CHICAGO — Denzel Valentine and Branden Dawson each had a strong all-around performance for Michigan State, and Travis Trice picked up his play in the second half. It was exactly what coach Tom Izzo was looking for in the Spartans’ first game of the Big Ten Tournament. Valentine had 23 points and Dawson anchored Michigan State’s stout defense, leading the Spartans to a 76-67 victory over Ohio State on Friday night. D’Angelo Russell had 19 points for sixth-seeded Ohio State (23-10), which had won four of five. Shannon Scott had 13 points and nine assists after he scored a career-high 21 in Thursday night’s 79-73 victory over Minnesota. The Buckeyes, likely headed for their seventh straight NCAA Tournament berth, shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) from the field. “There’s times where you don’t make shots really,” Scott said. “That just happened to us. We had to get in better position to make shots. We rushed a lot of shots, as well.” Ohio State coach Thad Matta appeared to be upset with the officiating at a couple of different points in the second half. He said it was the most physical game one of his teams had been involved in. “Honestly, I’d probably better be careful because I’m not very happy right now with what I saw,” he said…
Continue Reading: College Basketball: Physical Michigan State ousts Ohio State from Big Ten Tournament
