Spartans scoring more than ever under coach Tom Izzo

Ohio State, on the other hand, is looking to make a push for the NCAA Tournament, now sitting at 18-10 with just three games left on the regular season schedule.

As the season begins to wind down, the Michigan State basketball team doesn’t appear to be playing for a lot. Gophers are 15-53 all-time vs. OSU. Their elite offense ranks 17th in the nation in that metric at 55.6%, while Ohio State is 20th-best in the nation in eFG% defense (44.8%).

About the Gophers: The Gophers’ RPI ranking dropped four spots to 79 after their loss to Indiana. He is the first player in 20 years to have three straight games of 20-plus points and 10-plus assists. He’s averaging a conference-high 19.7 points to go along with 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists while shooting about 45 percent from long range. “We had four divers score 66 points and Ashley Peterson made the championship final”.

“This is a very big game for them”, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.

GOSHEN 85, HUNTINGTON 68: In Goshen, Miranda Palmer scored 26 points, Amelia Recker had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Kelsey Hubble added 10 points for the Foresters (17-14) as their season ended in the first round of the Crossroads League tournament. “But it’s a big game for us also to get that top four seed in the Big Ten tournament and later on in the NCAA Tournament”.

The visitors were able to swell their lead to six points midway through the first half after a pair of jumpers, but the Buckeyes clawed back with a 7-0 run to briefly snatch a one-point lead. It was going to be hard for the Buckeyes to keep up regardless, but a Michigan State team hitting from deep at that rate might be hard for any team in the country to overcome. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Ohio State is 9-4 and Michigan State is 16-2.

Ohio State’s perimeter defense was flayed by Spartan guards curling off screens for uncontested 3’s.

The Ohio State Buckeyes average 68.3 possessions per game and 1.038 points per possession, while the Michigan State Spartans earn fewer possessions (67.3) but more points per possession (1.181). Ohio State would counter with free throws (Trevor Thompson, Marc Loving) but would lose some ground due to Forbes’ outside shooting.

Michigan State’s Bryn Forbes reacts after scoring a 3-point-shot against Ohio State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016.

“I think right now these are big games for Ohio State; they’re big games for Michigan State”. Ohio State is 18-10 overall, 10-5 in the Big Ten, 13-4 at home and 15-11-1 against the spread.

“I think we became a better defensive team, ” Izzo said after talking about his team’s offensive production.

“We’ve got a heck of an opponent”, Matta said.

In OSU’s previous game, a 65-62 overtime win at Nebraska, only four Buckeyes scored a point over the entire 45-minute duration. “It was a very good performance by (Ohio State)”.