) against the Spartans after making just 3 of their first 10 shots.
“I did not think they’d shoot like that, I’ll be very honest with you,” MSU coach Izzo said. “They haven’t shown that all year. I wouldn’t consider this a great shooting team, so I did not think they’d do that. I did think they’d play hard. … That’s what happens when your back’s against the wall.”
Freshman Miles Bridges was the only MSU player to score in double digits, finishing with 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting and nine rebounds, but he also committed six turnovers. Ward added nine points and four rebounds but played just 18 lackluster minutes.
MSU made its first six shots of the game and led 15-7 before Ohio State caught fire, making 10 of its next 20 shots to lead by as many as seven and carry a 36-33 lead into halftime.
“It surprised me a bit,” Bridges said of the loss. “But if you let them get open shots to start and get their confidence up, especially at home, it’s gonna be a long night.”
The Spartans clawed their way back in front with 14:44 left in the second period on Kyle Ahrens’ three-pointer. Things went back and forth for a bit before the Buckeyes took command again with a 10-0 run, capped by a three-pointer by Jae’Sean Tate and a layup from Trevor Thompson.
Bridges pulled MSU within 69-65 after his fifth three-pointer and a stop-and-go baseline drive for a layup with 2:54 left. The freshman forward missed his next three-point attempt a little less than a minute later, with Ward getting an offensive rebound but fumbling the ball out of bounds.
With 1:06 left, the Spartans’ offense struggled to figure out what to run. The ball finally got to Bridges on the left wing with 4 on the shot clock, he spun away from three defenders but was called for a travel.
Tate and Marc Loving each scored 12 points, while Kam Williams and Trevoer Thompson had 10 apiece for the Buckeyes.
The Spartans were coming off Wednesday’s stifling 65-47 blowout of Minnesota. Izzo compared his young group’s hubris with the veteran Buckeyes’ resolve.
“That’s what happens when you relax a little bit and think you’ve accomplished something because you’ve won a game,” Izzo said of his team. “And that’s what these damned freshmen gotta figure out. Winning games here doesn’t matter – we’re about more than winning games.
“I don’t have an answer for it. I’ll try to figure it out.”
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari.
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