William Buford scored 23 points to help Ohio State rebound from its first loss with a 71-61 victory over Michigan State on Tuesday night.

With the score tied 44-44, the Buckeyes (25-1, 12-1 Big Ten) put together an 8-2 run, capped by a Jon Diebler 3-pointer, to take the lead for good 52-46 with 12:06 remaining.

Diebler and David Lighty scored 12 points each for the Buckeyes, who ran their home winning streak to 19 games.

Kalin Lucas had 14 points for Michigan State (14-11, 6-7), which is in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997.

The Spartans got as close as five points in the final minutes before Ohio State put the game away at the foul line.

Michigan State stayed close by shooting a robust 57.4 percent from the field and outrebounding the Buckeyes 30-22, but the Spartans did themselves in with 19 turnovers.

Ohio State, meanwhile, finished with seven turnovers.