EAST LANSING- No. 18 Michigan State Spartans men’s basketball travel to Columbus, Ohio this Friday night to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Michigan State is on a six-game winning streak, with the last one coming Monday afternoon against the Western Michigan Broncos with the Spartans winning that contest 80-62.
MSU outshot the Broncos from the field (50-41.4) and the charity stripe (90.9-41.2) with the free throw line being the big difference maker with the Spartans making 20 of 22.
Michigan State won in the rebound battle (37-30) and led in assists (20), blocks (7), and points from the bench (41).
The Spartans struggled with turnovers in the game matching their season high with 17 total turnovers. However, MSU forced 17 turnovers from the Broncos which they would take advantage of with the fast break points (23).
Senior guard Jaden Akins would lead the way in scoring with 18 with only one other spartan scoring double digits.
Junior center Carson Cooper scored a career-high 13 points in the win for MSU with 4 other Spartans would have 8 or more points to contribute.
Senior center Szymon Zapala would lead the way on the glass grabbing nine rebounds, while redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and junior guard Tre Holloman led the way in assists with six each.
MSU and OSU meet for the first time since the buzzer-beater three-pointer that gave the Buckeyes the win last season in the Breslin Center.
Scouting Ohio State
Ohio State is coached by first-year man Jake Diebler after serving as assistant coach and interim head coach of the Buckeyes after former coach Chris Holtman was let go midway through the season.
Diebler led the team to a 6-2 record as interim head coach which helped land him the full-time gig.
The Buckeyes come into this game with a record of 9-4 coming off a 103-point performance in the win against Indiana State. Leading the way for OSU was junior guard Bruce Thornton with a career-high 33 points.
Sophomore forward Devin Royal (13), freshman guard John Mobley Jr. (11), and sophomore forward Aaron Bradshaw (13) all had double-digits in company with Thornton.
Against Indiana State, OSU shot 55.7% from the field, 33.3% from the 3-point line, and 68.3% from the free-throw line. Buckeyes led the game with blocks (7), assists (15), and points in the paint (50). The turnover margin was in favor of the Buckeyes (6-19), where they had the advantage in points off turnovers (19-2).
Spartans take on the Buckeyes this Friday night at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The matchup will be live on FOX and tips off at 8 p.m. EST.
