Buckeyes comeback bid falls short at Michigan State in regular season finale

Ohio State trailed by 13 points in the first half at Michigan State Saturday. The Buckeyes pulled themselves out of that hole, at one point cutting their deficit to four points.

That was, only to then fall behind by 12 in the second period, during which Ohio State once again made a run. This time, head coach Chris Holtmann’s resilient team, winners of two straight, used a 7-0 surge to get within three points of the Spartans with just under six minutes remaining in MSU’s Senior Day.

The rejuvenated Buckeyes had fight but not what it took to finish an NCAA Tournament-hungry MSU squad on the road in the regular season finale. Junior point guard A.J. Hoggard scored 11 of the Spartans’ final 17 points, mostly at the free throw line, while MSU kept Ohio State at bay.

An untimely offensive cold front between the 5:40 and 1:26 marks did the Buckeyes in. They sank just one field goal, a Brice Sensabaugh jumper, in that window and ultimately lost, 84-78.

MSU (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten) started the day with a bang. The Spartans — who had four players with 13-plus points by game’s end — got out to a 17-4 lead. Their first field goal was an alley-oop dunk from senior forward Malik Hall. Hoggard was the feeder, logging the first of his seven assists. Hoggard also had a game-high 23 points, nine of which came at the charity stripe.

Ohio State (13-18, 5-15) didn’t record its second field goal until the 12:06 mark. Before then, three different MSU players cashed in from beyond the arc: Hoggard, Hall and freshman guard Tre Holloman. Joey Hauser, who came into the game averaging 18.3 points over his last six contests, chipped in a floater and a mid-range jumper, too.

It was a bit of deja vu. When the teams met on Feb. 12 in Columbus, Ohio State scored just 14 first-half points while shooting 19.2% from the floor in the opening frame. Much like that game, the Buckeyes struggled to touch the paint and move the ball in the early going of Saturday’s matchup.

In this iteration of the series, however, Holtmann’s group righted the ship offensively. After starting 1-of-9, the Buckeyes went 27-of-49, or 55.1%, the rest of the way — on the road, against a Spartans team that ranks 37th nationally in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency.

Ohio State went from having only four points more than seven minutes into the game to being down by just four points with less than seven minutes left in the first half. Triples from freshman point guard Bruce Thornton and grad transfer guards Isaac Likekele and Sean McNeil were a critical part of the Buckeyes’ 17-8 run, which also featured another lob and slam, this time with Ohio State freshman center Felix Okpara throwing it down.

Both teams enjoyed significant success from deep. The Buckeyes converted double-digit 3-pointers for just the third time this season, connecting on 11-of-25 attempts from beyond the arc. Thornton, Sensabaugh and McNeil each had a trio of triples. On the other end, MSU was even more efficient with the long ball, going 12-of-20 from distance. The Spartans’ barrage was pretty evenly distributed: Six different Spartans players contributed to the effort.

So it was fitting that as soon as Ohio State leaned on outside shooting to make it a four-point game, MSU countered with a pair of 3-pointers in the next three minutes to restore its cushion. The Spartans took a 43-34 lead into the break. Sophomore guard Jaden Akins scored nine points in the final four minutes of the opening frame, registering a pair of traditional 3-pointers as well as an old-fashioned 3-point play in the process.

All it took was back-to-back Sensabaugh 3-pointers at the beginning of the second half to rope the Buckeyes back into the game in East Lansing, though. Sensabaugh had a game-high 21 points. He and Thornton each had 19-plus-points for the second time in the last four outings.

The pairing of first years was the focal point of the Buckeyes’ offense, but Justice Sueing — back to being the only non-freshman starter — flirted with a triple-double, rounding out the day with 10 points, a team-high nine rebounds and seven assists along with only one turnover.

After Sensabaugh’s consecutive perimeter makes, it was a 45-40 game. Except the Spartans promptly returned their lead to double digits, and senior guard Tyson Walker even pushed it to 12 with a layup at the 12:36 mark.

Rather than folding, Ohio State gave it one more go. A 15-6 run, which included the aforementioned 7-0 spurt, had the Buckeyes within one possession of the Spartans. That stretch saw junior wing Eugene Brown III flush a two-handed dunk, McNeil knock down two 3-pointers and Sueing intercept a pass and lead the break before assisting McNeil for another bucket. Thornton hit the 3-pointer that got it to 67-64.

But that’s as close as the Buckeyes got. After their four-minute rough patch, they tried to play catch-up in the waning minutes. The problem was, Hoggard was golden from the free throw line.

Ohio State couldn’t play spoiler at MSU like it has in years past. And the Buckeyes almost certainly won’t be playing in the NCAA Tournament like in years past.

That said, they are finally showing signs of encouragement for the years to come.