National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 72, Michigan St 70
When: 4:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 4, 2012
Where: Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan
Officials: # Mike Eades, # Ted Valentine, # Terry Wymer
Attendance: 14797

No. 11 Ohio State 72, No. 5 Michigan State 70:
William Buford's contested jumper from the top of the key with one second remaining completed No. 11 Ohio State's comeback victory at No. 5 Michigan State, forcing a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular-season title.

Despite the loss, the Spartans (24-7, 13-5 Big Ten) still head to the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed, with Michigan second and the Buckeyes (25-6, 13-5 Big Ten) third.

Buford, who scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, took a handoff from Aaron Craft and drilled a shot from just inside the 3-point line to break the game's 10th tie and put the visitors in front with a second remaining. Draymond Green's final 3-point attempt for Michigan State came up short at the buzzer.

Ohio State fell behind by as many as 15 points early at 26-11, but stayed within range by making 14 of 18 first-half free throws and forcing 10 Michigan State turnovers to offset 25 percent (seven for 28) shooting from the field.

Jared Sullinger finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes despite hitting just five of 17 shots. Green was six of 18 from the floor but still paced the Spartans in defeat with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Brandon Wood added 15 points off the bench.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Ohio State earned a share of the conference title for the third consecutive year... Michigan State came into the game ranked second nationally in field-goal percentage defense but Ohio State made 17 of 29 shots (58.6 percent) in the second half Sunday... The Buckeyes outrebounded the Spartans, the Big Ten's top team on the glass, 37-34... The two teams have played 10 games in which both were nationally ranked, splitting those contests evenly.
Top Game Performances
 
Ohio St.   Michigan St
William Buford 25 Scoring Draymond Green 19
Aaron Craft 6 Assists Keith Appling 3
Jared Sullinger 10 Rebounds Draymond Green 12
William Buford 7 Free Throws Made Draymond Green 6
Aaron Craft 4 Steals Keith Appling 2
William Buford 1 Blocks Adreian Payne 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Ohio St. 72 42.1 4-14 20-28 17 33 1 9 10
Michigan St 70 45.5 5-14 15-21 13 32 8 7 13