Spartans expose flaws in Buckeyes' attack - FOXSports.com

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Zac Jackson joined FOX Sports Ohio in March 2010 after nearly a decade?covering the Browns and the AFC North Division for?ClevelandBrowns.com. He covers both the Browns and Bengals and college?football and basketball across the state and region. Follow Zac on?Twitter at @FSOhioZJacksonCOLUMBUS, Ohio — Considering it didn't do much of anything right or well in a deflating and, frankly, surprising loss to Michigan State Saturday night, Ohio State's worst game in quite some time could end up being the best thing for the Buckeyes in the long run.

Or, it could be the worst. The Buckeyes' flaws have been exposed, their stranglehold over the Big Ten has been loosened and the race toward March is on.

It's a race the Buckeyes, at this moment, are entering with at least one flat tire.

It would be easy to overreact to Saturday night's result, a 58-48 Michigan State victory that at times was as ugly as the final score indicated. The teams combined for 105 shots and made just 35, with the primary reason Ohio State's 39-game home win streak is now over being that the Buckeyes shot 14 for 53.

The win propels the Spartans into a first-place tie atop the Big Ten with the Buckeyes. Both are 9-3 in conference play, one game ahead of Wisconsin and Michigan.

The alarms around Buckeye Nation are sounding because a good number of those shots were clearly off as soon as they left the shooters' hands. Between Ohio State's lack of rhythm and its strange number of close-range shots that didn't fall, the Buckeyes (21-4) are fortunate to have hung around as long as they did.

"We got a little selfish, we were looking for our own shots," Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft said. "Give them credit for getting in our heads a little bit."

The Big Ten's new bullies got bullied by the league's longtime bullies.

The Spartans (20-5) showed not only that they're worthy contenders for the Big Ten title – and a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — but that they're the kind of Tom Izzo team that's been known to start a roll at this time of year and carry it into late March or early April.

The team that was hungrier, more physical and able to keep its poise Saturday night won. The Buckeyes played not only like a road team but one that was lacking confidence and continuity.

"We decided in the 25th game of our season we weren't going to play our system," Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger said. "We didn't execute our offense. We didn't run plays correctly, that's what really messed up our shooting."

For probably 30 of the 40 minutes, Ohio State's players played like they'd just met. The loss created a blueprint for teams the Buckeyes will face over the next six-plus weeks.

These Buckeyes lack 3-point threats and are searching for others to help Sullinger with the scoring. The inside-out game that started with Sullinger catching the ball in the post last year is a distant memory. Nothing came easy, even with Michigan State turning the ball over 16 times, and for the first time in a long time in Big Ten play it was Ohio State that seemed an inch too short and a half-step too slow.

The Spartans had a height advantage and maximized it. It was more than that, though, as 6-foot-6 freshman guard Branden Dawson had eight rebounds, 6-2 guard Brandon Wood pulled in seven. Michigan State received muscle and steady leadership from senior forward Draymond Green and a breakout game from sophomore Adreian Payne, Sullinger and Craft's former AAU teammate who had 15 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

Over the last 15 months, it's been Ohio State which was getting the key rebounds, making the big shots and generally had too much talent for most of its competition. But Ohio State coach Thad Matta's notoriously short bench seemed really short in this one as Izzo constantly rotated bodies, sent everybody to the glass and kept sending people at Sullinger.

Michigan State didn't double team Sullinger much but sent people at him, especially when he put the ball on the floor or caught it at tough angles. Sullinger’s final line reflected Ohio State's struggles. He finished with 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting, grabbed 16 rebounds and turned the ball over 10 times.

"Everything fell on Sullinger," Izzo said, sounding more like a relieved and fortunate coach than a mad scientist who had discovered some new theory. "That's difficult."

Deshaun Thomas and William Buford each shot 2 for 12, and the Buckeyes shot 2 of 15 from behind the 3-point line. Throw in Michigan State outscoring Ohio State 30-12 in the paint and it was just one of those nights for Matta’s club.

The Buckeyes never established anything. Michigan State was the aggressor, embraced the ugly a little better and didn't mind the physicality and struggle for points. Example: Spartans point guard Keith Appling had no assists and seven turnovers, yet his team won by 10.

"Give them credit, they had a great game plan," Sullinger said.

Round 1 goes to the Spartans. They’ll meet again in East Lansing in the regular-season finale on March 4.

The Buckeyes will look to bounce back Tuesday at Minnesota, a team that needs a marquee win for its NCAA Tournament hopes. Then OSU visits archrival Michigan next Saturday, Feb. 18. Expect the Wolverines to be fired up after getting avalanched in Columbus the first time around, 64-49 on Jan. 29. Fixing what ails Ohio State won't be easy.

"We'll see what kind of team we have when we come back tomorrow for practice," Matta said.

We'll all see in the next few weeks. Right now, Ohio State has lots to fix.

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