No. 13 Ohio State vs. Michigan State: First Half Notebook
Halftime Score: Ohio State 42, Michigan State 30
Michigan State is coming off its worst loss in about 12 years. Tom Izzo is one of the all-time great coaches in college basketball history and I expect his group to play hard and put the bad mid-week loss behind them, after they fell to Rutgers 67-37. They're certainly doing that, but the offense went cold late in the first half and they've dug themselves a hole against a very confident Ohio State team.
Michigan State turns the ball over more than any team in the Big Ten - and the Buckeyes have been trying to play into that. Their on-ball pressure really ramped up over the final 10 minutes of the first half. MSU turned it over six times.
E.J. Liddell got off to a great start, but came out for a breather after a nearly 7-minute stretch of play to open the game. Liddell looks really good again today. He's showing some range, but he's been very effective backing down in the post as well. This is now the fourth straight game that he's looked like the best player on the floor. Liddell has nine points at the break.
Kyle Young picked up a second foul pretty early on, which forced him out of the game. He fouled out for the first time in his career during Ohio State's mid-week game against Penn State. He looked good during the seven minutes he played, but wasn't able to play any more than that.
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The more Justice Sueing plays point guard, the more I think he is getting comfortable. He's given the Buckeyes a real steadiness as C.J. Walker continues to play limited minutes with his right hand injury.
Duane Washington Jr. hit a big 3-pointer just before the final media timeout of the first half. He's been fairly quiet in the game so far, hitting just one of his first six shots. Let's see if he can find a better rhythm as the game progresses.
I like Ohio State's balance offensively. Nobody seems to be forcing shots consistently. They're sharing the ball well and, for the most part, taking really good shots. There have been several successful ball-fakes from around the arc that turned into driving layups.
The Buckeyes finally put a little distance between them and the Spartans late in the first half, when Justice Sueing scored off a turnover and then Justin Ahrens quickly hit a 3-pointer. It put the Buckeyes up 42-28, which was their largest lead of the game.
The Spartans have been poor from the free throw line in the first half, hitting only 8-of-12. You get the feeling that those misses are going to haunt them.
The Buckeyes are minus-4 on the glass, but they've only turned it over once all half and have outshot the Spartans in all areas.
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