Michigan State 76, Ohio State 67: Denzel Valentine led the way with 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals as the Spartans opened their Big Ten tournament title defense with a quarterfinal win over the Buckeyes in Chicago.

Branden Dawson finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks after missing most of the last two games due to a facial injury for No. 3 seed Michigan State (22-10), which will attempt to avenge a pair of regular-season losses to second-seeded Maryland in Saturday’s semifinals. Travis Trice added 15 of his 18 points in the second half as the Spartans withstood a late charge to win for the ninth time in 12 tries.

Big Ten Freshman of the Year D'Angelo Russell had 19 points and six boards for sixth-seeded Ohio State (23-10), which failed to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2008. Shannon Scott contributed 13 points, nine assists and five rebounds while Sam Thompson chipped in 13 points to round out the double-digit scorers for the Buckeyes.

Michigan State yielded only four field goals over the opening 14½ minutes and repeatedly torched Ohio State in transition during a 17-5 surge to establish a 29-13 advantage. The Spartans managed only three field goals over the remaining 6½ minutes of the first half, however, and the Buckeyes hit their last three 3-point attempts – including consecutive triples by Russell – to close the gap to 36-28 by intermission.

Dawson set the tone for the second half with a block and a dunk with 11½ minutes to go to extend the margin to double figures, and Trice scored 10 of Michigan State’s next 12 points to complete a 17-6 burst as the Spartans built a 17-point lead with 6½ minutes left. Scott and Marc Loving each drilled a triple as the Buckeyes staged one last flurry to pull with 61-56 with 3:11 remaining, but two free throws from Trice and two buckets by Dawson snuffed out the rally.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Michigan State’s Tom Izzo retook the lead for the most wins by a coach in Big Ten tournament history with 23 after Ohio State’s Thad Matta tied him with Thursday’s victory over Minnesota. … Trice, who entered his senior season with 537 points in three years with the Spartans, became the 47th Michigan State player to eclipse 1,000 career points. … Russell’s 19 points gave him 638 for the season, allowing him to pass Jared Sullinger for the second-highest total by a freshman in school history. Russell needs 20 to tie Michael Redd for first.