COLUMBUS -- Look out, Big Ten. Here comes Michigan State.

Chris Hill scored 20 points and Michigan State shot 63 percent from the field to beat Ohio State 72-58 on Saturday to enter the Big Ten tournament on a four-game roll.

''We played against a superior team,'' Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. ''I think Michigan State might be the best team in the league. I don't care how this whole thing got played out, but the way they've got it going now -- with their numbers, their athleticism, their size, their bulk, their depth -- they're a very, very good team.''

The Spartans shot 77 percent (20 of 26) on shots inside the 3-point line.

Michigan State (18-11, 10-6), which has won four in a row and 8 of its final 11, will be either a No. 3 or No. 4 seed in next week's conference tournament in Chicago.

''I do believe we deserve to be in the NCAA tournament,'' Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. ''That was one of our goals, winning the last four.''

Ohio State (14-13, 7-9) will be the eighth seed and will play Iowa in the opening round. The Buckeyes dropped to 4-4 in Big Ten home games this season, including a 71-64 to Iowa in their previous game at Value City Arena.

Paul Davis added 12 points and Kelvin Torbert and Adam Ballinger each had 11 for the Spartans, who used a 9-0 run in the first half and an 8-0 burst in the second to win for the 16th time in the last 18 games between the teams.

''We felt like this was a game that wasn't necessarily a must-win situation, but a game that could really help us out,'' Hill said. ''We knew it would take a lot of pressure off if we could win this game.''

The Buckeyes' Brent Darby made 10-of-11 free throws and had 20 points, with Zach Williams adding 13 and Velimir Radinovic 10.

''This part of the season is over,'' said Darby, a Michigan native who was honored before the game as one of Ohio State's two departing seniors. ''You've got the preconference, the conference and the tournament. We now have a clean slate and we'll see what we can get done there.''

Ohio State trailed 45-33 after a 20-8 Michigan State run that included a 9-0 surge near the end of the opening half.

The Buckeyes countered with a 10-0 run -- Williams scoring the first six points -- to pull to within 45-43 with 10:12 left.

After the teams traded baskets, the Spartans reeled off the next eight points. Alan Anderson scored on a reverse layup before Aloysius Anagonye dunked off a backdoor, alley-oop pass from Anderson. On consecutive trips down the floor, Ballinger hit a 15-foot jumper and then scored on another reverse layup to make it 55-45 with 5:43 remaining.

''That was it right there,'' said Ohio State's Radinovic. ''Chris Hill got hot and their inside presence was tough to overcome.''

Ohio State was scoreless for more than four minutes, missing four shots from the field and the front end of a bonus situation, with a turnover thrown in.

The lead never dropped below seven points again as the Spartans hit their last 10 free throws.

Michigan State, shooting 45 percent from the field for the season, hit 68 percent (15 of 22) in the opening half and 56 percent (9 of 16) in the second for their best shooting performance of the year.

''We were fairly patient,'' Izzo said. ''Ever since the Syracuse game (a 76-75 home loss on Feb. 23), where we faced one of the best zone defenses in the country, the kids have been more comfortable attacking zones. That game helped us.''

After five ties and six lead changes, the Spartans never trailed again after controlling the final minutes of the first half.

With the game tied at 27 and 2:56 left, Torbert drove through heavy traffic for a layup. Ohio State's Matt Sylvester missed two free throws before Hill scored on a baseline drive off an assist from Torbert.

Sylvester missed an off-balance shot for the Buckeyes with Hill popping in a 3-pointer from in front of the Ohio State bench.

After a Darby miss, Jason Andreas scored inside off an assist pass from Ballinger to make it 36-27.