EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cassius Winston scored 27 points, and No. 16 Michigan State beat No. 19 Ohio State, 80-69, on Sunday to win a third straight Big Ten championship.
The Spartans (22-9, 14-6 Big Ten) shared the conference title with No. 9 Maryland and No. 24 Wisconsin, and they will be the second-seeded team at the Big Ten Tournament behind the Badgers.
The Buckeyes (21-10, 11-9) had won four straight and six of their previous seven games.
Ohio State’s leading scorer, Kaleb Wesson, was held to eight points on 1-of-8 shooting after entering the day averaging 14-plus points per game.
Michigan State was in control of much of the evening and pulled away with a 16-4 run late in the game. The Spartans were ahead 38-32 at halftime.
Rocket Watts scored 19 points, Xavier Tillman had 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals and Aaron Henry added 12 points for the Spartans.
Duane Washington had 16 points, CJ Walker scored 14, E.J. Liddell had 12 and Luther Muhammad added 10 points for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes should get a boost in the postseason with the expected return of Kyle Young, who missed his fourth straight game with a high ankle sprain. The junior forward, who has a protective boot on his right foot, averages seven-plus points and nearly six rebounds per game.
