No. 16 Buckeyes Fall To Spartans, 67-64 – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2002%^$
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By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer%^$
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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Michigan State has been tough to beat this season%^$with Marcus Taylor and Adam Ballinger in the starting lineup.%^$
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Without them, the Spartans have been vulnerable.%^$
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Taylor had 18 points and five assists, and Ballinger added 18 points and 10%^$rebounds as Michigan State beat No. 16 Ohio State 67-64 Sunday.%^$
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The Spartans (14-9, 5-5 Big Ten) have lost five of their nine games with%^$Taylor and Ballinger sidelined with injuries.%^$
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“With Marcus, it’s like night and day for our team,” Ballinger said.%^$”He’s a great player that makes everybody better, and he makes teams defend us%^$differently.”%^$
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Ballinger missed four games earlier this season with a sprained ankle, and%^$Taylor played for the first time since getting a mild concussion early in the%^$second half of the Spartans’ Feb. 3 win at Illinois.%^$
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“I don’t remember anything from the Illinois game,” Taylor said. “And%^$then I had bad, bad headaches. But now I feel pretty good. It was just nice to%^$get back out there and help the team.”%^$
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Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien was asked how much difference Taylor makes for%^$the Spartans.%^$
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“What do you think?” O’Brien answered sarcastically. “It’s a huge%^$difference. He’s supposed to be one of the premier guards in the country, not%^$just in the league. I think they’re a dramatically different team with him in%^$the lineup.”%^$
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Michigan State used two 13-0 runs to knock the Buckeyes (17-5, 8-3) out of a%^$first-place tie with Indiana.%^$
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The Spartans have won five of their last seven conference games, but with a%^$month left in the season, Michigan State coach Izzo is not ready to start%^$making plans for the NCAAs.%^$
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“I’m still not comfortable with it because we have a lot of games left,”%^$Izzo said. “But we beat a good team today. This will be a quality win for%^$us.”%^$
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The Spartans have also beaten Oklahoma and Arizona at home this season and%^$won at Illinois last Sunday.%^$
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Ohio State, which travels to Iowa and Indiana next, has lost two straight%^$and three of five.%^$
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“We’re going to have to make sure we stay real positive,” O’Brien said.%^$”This is as difficult a stretch as you could go through in this league. We%^$can’t let our guys get discouraged.”%^$
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Brent Darby scored 14 points for the Buckeyes, 12 coming in the final 7:34.%^$Zach Williams added 12, while Brian Brown and Terence Dials each had 10.%^$
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“We’re not going to win a lot of games if our guards go 9-for-30,” O’Brien%^$said, referring to Darby and Brown.%^$
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After Ohio State took a one-point lead, the Spartans’ second 13-0 run gave%^$them a 48-36 lead with 9:26 left. Michigan State led by at least seven until%^$Boban Savovic’s 3-pointer pulled Ohio State within four with 2:46 left. The%^$Buckeyes couldn’t get closer than three.%^$
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“We can’t panic,” Williams said. “We just have to keep playing with a%^$sense of urgency and make sure we don’t get down on ourselves.”%^$
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The Spartans have won eight straight over Ohio State in the Breslin Center%^$and 13 of 15 overall in the series.%^$
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Michigan State’s first 13-0 run gave it an 18-13 lead with 7:55 left in the%^$first half. The Spartans led just 27-24 at halftime despite holding Ohio State%^$to 27.6 percent shooting.
