Columbus, Ohio ? Ohio State just had too big of a head start.
Greg Oden scored 19 points, including several big second-half free throws, and the fifth-ranked Buckeyes nearly blew a 20-point halftime lead before holding off Michigan State, 66-64, on Saturday night.
“That was a tale of two halves,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “The first half we played some great basketball. But Michigan State didn’t go away.”
Maurice Joseph’s three-point attempt with just over a second left bounced off the rim, preserving the win for the Buckeyes, who won their fifth straight overall and 21st in a row at home.
They also ended Michigan State’s four-game winning streak in Columbus.
Drew Neitzel, the smallest guy on the floor, almost led the Spartans (17-5 overall, 4-3 Big Ten Conference) to a dramatic comeback win. He scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half to draw Michigan State, which had a four-game winning streak end, to within a point with less than a minute left.
“It was one (performance) that will go down” in history, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “He kept making shot after shot. He made some big plays. He’s a big-time player.”
Neitzel continually hit clutch shots, regardless of who was guarding him.
“It was tough,” said Jamar Butler, one of the players assigned to try to stop him. “He was coming off a lot of screens. We did the best we could. We got the win, and that’s all that matters.”
Oden, shooting free throws left-handed while he recuperates from surgery to repair ligament damage in his right wrist, hit a foul shot with 15.3 seconds left to put Ohio State ahead, 66-64. Oden was 8-of-10 at the line in the second half when the Buckeyes were starving for offense.
Oden never had a field goal after the 13:20 mark of the first half. He finished 11-of-14 at the line and also had six rebounds and three blocked shots.
“They really just walled (things) up,” he said of the Spartans’ defense in the second half. “I was getting good looks on hook shots, but I just wasn’t knocking them down.”
Raymar Morgan, a runner-up for Mr. Basketball as an Ohio high school senior last year, scored 14 points for the Spartans.
Butler had 12 points and six assists for the Buckeyes, with Daequan Cook adding 11 points – all in the first half when Ohio State took a 43-23 lead.
“I was ticked off at halftime,” Izzo said. “That was a joke. A lot of those shots they had were without a hand in their face. That’s just not the way we defend.”
Izzo figured if the Spartans could start to hit some shots, the Buckeyes would cool off. He was right on both points.
The Spartans ran off the first seven points of the second half with four players scoring, serving notice they wouldn’t go down quietly.
Neitzel, who missed six of his seven shots from the field in the opening half, led the Spartans’ surge. He scored 16 of their 18 points over a six-minute span while the Buckeyes floundered at the offensive end.
Neitzel was fouled while shooting a three with 1:41 left with Michigan State down three. He hit the first two but missed the third, with Ohio State left holding a 65-64 lead.
After the teams traded possessions, Neitzel, who finished 9-of-20 from the field and 4-of- 12 on 3-pointers, missed a shot behind the arc with 20 seconds remaining. The ball bounced loose, with players from both teams scrambling for a piece of it. The officials ruled Oden was fouled in the scrum.
“I was not satisfied with some of those (calls),” Izzo said, “but that’s the way it goes.”
No. 1 Florida 91, Auburn 66
Auburn, Ala. – Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey and Al Horford scored 17 points apiece, and Florida coasted to victory over Auburn for its 12th consecutive win.
The Gators shot 58 percent from the floor, went 9-of-14 on three-pointers and nursed a big lead through most of the game.
They had few problems hitting threes or scoring inside against the Tigers, who were unable to counter the nation’s top shooting team.
No. 4 North Carolina 92, No. 17 Arizona 64
Tucson, Ariz. – Freshman Ty Lawson scored a career-high 18 points, and North Carolina routed Arizona, handing Lute Olson his worst home loss in 24 seasons as coach of the Wildcats.
Five other Tar Heels scored in double figures as North Carolina won its fourth straight.
The Tar Heels played without No. 2 scorer and rebounder Brandan Wright and reserve swingman Marcus Ginyard, who had stomach illnesses.
No. 7 Oregon 77, No. 20 Wash. State 74, OT
Pullman, Wash. – Aaron Brooks returned from a suspension to score 31 points and help Oregon beat Washington State in overtime to claim sole possession of second place in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Brooks, the league’s leading scorer, surpassed his 18.4 point average as Oregon stormed back in overtime after trailing for all but the final second.
