COLUMBUS, Ohio — Someone on Ohio State probably should have guarded Bryn Forbes.
The Michigan State guard stroked seven 3-pointers on Tuesday night, spear-heading a game in which the No. 6 Spartans made 14 from deep and handed Ohio State a 81-62 loss at Value City Arena.
Frankly, it was surprising it was that close at any point with the way the Spartans shot the ball.
That the Buckeyes had the deficit to six points midway through the second half was a minor triumph. Of course that didn’t last long, as the Buckeyes allowed open 3s from Forbes and Denzel Valentine, went back down by double-digits and the Spartans never looked back.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Ohio State (18-11, 10-6 Big Ten). Ohio State is now 1-5 vs. ranked opponents this year.
Forbes led the Spartans with 27 points, Valentine added 17 points and eight assists.
Ohio State was already in a hole when it found out sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate would miss Tuesday’s game and the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. He was the Buckeyes leading scorer in Big Ten play, and that’s a big player to miss on a team short on scoring options.
Mickey Mitchell started in place of Tate and finished 0 for 3 from the floor.
Marc loving led Ohio State with 19 points, while JaQuan Lyle added 16. The Buckeyes offense was again stagnant, and they finished with just four assists on 18 makes.
The Buckeyes cut it to 50-44 with 15:02 left in the second half on a bucket from Keita Bates-Diop, then Michigan State went on a 7-2 run to get the cushion back. The Spartans led by as many as 17 with just over five minutes to play.
Ohio State led briefly, 25-24, late in the first half, but Michigan State led 36-31 at the break.
Michigan State shot 54 percent for the game, and 64 percent (14 for 22) from 3-point range for the game. That’s the most 3s Ohio State has allowed this season.
When it was over
When a Matt Costello dunk put Michigan State up 75-58 with 5:15 left. That took the air out of the building, and piled on the bevy of 3s Michigan State was making.
Tate out for the season
Ohio State forward Jae’Sean Tate will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, it was announced before Tuesday’s game. Tate was Ohio State’s leading scorer in Big Ten play, and will have surgery on the injured shoulder on Friday.
What it means
That’s likely it for whatever NCAA Tournament hopes the Buckeyes had. Ohio State likely needed at least two wins in the last three games, then at least two more in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes have No. 8 Iowa at home on Sunday, then play at Michigan State next weekend.
What’s next
The Buckeyes play their final home game next Sunday against No. 8 Iowa. Tip-off from Value City Arena is at 4 p.m.
Ohio State basketball allows 14 3-pointers in 81-62 loss to No. 6 Michigan State
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