National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 61, Michigan St 58
When: 4:10 PM ET, Saturday, March 16, 2013
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials: # Larry Scirotto, # Lamont Simpson, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: 21824
By SportsDirect Inc.

No. 9 Ohio State 61, No. 7 Michigan State 58: Aaron Craft scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, recorded a season-high nine assists and added four steals as the Buckeyes dispatched the Spartans to reach the Big Ten championship game in Chicago.

Deshaun Thomas added 16 points for second-seeded Ohio State (25-7), which will play fourth-seeded Wisconsin in Sunday’s title tilt.

Derrick Nix had 17 points and nine rebounds, Keith Appling tallied 16 points and Adreian Payne added 12 points and eight rebounds for third-seeded Michigan State (25-8).

Craft scored nine points during a 10-2 burst that turned a tie contest into a 55-47 Ohio State lead with 7:22 to play. Appling drained his fourth 3-pointer of the game to pull the Spartans within 57-53 with 3:24 remaining and Nix converted a three-point play to make it a one-point game with 1:54 remaining.

Craft hit a free throw and Thomas hit a 15-footer with 22.1 seconds left to push the Buckeyes’ lead to four.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thomas has scored in double figures in all 32 games. … Nix was called for a flagrant 1 foul with 1:27 left when he hooked Craft’s neck while the Buckeyes’ point guard was driving to the basket. … Craft had eight assists in Ohio State’s quarterfinal victory over Nebraska on Friday.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan St   Ohio St.
Derrick Nix 17 Scoring Aaron Craft 20
Adreian Payne 3 Assists Aaron Craft 9
Derrick Nix 9 Rebounds Deshaun Thomas 7
Derrick Nix 5 Free Throws Made Deshaun Thomas 2
Keith Appling 1 Steals Aaron Craft 4
Branden Dawson 2 Blocks Evan Ravenel 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan St 58 40.0 6-14 12-15 10 35 5 3 12
Ohio St. 61 42.1 7-24 6-12 17 28 4 9 5