Frank Lorenzo
(23) Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan State Spartans
A Big Ten rivalry will take the stage tomorrow when the No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) visit the Michigan State Spartans (16-8, 7-4 Big Ten) at the Breslin Center in East Lansing (12:00 p.m. Eastern).
Ohio State has won two games in a row and five of the last six, beating Penn State on Wednesday by 20 (75-55). Senior forward Sam Thompson scored 22 points in the win, while freshman sensation D’Angelo Russell had 17 points, seven assists, and six rebounds
“It makes it easier. A lot easier,” Russell said of having Thompson elevate his offensive game. “Teams can’t really key on me if the other guys are stepping up and doing what they’re good at.”
Michigan State has won three of the last four games, including a 68-44 win over Northwestern last time out. Travis Trice came off the bench for the second time this season, and it seemed to give the senior guard a spark; Trice racked up 16 points and shot 4/6 from beyond the arc.
Trice – the team’s second-leading scorer – had just 14 points combined in the two previous games, and shot 5/19 from the field.
“I don’t know. It’s not game to game,” coach Tom Izzo said when asked about having Trice come off the bench. “There’s some good things about it. There’s still some things that I struggle with myself about it. But it needed to be done for his sake and ours.”
At home against Ohio State, the Spartans are 3-8 ATS over the last 11, but 14-6 SU over the last 20. The total has gone over in straight.
Give the over a look when the line comes out later tonight.
(Photo credit: Matt Hallowell (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode].)
