Lucas torched OSU for 40 points this year.
(Jay LaPrete: AP)Kalin Lucas didn't start and wasn't a factor in the first half, he left that up to Durrell Summers, but Lucas lead the second half Spartan surge, scoring 20 of MSU's 52 points en route to their 78-67 victory in Columbus.
Summers was pumped from the rare start, hitting 4 of 5 three pointers in the first half and scoring 16 of his career high 26. The sophomore came into the game averaging only 8 points, but hit 8 of his 13 shots overall and almost doubled his previous career best.
The Spartans killed OSU on the boards, 35-19, grabbing 16 on the offensive end, leading to 15 more shots and 19 second chance points.
Ohio State took early advantage of MSU's different starters by jumping out to a 24-11 lead with 6:40 left in the first, but a 9-2 Spartan spurt cut the lead to 3 with just under 4 minutes left. The Buckeyes would hold onto a 5 point lead at the half.
However, the Spartans scored the first 4 points of the second half and would take the lead for good with just under 10 minutes left. Ohio State had no answer for the Spartans depth, playing only 7 players and getting outscored 31-15 off the bench.
The Buckeyes were lead by Evan Turner, who scored 19 points on 6 of 8 from the floor and the stripe. Turner also lead OSU with 6 boards and 3 assists. Mullens and Diebler each went for 12 points, while Buford contributed 11 and Simmons had 8.
Ohio State actually had a great shooting day, hitting 23 of 42 shots from the floor, including 10 of 20 from deep, but the continuous rebounding woes once again lead to the defeat.
The Buckeyes seem to run more half court sets today, which might have been a product of Hill playing more minutes or Thad needing to slow the game down. They still don't look inside enough and their driving lanes were cut off by the Spartan defense, but overall they took good shots, just gave up too many offensive boards.
This loss isn't a huge surprise, I really didn't expect OSU to pull this one off, Michigan State is simply the best team in the conference and have multiple players that can burn you. Ohio State's PG play and rebounding is definitely cause for concern, but if OSU can pull off the next two against Michigan and Indiana, they will continue to stay in the hunt for a tourney bid.
