Carson Cooper scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 15 Michigan State to a 66-60 win over Ohio State on Sunday.
Jeremy Fears Jr. added 11 points and eight assists for the Spartans (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten), who have won three of four, moving into a third-place tie in the Big Ten with No. 9 Nebraska and No. 7 Purdue.
The Buckeyes (17-10, 9-7) fell to 0-9 against Quadrant 1 teams, a statistic that may hurt their chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid next month.
Ohio State had an opportunity to earn an impressive win, playing without the ill Devin Royal and injured John Mobley and missing the 29 points per game that they average.
Bruce Thornton tried to make up for it, scoring 32 points, but didn’t get much help from a teammate other than Christoph Tilly, who scored 10 points and missed only one shot.
Thornton was 12 of 22 and the rest of the team combined to make 11 of 30 shots. He scored 27 points on Tuesday when the Buckeyes beat No. 24 Wisconsin 86-69 for their first win over an AP Top 25 team this season.
The senior point guard moved past Herb Williams on Ohio State’s career scoring list and trails only Dennis Hopson’s school-record 2,096 points.
Michigan State had a double-digit lead 1:35 left. Ohio State scored seven straight points to pull within three points.
Jordan Scott, who had 12 points, made one of two three throws with 9.8 seconds left, and Cooper followed with two free throws to seal the win for the Spartans.
Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler had nine points and 10 rebounds despite foul trouble.
Next, Ohio State plays at Iowa on Wednesday, and Michigan State is at No. 7 Purdue on Thursday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
