Ohio State guard Duane Washington Jr. drives to the basket against Michigan State guard Rocket Watts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Aaron Henry had 18 points to help Michigan State improve its chances of making the NCAA Tournament with a 71-67 win over No. 4 Ohio State on Thursday night, two days after coach Tom Izzo’s team beat No. 5 Illinois by nine points.

The Spartans (13-9, 7-9 Big Ten) rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit with Gabe Brown finishing with 11 points and Josh Langford making key plays at both ends of the court.

The Buckeyes (18-6, 12-6) finished the game without coach Chris Holtmann, who was ejected for arguing with officials when he was called for a second technical foul with 1.4 seconds left.

Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell had 18 points on 4 of 13 shooting and Duane Washington scored 17 on 7 of 16 shooting. C.J. Walker scored 12 points and Justice Sueing added 10 for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes went ahead 49-40 midway through the second half, but Henry and Langford would not let them pull away as Michigan State outscored them 15-6 to pull into a 55-all tie with 6:42 left.

Malik Hall made free throws to put the Spartans ahead 64-63 with 2:23 to go. Henry followed with a jumper to give them a three-point lead with 1:08 remaining.

Both teams took turns making free throws until Michigan State’s Joey Hauser missed the first of two free throws, giving the Buckeyes the ball with 12.8 seconds left and a chance to tie or win the game in regulation.

Washington came up short, defended by Langford, on a layup with about five seconds left to trigger Holtmann’s second technical.

It ended up being a much closer game than the previous matchup last month, shortly after the Spartans returned from a COVID-19 outbreak. The Buckeyes beat Michigan State 79-62 at home.