Maarty Leunen sank two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to tie it at 64 and force overtime. The Ducks ran off 10 unanswered points in the extra period to take a 74-64 lead before WSU’s Derrick Low hit two three-pointers and sank four free throws to close.
No. 9 Pittsburgh 72, St. John’s 46
Pittsburgh – Aaron Gray had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Pittsburgh controlled poor-shooting St. John’s at both ends of the floor to extend its best Big East start.
The Panthers repeatedly limited St. John’s to one shot on offense, preventing the Red Storm from settling into a rhythm. Pitt won its ninth in 10 games.
The 26-point margin of victory was Pitt’s largest in a series St. John’s has dominated, winning 33 of 50.
No. 11 Memphis 67, Southern Mississippi 64
Memphis, Tenn. – Chris
Douglas-Roberts scored 15 points, including five in the final 2:28, and Memphis rallied past Southern Mississippi for its ninth straight victory.
The Tigers had to come back from six points down with 6:25 to play. Jeremy Hunt led Memphis with 21 points, and Douglas-Roberts’ two free throws with 7.6 seconds left preserved the win.
Arkansas 63, No. 12 Alabama 57
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Patrick Beverley scored 19 points, and Arkansas dominated Alabama for 30 minutes before hanging on to win.
The Razorbacks outmuscled Alabama in the paint as 7-footer Steven Hill pulled down 16 rebounds. Arkansas held a seemingly insurmountable 51-27 lead with 10:50 to play when the Crimson Tide started its rally and outscored the Razorbacks, 30-12, the rest of the way.
No. 14 Butler 68, Detroit 58
Detroit – A.J. Graves had 15 points and five assists to help Butler overcome a sluggish second half and beat Detroit for its fifth straight victory.
The win kept the Bulldogs alone in first place in the Horizon League.
Brandon Cotton scored 28 points for the Titans, who were seeking their first victory against a ranked opponent in more than seven years.
BYU 61, No. 16 Air Force 52
Provo, Utah – Keena Young scored 17 points, including a three-point play with 19 seconds left, and Brigham Young beat Air Force to extend its home winning streak to 27.
Trent Plaisted scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Cougars, who outrebounded the Falcons, 42-20. BYU hasn’t lost in the Marriott Center since the season opener in 2005.
No. 18 Nevada 79, Utah State 62
Reno, Nev. – Nick Fazekas had 24 points and 18 rebounds, and Nevada went on a 10-0 run late in the game to beat Utah State.
Marcelus Kemp added 15 points, Ramon Sessions 13 and Kyle Shiloh 10 for the Wolf Pack, who have won 12 of their last 13. They are now 56-6 at home since the start of the 2003-04 season.
No. 22 Notre Dame 66, Villanova 63
South Bend, Ind. – Colin Falls scored 23 points, including four in the final 65 seconds, to lead Notre Dame.
Villanova had two chances to tie it in the final 18 seconds, but Reggie Redding missed an open three-pointer, and Curtis Sumpter also missed a three. Sumpter threw up a length-of-the-court shot at the buzzer that was short and wide.
The Fighting Irish improved to 15-0 at home this season.
No. 23 Indiana 76, Michigan 61
Bloomington, Ind. – Roderick Wilmont and D.J. White scored 15 points apiece, and Indiana earned its 11th straight victory against Michigan and its 13th consecutive win at home.
The Hoosiers were coming off a season-low 43 points in a loss at Illinois, but took control early with their three-point shooting. One three-pointer by Wilmont and two straight by Lance Stemler helped Indiana to an 11-0 start, while the Wolverines missed their first four shots and hit only one field goal in the game’s first nine minutes.
No. 25 Southern California 76, California 73
Berkeley, Calif. – Daniel Hackett hit a tiebreaking layup with 16 seconds remaining, and Southern California hung on to beat California after blowing a 17-point lead.
Hackett scored four points in the final 1:03 for the Trojans, who bounced back after their most lopsided loss of the season Thursday night at Stanford.
After building a 53-36 lead with 13:11 to go against the Golden Bears, a loss in this game would have been even more painful.
Lodrick Stewart, twin brother of Kansas University’s Rodrick Stewart, scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half to lead USC.