Ohio State leads Michigan State at halftime despite sloppy play

Ohio State hasn’t played its best half of basketball, but it still leads Michigan State by five points at the break in East Lansing.

They say a sign of a good team is one that still is able to get things done despite not playing its best. For Ohio State, that has been the case so far in East Lansing against Michigan State. Despite being outrebounded, not getting back on defense on several occasions, and turning the ball over eight times, the Buckeyes still lead the Spartans 38-33 at halftime.

The good news if your an Ohio State fan, is that the defense has been playing well once the half-court has come into play. The Buckeyes have forced nine turnovers of their own and have made life really difficult on the Spartans’ offense outside of fast-break runouts.

Duane Washington leads OSU at halftime with 11 points on 4-of-8 field goals even with a desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down taken off the board. The banked-in bucket was called good initially, then reversed despite in-game broadcast reviews showing the ball leaving Washington’s hands just before time expired.

Other OSU players with close to double figures include Zek Key and Justice Sueing with eight points each. E.J. Liddell has had a rough first half, going just 1-of-6 from the floor with five points. He’ll need to step up in the last twenty minutes.

For Michigan State, there hasn’t been much offense outside of their fast break and secondary break offense, with Gabe Brown and Aaron Henry leading the Spartans with nine points each.

In the second half, if Ohio State can put the lid on transition baskets and hold Michigan State down on the boards, you feel pretty good about bringing this one home as a win. That’s a big if though.

Twenty more minutes to go.

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