EAST LANSING, Mich. — It was Senior Day at Michigan State on Saturday, and things ended about as well as they could for the Spartans.
The offense was humming along at a high level once again with five players scoring in double figures and the building was packed, celebrating a third win in four games as Michigan State started quickly then held off a surging Ohio State team in the second half for an 84-78 victory.
And when as the Senior Day festivities wrapped up after the game, Tom Izzo was leading the "One more year" chants as the Izzone and the rest of the Breslin Center crowd did their best to implore the likes to Malik Hall and Tyson Walker to consider a return to East Lansing.
But being the coach he is and with the most important time of the year arriving, Izzo made it clear that, as well as the Spartans are playing, there is still work to be done if they expect to make the run Izzo believes they're capable of making.
"We're playing good," Izzo said, "but our defense has been terrible. We're not guarding, and that's got to change. ... For a team to be shooting — we shot 54 percent and 60 percent (on 3-pointers) — the coach should be happy. But honestly I'm not because I know we're not going to win that way. We've got to do a better job defensively."
To be clear, Michigan State has been one of the better defensive teams all season. However, it's also had its share of breakdowns in recent games. The flipside, of course, is that the offense is starting to take off, and that surely is not lost on Izzo as he believes the defense can be a quick fix.
On Saturday against the Buckeyes, the offense was rolling early and never let up as five players scored in double figures and Michigan State (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten) scored more than 80 points for the fourth straight game.
"We've been able to hang our hat on our defense but it has kind of been a letdown these past couple games," senior Joey Hauser said. "We're shooting so well that it's been able to keep us in games, build leads, go on runs and it's not every game that you're going to shoot it well. So, defensively we've got to get better, rebounding as well. But when our offense is clicking, man, I think we're tough to beat."
That was clear on Saturday with Hoggard leading the way by matching a career high with 23 points along with seven assists and one turnover. Hauser scored 16 in what was likely his final home game for the Spartans while Walker had 15 and Hall 10 as both seniors will have the option of returning next season.
Sophomore Jaden Akins added 13 points as Michigan State was 12 for 20 from 3-point range.
"I think we're definitely playing at a high level offensively," Hoggard said. "I think we've got to continue to take the offense we've had these last couple games and just bring our defense back to where it was and be consistent in that as well. But with the offense, guys are definitely confident.
"Everyone is making shots and when you have four or more players in double digits it feels like it will be definitely hard to beat us, especially if we cover on the other end. But it's definitely fun playing like that when you're getting a lot of shots and a lot of buckets."
For long stretches, especially in the second half, Ohio State looked ready to spring the upset and win for the third straight time after dropping nine in a row. It overcame an early 13-point deficit to get within three in the second half but was unable to get over the hump.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 21 for the Buckeyes (13-18, 5-15) while Bruce Thornton scored 20 with Sam McNeil adding 11 and Justice Sueing chipping in 10.
"I really loved our guys approach. I loved our guys' spirit and the way they had about them," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. "This is a hard place to play. Michigan State is a good team. The best shooting Michigan State team since the Final Four team that we played against (in 2019). I really believe that. It is the best shooting team that they have had. They just shoot it at a such a high level and they've got older kids that are really performing as well as they have performed in their careers.
"So give them credit, they made some tough shots, but I loved the way our guys fought and gave us a real chance."
Michigan State's offensive momentum was on display again in the first half as the Spartans gave up the first two points of the game before going on a 17-2 run to take a 17-4 lead just more than six minutes into the game. Ohio State started to chip away, later pulling within four at 25-21 on a 3-pointer from McNeil with 6:30 left in the half.
The Spartans responded, extending the lead back to 10 at 33-23 on a 3-pointer from Akins. It was fast-paced offense from there as the teams went back and forth with Michigan State grabbing a 41-32 lead on another Akins 3-pointer before Walker scored to make it 43-34 with 53 seconds left.
After getting a stop, Michigan State looked like it was going to end the half with an emphatic dunk from Hall, but his shot was blocked from behind and the Spartans held a nine-point lead at halftime while going 8 for 14 from 3-point range.
"We worked on that all summer, and that's where the confidence comes from," Hauser said of Michigan State's shooting. "Every single guy in the gym, every guy you see making shots. We've taken that shot 1,000 times. We've got multiple guys who can do it. We're shooting it well and I think we're really tough to guard."
The teams kept hitting shots to open the second half as Ohio State made five of its first six shots while Michigan State opened 4 for 5 to hold a 54-46 lead with 15:42 to play. After the Buckeyes trimmed the deficit to 56-49 on a Thornton 3-pointer, Hauser hit a 3-pointer from the corner and Walker scored on a driving layup to push the lead to 61-49, the biggest of the second half at that point for the Spartans.
But the Buckeyes kept coming, a trend that played out throughout the game. They got two straight 3-pointers from McNeil as the Buckeyes used a 10-3 run to pull within 67-64 with 5:33 to play. Michigan State answered with a layup late in the shot clock from Walker then got two free throws from Hoggard to extend the lead back to seven with 3:34 to play.
Ohio State kept fighting, getting as close as 76-71 with 1:26 left on a bucket by Sueing, but Hoggard made 7 of 8 free throws from there to put the victory away.
Michigan State now waits for Sunday to play out when the rest of the Big Ten closes the season to see where it lands in the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans could be as high as No. 3 and get the double-bye or be as low as No. 7 and play Thursday at next week's tournament in Chicago.
"We'll definitely be keeping tabs on those games," Hauser said. "We'd love to have a double bye, but at this point with the schedule we played, we don't really care who we're playing. Just line us up and tip it off, man. We'll play anyone."
