Spartans fought hard, but came up short, losing to Ohio State 71-61

William Buford scored 23 points and Aaron Craft had a hand in two critical plays down the stretch to lead the No. 2 Buckeyes to a 71-61 win over the Spartans.

It was a hard-fought struggle for Ohio State (25-1, 12-1 Big Ten), playing for the first time since having their unbeaten season ended with a 61-57 loss at Wisconsin on Saturday.

Kalin Lucas led the Spartans (14-11, 6-7) with 14 points, while Adreian Payne and Draymond Green each had 10. They’ve lost six of their last eight but fought hard throughout.

After Michigan State had cut it to 53-51, Buford hit consecutive jumpers— the first a 3 from the left wing and the second a stop-and-pop jumper from 15 feet to make it 58-51.