Valentine three-pointer lifts Michigan State past Ohio State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — It's about as close as things can get for Michigan State right now in its quest for an NCAA tournament bid, and today was about as close as things can get at Breslin Center.

In a game the Spartans absolutely had to have to bolster their NCAA resume, MSU junior guard Denzel Valentine provided a fitting finish in Valentine's Day – nailing a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left for a 59-56 win vs. No. 21 Ohio State.

The Buckeyes still had a shot after that, but Valentine jumped high to bother an inbounds pass attempt that rolled to teammate Matt Costello and that was it — Valentine, the Spartans and the rest of Breslin reveled in a dramatic triumph over a longtime basketball rival.

The win pushes MSU to 17-8 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten, and it's the Spartans' first over a team ranked at the time. It's the Spartans' third against an RPI top-50 team, joining wins over Indiana and at Iowa, and that's big for the NCAA profile.

An NCAA mock committee made up of media members on Thursday and Friday in Indianapolis placed MSU as one of the final teams in the field as a No. 11 seed.

Valentine scored 17 points to lead MSU, and Branden Dawson had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman point guard Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn was the Spartans' unsung hero with seven points, five rebounds, four assists and a lot of time guarding Ohio State star freshman D'Angelo Russell.

Russell had 10 points and six assists for OSU (19-7, 8-5) in the only regular-season meeting between the teams.

Joe Rexrode covers Michigan State for the Detroit Free Press.

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