Michigan State establishing Big 10 dominance in bucking Buckeyes on the road

No, it’s not that Adreian Payne has a sibling or relative on the Buckeyes’ roster that he must match up against. It’s that he has these ties on the other side of the bench in the most important section of the stadium—the cheering section. The Dayton, OH., native felt the love from his father, brothers and cousins right behind the Spartans bench, and that motivation was likely part of the equation that added up to a stellar performance from the  6’10 sophomore. Payne put up a career high 15-point performance and was able to outplay another familiar face—Ohio State’s beastly forward Jared Sullinger. Payne was a former AAU teammate of OSU’s Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft and was more overlooked on the recruiting trail than the two stars. Hampered by a shoulder injury last season, Payne’s full potential for his freshman campaign wasn’t necessarily reached. So these factors alone helped feed the storyline that ESPN continued to play up throughout the broadcast— this one was personal. A...