It is the second straight season MSU has lost consecutive games at Breslin Center.

“I guess disappointed would be a foolish word right now. It’s probably more than that,” head coach Tom Izzo said.

With the loss, the Spartans (21-7 overall, 11-4 Big Ten) fall into a tie for second place with Ohio State (21-7, 11-4) in the Big Ten.

After the Spartans took an early 10-4 lead, the Buckeyes got hot, going on a 19-2 run to open a double-digit lead with less than eight minutes to play in the half.

“I thought we started out better and I can’t figure out why we played so sluggishly most of that first half,” Izzo said. “The game plan was to run and run and run and run and I don’t think we ran at all. We just weren’t pushing it and I don’t know why.”

The Spartans came into the game averaging 8.7 turnovers per game in the past three games, but Sunday, they turned the ball over nine times in the first half.

The Spartans went into the locker room down 39-26 at half — the second straight home game in which an opponent took a double-digit lead into the half. On Feb. 9, Purdue led MSU 47-33 at the break.

As the second half started, it was clear what the Spartans planned to do: Pound it inside. MSU fed the post early and often as the half began. Sophomore forward Draymond Green scored two layups and the Spartans got the Ohio State big men into foul trouble. Buckeyes forward Dallas Lauderdale picked up his third foul early and forward Kyle Madsen fouled out with more than 11 minutes remaining.
As the Buckeyes began to get into foul trouble and possibly wear down from a lack of depth, the Spartans started to heat up.

Down by six, junior guard Durrell Summers — who led the Spartans with 16 points — went on a 7-0 run of his own to give MSU its first lead since early in the first.

Breslin Center was rocking and everyone began to smell a victory.

“I thought we could pull it out, and I think down the stretch we had some key mistakes on defense and their players made shots,” Summers said.

After losing the lead, Ohio State kept its composure and, after regaining the lead on free throws, Buckeyes guard Jon Diebler hit a 3-point shot to give Ohio State a 68-62 edge.

Their turn to keep composure, the Spartans looked lost on offense and put up some bad jump shots — instead of feeding the ball inside, which they had during the comeback.

“As far as taking the ball inside, I feel like when we ran our plays to go inside, either they were forcing our bigs out or the play wasn’t there so nobody wanted to force it in.” junior guard Chris Allen said. “I wouldn’t say we were going away from our game plan, we were doing what we had to do, it’s just other stuff was open.”

After Ohio State rebounded MSU’s poor shots, Buckeyes forward Evan Turner sank his free throws and the hearts of Spartans fans with them. Turner led the Buckeyes with 20 points while adding 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Spartans will have a week off before travelling to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on first-place Purdue. If MSU wants to have a chance at the Big Ten Championship, that game is a must-win. But before next Sunday, the Spartans will have to take care of their distractions and worry about themselves first.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to meet, watch the film, figure out what we did wrong and we’re going to have to move on and worry about ourselves more than anything,” Summers said.