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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Brian Brown has been a bit player on teams
that went to a Final Four and shared a Big Ten title, but those
highlights have been pushed to the back of his memory bank.
"This is the biggest win of my career because we don't have the
talent we had before," Brown said after scoring a career-high 25
points in Ohio State's 64-55 victory over No. 3 Michigan State.
|  | | Brent Darby, right, scored 11 points and was one of just two Ohio State players to reach double digits. The other -- Brian Brown (25). |
The Spartans (16-2, 5-2), who had won their last four games,
would have tied Illinois for the Big Ten lead with a victory.
The upset came six days after defending national champion
Michigan State dominated the Buckeyes in the second half to win
71-56 in East Lansing.
Brown went 8-of-13 from the field, 7-of-9 on free throws and
also had six assists and five rebounds for Ohio State (13-7, 4-4).
"Brian was terrific. Playing all 40 minutes says it all -- we
didn't think we could afford to take him out," Ohio State coach
Jim O'Brien said. "His floor game was great, his game awareness
and his presence throughout the whole game was marvelous."
Ohio State's Brent Darby added 11 points, including two timely
3-pointers.
Bewildered all day by Ohio State's 2-3 zone, Michigan State
never got closer than seven points after the Buckeyes scored the
final four points before halftime and 12 of the first 14 points in
the second half.
"Coach told us if we got them in a halfcourt set, we could
defend them," Brown said.
The Spartans' Andre Hutson scored 17 points and Jason Richardson
had 11 -- all in the first half -- before fouling out. The starting
backcourt of Charlie Bell and Marcus Taylor combined to hit just
5-of-21 shots from the field and totaled 14 points. Bell was
battling the flu.
"We got a lesson in how to play hard," Michigan State coach
Tom Izzo said. "Ohio State got exactly what they deserved. They
played better defense than us."
Ohio State was outrebounded 36-27 in the previous meeting as the
Spartans piled up 20 offensive rebounds. That was without starting
center Hutson, who was recovering from pneumonia.
Then, on Wednesday night, Ohio State shot just 25 percent from
the field and lost 57-41 at Wisconsin.
"Today was huge for us," O'Brien said. "We had not beaten a
team that was ranked. Any time you beat somebody in the top five it
goes a long way toward people noticing you."
Michigan State had already weathered an eight-minute span
without a point but was tied at 22 late in the first half.
Brown gave the Buckeyes the lead for good with a pair of free
throws and Tim Martin added two more to put the Buckeyes ahead
26-22 at the break.
Four players scored in the 12-2 run at the outset of the second
half as Ohio State built a 38-24 lead by the 15:10 mark. Michigan
State was unable to get out and run and had difficulty getting
inside against the Buckeyes' Ken Johnson, the nation's top
shot-blocker a year ago.
"We wanted to pressure the ball. We thought if we kept them out
of the transition game, we would be OK," Darby said. "Our poise
was so much better today than it was last Sunday."
The Buckeyes led by as many as 16 points -- on Darby's 3-pointer
with 13:52 left -- before Michigan State regrouped to cut the lead
to eight on three occasions.
Each time Ohio State -- in particular, Brown -- had an answer. He
hit two free throws after the Spartans had cut it to 51-43 with
just under 4 minutes left, then assisted on Darby's 3-pointer with
1:53 remaining. After Michigan State cut it to 58-51 on Taylor's
3-pointer with 1:13 remaining, Brown hit two more foul shots.
"We played tough -- especially down the stretch," Brown said.
The Buckeyes frittered away leads in several games this season,
and O'Brien said they proved they had learned from those problems.
"We were every bit as tough as we've ever been since I've been
at Ohio State," the fourth-year head coach said.
Ohio State's last eight points came at the line, where the
Buckeyes went 20-of-28, to Michigan State's 10-of-14.
The Spartans missed nine consecutive shots from the field and
had five turnovers in an eight-minute span as Ohio State turned an
11-6 deficit into a 15-11 lead in the first half.
Michigan State hit five of its first six shots from the field,
but made just 16 of 47 (34 percent) the rest of the way.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Michigan State Clubhouse
Ohio State Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Cobe Ocokoljic takes the long pass and slams it down for the Buckeyes.
avi: 1218 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ohio State's Brent Darby gets the steal then feeds Brian Brown on the break.
avi: 830 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jason Richardson fills the lane in transition for the Spartans.
avi: 1377 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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