Over the last decade, Ohio State and Michigan State have been the highest achievers in the Big Ten. The game at the Breslin Center on Saturday showed just how narrow the gap between the two teams is.
Last night, a resourceful member of Michigan State's faculty unearthed an interesting fact: in the 22 games Thad Matta and Tom Izzo have coached on opposing sidelines at Ohio State and Michigan State, their teams have split the series evenly. What's more, the teams differ in scoring by only one point.
@joerexrode If my math is correct, Izzo & Matta are 11-11 against one another, with the total points equaling 1,433 for OSU & 1,432 for MSU.
— Mike Haslett (@Hazy_MSU) February 15, 2015
A double-check confirms that he's right: 1,433 for the Buckeyes, 1,432 for the Spartans. Some more facts about the series since 2005:
- Ohio State's largest victory: 82-70, in the 2009 Big Ten Tournament.
- Michigan State's largest victory: 83-69 on Feb. 9, 2005, the first game in the series.
- Only four of the 22 games were decided by more than 10 points.
- Average margin of victory: 6.8 points.
- The last four contests have all been decided by four points or fewer.
- Two games have gone to overtime, with Michigan State winning both.
I think Thad and Tom are destined to do this forever.
