Ohio State Upsets Michigan State, Will Play Purdue on Saturday
CHICAGO — No. 13 seed Ohio State stunned No. 4 seed Michigan State on Friday afternoon in a 68-58 victory to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center.
Purdue defeated Rutgers 70-65 to start the day and now awaits Saturday's matchup, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. The two teams will meet for the third time after the Boilermakers won both contests during the regular season.
The Buckeyes were without star freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh, but freshman guard Bruce Thornton posted a game-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting. The Spartans shot just 38.2 percent from the field.
"We played with collective effort," Thornton said. "And as you see, we keep playing together with a free spirit and this aggression on defense, we're going to keep winning. So we'll keep this up and on to the next."
Freshman guard Roddy Gayle Jr. and redshirt senior forward Justice Sueing also scored in double figures for Ohio State with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The team shot 10-of-19 from the 3-point line and led by as many as 14 points.
"We'll hopefully know more tonight on how significant the injury is," Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said after the game. "We're just concerned about Brice. He's obviously got a really bright future. He really wanted to play."
The Buckeyes hosted the Boilermakers back on Jan. 5 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. Purdue needed a late 3-pointer from freshman guard Fletcher Loyer to come away with a 71-69 win on the road.
When Ohio State came to Mackey Arena on Feb. 19, Zach Edey and the Boilermakers earned a dominant 82-55 win. The 7-foot-4 junior center scored 26 points in as many minutes and came down with 11 rebounds.
The winner of Saturday's game will move on to play in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament championship game. The Buckeyes can clinch an NCAA Tournament bid with a miraculous run through the Big Ten Tournament this weekend.
"We see that, but right now we're focused on this next one," Sueing said "We're going to go get some rest, get some recovery in, some treatment, and head into our film and get ready for the next one tomorrow at noon."
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