No. 9 Ohio State 61, No. 7 Michigan State 58: Aaron Craft scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, recorded a season-high nine assists and added four steals as the Buckeyes dispatched the Spartans to reach the Big Ten championship game in Chicago.

Deshaun Thomas added 16 points for second-seeded Ohio State (25-7), which will play fourth-seeded Wisconsin in Sunday’s title tilt.

Derrick Nix had 17 points and nine rebounds, Keith Appling tallied 16 points and Adreian Payne added 12 points and eight rebounds for third-seeded Michigan State (25-8).

Craft scored nine points during a 10-2 burst that turned a tie contest into a 55-47 Ohio State lead with 7:22 to play. Appling drained his fourth 3-pointer of the game to pull the Spartans within 57-53 with 3:24 remaining and Nix converted a three-point play to make it a one-point game with 1:54 remaining.

Craft hit a free throw and Thomas hit a 15-footer with 22.1 seconds left to push the Buckeyes’ lead to four.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thomas has scored in double figures in all 32 games. … Nix was called for a flagrant 1 foul with 1:27 left when he hooked Craft’s neck while the Buckeyes’ point guard was driving to the basket. … Craft had eight assists in Ohio State’s quarterfinal victory over Nebraska on Friday.