Northwestern-Michigan St. Preview (The Associated Press)
After ending its longest slide of the season, Michigan State still has a chance to earn a piece of the Big Ten title. The No. 10 Spartans can achieve that feat for the fourth time in five years by getting some help, then handing visiting Northwestern an eighth straight defeat in Sunday night’s regular-season finale. Following three straight losses by a combined 13 points to Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan, Michigan State (23-7, 12-5) posted a much-needed 58-43 win over No. 22 Wisconsin at home Thursday. The Spartans pestered the Badgers into season lows for points and field-goal percentage (29.4) and a season-high 17 turnovers. The victory put the Spartans in a three-way tie for second place with the seventh-ranked Wolverines and No. 14 Buckeyes, one game behind the second-ranked Hoosiers. A Michigan State victory Sunday, combined with an Indiana loss at Michigan earlier, would produce a shared conference title for at least three teams. Coach Tom Izzo wouldn’t say he’ll be rooting for the rival Wolverines. “I’m going to pull for Michigan …
Rapid Reaction: Ohio St 68, Michigan St 60
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Quick thoughts following Ohio State’s second-half surge on the way to a critical Big Ten victory over Michigan State on Sunday afternoon at Value City Arena. Overview: Flawed as it may be and as painful as it can look for Ohio State at times, it proved it can still handle its business against one of the best teams in the country. The Buckeyes continued to take questionable shots, were sometimes overmatched in the post and suffered through occasional lapses on both ends of the floor.
Michigan St.-Ohio St. Preview (The Associated Press)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — – For a change, Michigan State and Ohio State aren’t playing for a trophy. After contesting Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles in two of their last three meetings, there’ll be no hardware up for grabs when the fourth-ranked Spartans square off with the No. 18 Buckeyes on Sunday. That does not mean there is nothing on the line. ”It’s like there’s always a trophy on the line every time you play one of the top-tier teams in this conference,” Ohio State guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. said. ”It’s clutch time now. It’s gut-check (time) now. Now, toward the end of the season, the good teams step up and make big plays and win games. That’s what this game is going to be about.” Coach Tom Izzo’s team (22-5, 11-3) needs a victory to remain within reach of No. 1-ranked Big Ten leader Indiana (24-3, 12-2). The Buckeyes (19-7, 9-5) are trying …
Appling-led No. 13 Michigan St tops Illinois 80-75 (The Associated Press)
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Keith Appling led a pivotal run early in the second half and finished with 24 points and seven assists to help No. 13 Michigan State beat Illinois 80-75 on Thursday night. The Spartans (18-4, 7-2 Big Ten) scored the first 14 points of the second half to take their first lead. The Fighting Illini (15-7, 2-6) lost for the fifth time in six games. They had a chance to be the first team with four wins over currently ranked teams. Illinois started strong and responded to rallies with shots and stops in the first half. Michigan State played with a lot of energy in the second half. Appling alternated making shots and setting up teammates to score in helping turn a 10-point deficit into a 41-37 lead. The Spartans started the game without senior center Derrick Nix, finished it without sophomore guard Travis Trice and played much of the second half without freshman guard Gary Harris . Nix didn’t start because coach Tom Izzo …
No. 18 Michigan St. beats No. 11 Ohio St. 59-56 (The Associated Press)
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Keith Appling made two free throws with 7.9 seconds left and finished with 15 points to help No. 18 Michigan State beat No. 11 Ohio State 59-56 on Saturday night. The Buckeyes had a chance to potentially tie the game in the closing seconds, but Shannon Scott didn’t come close on a running 3-point attempt. Deshaun Thomas, who scored a career Big Ten-high 28 points, was upset Scott didn’t pass him the ball. Thomas wanted a shot to send the game into overtime after he had made six 3-pointers in regulation. The Spartans (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten) have won five straight conference games. Ohio State (13-4, 3-2) was playing for the first time since handing Michigan its only loss last Sunday. Thomas had half of Ohio State’s points, but the Big Ten’s leading scorer didn’t get the ball in his hands after a timeout called to set up a game-tying shot. The Buckeyes’ second-leading scorer against the …
Ohio St.-Michigan St. Preview (The Associated Press)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — – Michigan State coach Tom Izzo knows that to stop Deshaun Thomas is the surest way to stop No. 11 Ohio State. “Thomas is shooting the lights out. He’s been really effective,” Izzo said during preparations for his 18th-ranked Spartans’ home game against the Buckeyes on Saturday night. “We’ve got to contain Thomas.” The thing is, no one really has been able to do that all season. The 6-foot-7 junior leads the Big Ten in scoring (by more than two full points) at 20.3 a game. He hasn’t been held below 14 all season, and he’s been between 16 and 24 points in each of his last 10 games. What’s more, he actually likes it when opposing teams key on him, double-team him or throw some junk defense at him. “I’m a mismatch nightmare out there,” he said Friday. “They go small, I can post them up. If they go big, I can go around…
Big Ten mailblog
Your questions, my answers … Kevin from St. Paul, Minn., writes: With 3-4 games remaining, let’s talk hypotheticals. What would happen if there was a 4-way tie for first in the Legends with…
Michigan St-Wisconsin rivalry good as Big 10 gets
Michigan State vs. Wisconsin lacks the history of Michigan-Ohio State, to say nothing of that border war’s hype. It doesn’t cause statewide angst like Michigan-Michigan State. There’s not even a cool trophy for the winner, like Paul Bunyan’s Axe or the Old Brass Spittoon. When it comes to Big Ten rivalries, however, there’s none better than the Spartans vs. the Badgers. Not recently, anyway. ”Not good on the heart, but great environments,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. ”I don’t know how many times I heard last year, if you didn’t care who won those games, they were really fun games to watch. From that standpoint, they’re fun.” No teams have been better in the Big Ten over the last three years than Wisconsin (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) and Michigan State (4-4, 1-3). The Badgers have won 17 conference games since 2010, with Michigan State second with 15 wins. They’ve had a hand in the last two Big Ten titles, splitting it in…
Ohio State Ranked No. 12 in AP Poll After Win Over Michigan St.
The Big Ten still has only three teams in the latest AP Top 25 poll, as Northwestern replaces Michigan State, which fell out after its second loss in three weeks. Ohio State moves…
No. 14 Ohio St holds off No. 20 Michigan St 17-16
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Braxton Miller threw for 179 yards and ran for 130, and No. 14 Ohio State held off No. 20 Michigan State 17-16 on Saturday, giving Urban Meyer a win in his first Big Ten game as Buckeyes coach. Miller put Ohio State (5-0, 1-0) ahead 17-13 with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith in the third quarter, and the Buckeyes’ maligned defense held Le’Veon Bell and the Michigan State running game in check. Meyer becomes the third coach to start 5-0 in his first season at Ohio State. Carol Widdoes and Earle Bruce also did it in 1944 and 1979. Michigan State (3-2, 0-1) has lost four home games in a row against Ohio State. Michigan State took a 13-10 advantage in the third on a terrific individual effort by Keith Mumphery. With the ball on the Ohio State 29 after a personal foul call on the Buckeyes, Mumphery took Andrew Maxwell ‘s short pass and eluded…
