Spartans shock Buckeyes in Big 10 final
Despite a mediocre 8-8 conference record during the regular season, the Michigan State Spartans still had enough firepower to shock Ohio State in the finals of the Big 10 tournament, earning the automatic NCAA berth by pulling off an 82-81 upset over the Buckeyes.
MSU's junior guard #11 took home tourney MVP honors by averaging 22 points and four assists as he spearheaded four straight wins for the Spartans, who had to play in the opening round due to their low seed. MSU beat Northwestern 77-71 in the first round and then upset second-seeded Wisconsin 79-78 in its second-round game, winning on a putback layup with 1.4 seconds remaining. The Spartans had another tight one against Illinois in the semis, winning by three, before finishing up their near-miracle run with the big win against OSU in the finals.
Ohio State had a bit of an easier route to the finals, as the top-seeded Buckeyes only needed to defeat Michigan and Purdue to reach the championship game. For a while, it looked as if OSU would easily knock off Michigan State in the championship, but after trailing by seven with eight minutes left, the Spartans crawled back to even up the game, and took a three-point lead with 15 seconds remaining. OSU hit two free throws to pull to within one but could get no closer, and Michigan State celebrated its Big 10 crown.