Michigan State University
Ohio State
Spartans Can't Miss Against Buckeyes
2/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 7, 2004
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio - No team had ever done to Ohio State what Michigan State did on Saturday.
The Spartans took the lead in the Big Ten after shooting 73.3 percent from the field -- the highest ever against the Buckeyes in 105 seasons of intercollegiate basketball -- in an 84-70 victory.
"I don't think it was bad defense," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "It was just ridiculous shooting."
His Ohio State counterpart, Jim O'Brien, could only agreed.
"We ran into a buzzsaw," he said softly.
The Spartans, who shot 81 percent in the first half, missed their final four shots of the game or they would have set school and Big Ten accuracy records and could have broken the NCAA mark of 81.4 percent set by New Mexico against Oregon State in 1985.
"Sooner or later you think you're going to miss one but we stayed pretty consistent," point guard Chris Hill said.
Michigan State (12-8, 7-2 Big Ten) ended up 33 of 45 from the field. The Spartans moved to first in the conference after Wisconsin lost a 69-51 upset to Northwestern on Saturday.
"When you shoot like that it's tough to beat," Izzo said. "We shot well, and we really executed well."
Maurice Ager came off the bench to score 18 points, Hill added 16 points, Kelvin Torbert had 15, Alan Anderson 12 and Paul Davis 10 for Michigan State, which has won four in a row and seven of the last eight.
Ager hit 7 of 9 shots from the field, Hill made 6 of 8, Torbert was 6 of 7, Anderson made all four of his shots and Davis was 4 for 5.
"They shot the lights out, and we came out soft in the first half," Buckeyes center Velimir Radinovic said. "We gave them some good opportunities -- but they made some tough shots, too."
Ohio State shot 20 free throws before the Spartans went to the line for the first time, 3:38 into the second half.
The Buckeyes (11-11, 3-6), who had won two in a row, never got closer than 11 points in the second half after falling behind by as many as 20.
Tony Stockman scored 18 points, Radinovic had 17, Terence Dials 13 and Brandon Fuss-Cheatham 10 for Ohio State, which has lost three in a row to the Spartans in Value City Arena.
With just under 5 minutes left, Michigan State was 33 of 41 from the field for 80.5 percent and was on pace to break the school (73.8 percent) and Big Ten (75.5 percent) records.
The Buckeyes ended up taking three more attempts from the field, shot a respectable 44 percent and outscored the Spartans by 10 points at the line but never got the lead under double digits in the game's final 32 minutes.
After Stockman hit a 3-pointer to open the game, the Spartans put on a clinic. They made 10 of their first 11 shots to build a 22-10 lead, and didn't miss their second shot -- a layup by Jason Andreas -- until midway through the half.
"It was something special," Torbert said. "Most of them were outside jump shots."
What made the 48-30 halftime lead even more surprising was that Ohio State shot 18 free throws (making 12) and the Spartans never went to the line.
It just seemed they cooled off in the second half against the Buckeyes, as their percentage dropped more than 17 points to 63.2 percent.
"That's pretty indicative of how good they are," O'Brien said.
Ohio State hit four 3-pointers in a row in a 12-3 run to draw as close as 62-51 with 12 minutes remaining. After a miss by Davis inside, Anderson hit a jumper in the lane and Hill nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to end that threat.
"We had great passes inside and outside," Izzo said. "We moved the ball around well all day."
O'Brien wore a dark suit and Izzo a sport coat and dress pants -- each capping off their ensemble with bright white sneakers. Both wore the shoes to show support for the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
