Buford nets 17 for Ohio State

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP)  - Michigan State made five 3-pointers in less than 3 minutes, making up for what was otherwise a lackluster performance.

Kalin Lucas scored six of his 20 points on 3-pointers during the first-half barrage that gave the eighth-ranked Spartans the lead for a good in a 67-58 win over Ohio State on Tuesday night.

``We were up and we let our guard down,'' Buckeyes forward Evan Turner said. ``They got shots all over the perimeter and the momentum changed.''

Michigan State has won eight straight since being routed by North Carolina and 26 in a row at home, dating to a loss against Ohio State nearly two years ago, but coach Tom Izzo was underwhelmed by the latest victory.

``We looked tired and we played tired,'' Izzo said. ``We're going to have our first day off tomorrow in a couple of weeks and that will be good for all of us.''

Then, Michigan State (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten) will start preparing for a visit from the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.

``If we're not ready to run in that game, we're going to get run out of the gym because they're very athletic,'' Izzo said. ``We have to get freshened up.''

Ohio State's William Buford scored 17, B.J. Mullens had 16 points and Turner added 14.

The Buckeyes (10-3, 1-2) have lost three of four after starting 9-0, hurting without their most experienced player, David Lighty, who is out with a broken foot.

Ohio State doesn't have a senior on the roster or a player left from the 2006 national championship team.

``We've got several guys that just played their second Big Ten road game and you're trying to teach them the how and the why,'' coach Thad Matta said. ``We try to explain to our guys that there are momentum swings and you've got to be able to stop the momentum when it gets going.

``That was the biggest thing tonight we weren't able to do.''

The Buckeyes led 17-13 with 8 minutes left before Michigan State took control.

Freshman Korie Lucious made a 3-pointer, Chris Allen followed with one, Lucas broke a tie with a 3, connected on another and Raymar Morgan's long jumper made it 29-20 with just under 5 minutes left in the half.

Essentially, the Spartans lived off that 2-minute, 49-second sequence for the rest of the game.

``We got caught standing during that stretch,'' Matta said. ``Give them credit making five straight 3s was huge.''

Morgan, the reigning Big Ten player of the week, had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Goran Suton had nine points and nine rebounds for the Spartans, who moved a half-game ahead of Wisconsin atop the conference.

Michigan State started the season ranked sixth, rose to fifth and plummeted as low as No. 19 following a 35-point loss to the Tar Heels and an 18-point setback against Maryland.

The Spartans have started to display some of their potential recently because Suton is back in the lineup after missing six games with a knee injury.

``Having Suton back definitely makes them a real contender,'' Matta said.

Lucas, though, said the Spartans lacked passion against Ohio State and shooting touch at the line.

``We could've played a lot better,'' Lucas said. ``We missed a lot of free throws again. We can't keep doing that.''

Michigan State was 17-of-26 at the line after missing almost half of its attempts in the previous game, leading to a .656 percentage that ranks among the Big Ten's worst.

Ohio State's Nikola Kecman was eligible after a 12-game suspension for playing on a team with professionals in his native Serbia, but the 7-foot, junior-college transfer didn't play.

``In time, I think he's going to help us,'' Matta said.