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Buckeyes battle back, but come up short in home loss to No. 18 Michigan State

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•01/03/25•

SpencerHolbrook

Aaron Bradshaw (© Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Aaron Bradshaw (© Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State trailed by as many as 14 early in the second half. The Buckeyes could’ve called it a night and easily went away.

But they kept battling back, eventually taking a one-point lead as the came wound down. But No. 18 Michigan State proved that lead Ohio State allowed was just a bit too much to overcome inside the Schottenstein Center on Friday night.

Final score: Spartans 69, Buckeyes 62.

Ohio State nearly pulled out a conference win over a ranked team despite not having its best stuff on the offensive side of the ball. Micah Parrish led the Buckeyes with 13 points, while Bruce Thornton had just 10. Freshman sharp-shooter John Mobley Jr. went just 2 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc, a rare off night for the first-year help in the Buckeyes scoring rotation.

Michigan State, to its credit, shot 16.7 percent from beyond the arc and won on the road in the Big Ten. That’s hard to do. Szymon Zapala paced the Spartans with 15 points, while guard Jaden Akins had 14 in their win. They did just enough to keep the Buckeyes at an arm’s length for long enough, outlasting them in an ugly offensive game on both sides.

With the loss, Ohio State fell to 1-2 in league play and 9-5 overall on the year. The Buckeyes stunned then-No. 5 Kentucky on Dec. 21 with a 20-point win over the Wildcats and closed the 2024 calendar with an easy win over Indiana State.

But Michigan State wasn’t the opponent Ohio State could make into another example of how dangerous the Buckeyes can be. They’ll need more on the offensive end to prove that in Big Ten play moving forward, beginning Monday at Minnesota.

Full Big Ten hoops slate for Buckeyes

Here’s the lineup of conference games Ohio State will play this winter:

Dec. 4 at Maryland (L, 83-59)
Dec. 7 vs. Rutgers (W, 80-66)
Jan. 3 vs. Michigan State (L, 69-62)
Jan. 6 at Minnesota
Jan. 9 vs. Oregon
Jan. 14 at Wisconsin
Jan. 17 vs. Indiana
Jan. 21 at Purdue
Jan. 27 vs. Iowa
Jan. 30 at Penn State
Feb. 2 at Illinois
Feb. 6 vs. Maryland
Feb. 9 at Nebraska
Feb. 12 vs. Washington
Feb. 16 vs. Michigan
Feb. 20 vs. Northwestern
Feb. 23 at UCLA
Feb. 26 at USC
March 4 vs. Nebraska
March 8 at Indiana
March 12-16 Big Ten Tournament (Indianapolis)

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