Instacap: Balanced Scoring Attack Leads Ohio State Over Michigan, 76-66

On a night Ohio State recognized a program icon, the Buckeyes notched a victory over their archrival they desperately needed.

Behind a balanced balanced scoring attack, Ohio State surged past Michigan, 76-66, for a much-needed win over a Big Ten opponent ahead of it in the standings the night 2010 National Player of the Year Evan Turner's No. 21 was raised into the rafters.

Five Buckeyes scored at least 10 points, led by Jae'Sean Tate and Marc Loving with 13 apiece. Loving also corralled 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and first since the 68-63 overtime win at Illinois Jan. 28.

Ohio State (17-10, 9-5 Big Ten) led 36-28 at halftime on the heels of a three-point play with 4 seconds remaining by Tate. The sophomore forward scored his team's final seven points before intermission and led all scorers with nine at the break.

Michigan led by two with 12 minutes remaining in the opening half, before separate 7-0 scoring spurts by Ohio State gave the Buckeyes the advantage in the latter stages of the frame.

The Wolverines (19-8, 9-5) kept within arm's length before halftime, but found themselves down 11 not even five minutes into the second half. A 7-0 Michigan run capped by Zak Irvin's 3-pointer cut the deficit to seven with 10:47 remaining, but the Wolverines couldn't get any closer.

Michigan entered the game leading the Big Ten with 661 3-point attempts on the year and stayed true to form against Ohio State, hoisting 24 shots from beyond the arc. They finished 5-of-24 from deep.

Junior Mark Donnal led Michigan with 17 points, while Irvin added 15 and Derrick Walton Jr. 13.

Trevor Thompson and JaQuan Lyle each scored 12 points for Ohio State, while Kam Williams added 10.

Ohio State travels to Nebraska Saturday. Tipoff against the Cornhuskers is set for 7 p.m.