Post-Game Notes: Ohio State
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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• No. 2/3 Michigan State celebrated 2016 Senior Day in style, honoring its four seniors, Matt Costello, Bryn Forbes, Denzel Valentine and Colby Wollenman, in a post-game ceremony. The Spartans have now registered a 109-35 record over the last three-plus seasons. The 2016 Spartan seniors finished at 54-11 at home over their four years.
• Saturday was MSU's 26th regular-season victory of 2015-16, tying the school record for regular-season wins with the 1990 and 1999 Spartan squads.
• Michigan State shot 66.7 percent (34-of-51) from the field on Saturday, the highest single-game field goal percentage in a Big Ten conference game this season, surpassing the Spartans' own previous mark of 64.0 percent (32-of-50) in MSU's win over in-state foe Michigan (2/6/16), while the Ohio State defense has now given up two of the top three marks, as Maryland shot 62.7 percent (37-of-59) vs. the Buckeyes (1/16/16).
• With 29 assists on Saturday, the 2015-16 Spartans set the single-season MSU record for assists in a single-season with 652 helpers, through 31 games, passing the previous record of 646 assists set last season in 39 games.
• MSU drained eight 3-pointers Saturday, giving them 286 for the season, remaining as the third-highest total in school history and closing in on the second spot of 294 treys in 2014-15 and the record of 307 triples in 2013-14.
• The Spartans are now 90-35 (.720) in March since the 1998-99 season. For his career, Tom Izzo is 97-42 (.698) in March. Over the last seven-plus years (2009-present), MSU is 44-15 (.746) in what Coach Izzo calls his favorite month of the year.
• MSU swept the season-series with OSU and have now beaten the Buckeyes in the last four meetings as part of winning 31 of the last 45 match-ups in the series. The Spartans improved their overall series lead to 71-57 as well as 44-17 in East Lansing.
• Entering this season, seven of the last nine meetings between the Spartans and Buckeyes were determined by four points or less. Both of MSU's victories over OSU this season were by double-digits with the 81-62 triumph in Columbus on Feb. 23, 2016.
• After the last four MSU-OSU match-ups in East Lansing were determined by four points or less, Saturday's 15-point margin of victory was the Spartans' largest over the Buckeyes in the Breslin Center since a 71-56 victory for MSU on Jan. 21, 2001.
• Senior guard Denzel Valentine netted 27 points Saturday, tying for the most by a Spartan senior on Senior Day under Tom Izzo, matching the 27 points Travis Trice scored last season vs. Purdue.
• Valentine logged his ninth double-double of the season and 16th of his career with 27 points and a career-high tying 13 assists.
• The 13 assists is tied for the sixth-best single-game assists mark, matching his 13 vs. Indiana on his holiday, Valentine's Day, as well as joining Mateen Cleaves (twice, 1/24/99 and 1/28/98), Eric Snow (2/11/95) and Earvin Johnson (twice, 3/18/79, 12/21/77).
• Valentine's 13 assists bring him to 600 for his career, passing Eric Snow for the No. 3 spot on MSU's career assist list. Valentine needs 45 more helpers to catch Scott Skiles at the No. 2 spot with 645.
• Senior center Matt Costello has now had three-straight double-doubles with his 15 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday, boosting his season total to 10 and 13 for his career. Costello is the second Spartan this season with three-consecutive double-doubles, joining fellow senior Denzel Valentine.
• With his double-double Saturday, Costello joins Draymond Green as the only Izzo-era Spartans to average a double-double in B1G action, as Costello is now averaging 12.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in conference games.
• Costello remains one block shy of MSU's career blocks record of 142 rejections.
• Saturday was the third game that Valentine and Costello recorded double-doubles in the same game, also doing so vs. Maryland (1/23/16) and vs. Indiana (2/14/16).
• Senior guard Bryn Forbes entered Saturday's game leading the nation in 3-point percentage and is now netting 50.5 percent (104-of-206) behind the arc.
• Senior forward Colby Wollenman made his first career start on Saturday. Wollenman, who came to MSU on an academic scholarship, is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree and will attend medical school after graduation.
