No. 1 Michigan State Upset by Dominant Ohio State in 80-64 Loss

The Ohio State Buckeyes picked up the biggest win of the Chris Holtmann era Sunday, upsetting the top-ranked Michigan State Spartans 80-64 in a huge home victory at Value City Arena.

Four different Ohio State starters scored in double figures, with Keita Bates-Diop leading the way with a career-high 32 points. The Athletic's Brendan F. Quinn and Sam Vecenie both thought Bates-Diop's big game could boost his profile in the minds of NBA scouts:

Conversely, Sunday's game continued what has been an underwhelming sophomore season from Miles Bridges, which may impact his NBA draft stock. Bridges had 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.

Foul trouble limited the impact of another Michigan State star, Jaren Jackson Jr. He fouled out with 9:49 left in the game, finishing with 11 points and two rebounds.

The game largely turned as the result of a 16-2 run by Ohio State in the final four minutes of the first half. Senior guard Andrew Dakich capped off the offensive outburst with a deep three-pointer at the buzzer, which CBS Sports shared on Twitter:

The victory continues what has been an encouraging debut season for Holtmann in Columbus.

Expectations for Ohio State were minimal entering this year. The Buckeyes fired Thad Matta in June and hired Holtmann shortly thereafter, which left him relatively little time to prepare for the season. Holtmann was fine with having a thin roster to maintain as much long-term flexibility as possible as he approached what will be his first real recruiting class in 2018.

Despite those limitations, Ohio State remains unbeaten in the Big Ten (4-0) and is looking more and more like an NCAA tournament contender. ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi listed the Buckeyes among his "first four out" teams in his most recent edition of Bracketology.

Assuming Ohio State doesn't fall off significantly in the weeks ahead, a win over Michigan State will look great on the team's resume when the selection committee fills out the field of 68 teams for the Big Dance.

With Michigan State's defeat, the Villanova Wildcats are the likeliest candidate to top the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. The Duke Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 2, but they suffered their second defeat Saturday, losing 96-85 to the NC State Wolfpack.