Not an hour had passed and Duane Washington Jr. saw the future.
“We’ll definitely see them again,” he said.
His Buckeyes had just suffered a 92-87 loss to Michigan, their second in a 12-game stretch during which they rose to become the No. 4 team in the nation. In the aftermath of the shootout, he had an inkling they’d meet again. Or, at the very least, he sure hoped that would be the case.
| Who | Where | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan (20-3, 14-3) | Indianapolis, Indiana (Lucas Oil Stadium) | 1 p.m. | CBS |
This weekend, he’ll get his wish.
Fifth-seeded Ohio State eked out an 87-78 overtime win, avoiding an utterly catastrophic loss to fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday, moving on to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament where it’ll face top-seeded Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines, now pitted against the Buckeyes once again, topped Maryland in the Lucas Oil Stadium quarterfinals to get to this point.
“I told you guys previously in another interview that we were going to see them again, and here it is,” Washington said on Friday. “So we're super excited. About to get off this interview with you guys, go recover, and tip-off's at 1 tomorrow. Just going over game-plan stuff, staying locked in, doing what we need to do to come out with the dub and survive and advance. The guys are locked and loaded.”
So far, Ohio State has narrowly come out on top twice. It won’t get any easier in the next game.
Michigan, the nation’s No. 4-ranked team, has proven itself one of college basketball's premier teams, taking down the likes of Iowa, Wisconsin and Purdue, along with the Buckeyes. It possesses a top-five offense and a top-five defense, has an enviable blend of experience and youth and laid 92 points on Ohio State the first time they got a shot at Saturday’s opponent.
Once more, the Buckeyes will need a little bit of magic from E.J. Liddell, Duane Washington Jr. and company.
“I think they're still coming down a little bit from this one,” head coach Chris Holtmann said after Friday’s win. “They do understand we're playing a terrific Michigan team and well-coached and really, really good. We've got to defend a lot better than what we did in Game 1. We've got to defend a lot better. But we've got to somehow get our legs under us and be able to respond quickly to a team that is a really complete team offensively and defensively. I think those are the big challenges in front of us right now is we've got to get rest and respond.”
Three Things To Watch
Can The Wolverines Be Contained Offensively?
No team has lit the Buckeyes up this season quite like the Wolverines.
They set opponent single-game highs in points, points per possession, 3-point percentage, effective field-goal percentage and adjusted offensive efficiency. In short, they did whatever they wanted. Seven-foot freshman center Hunter Dickinson dropped 22 points with nine boards, Eli Brooks (17 points) and Chaundee Brown (15 points) each hit a trio of 3s, Isaiah Livers (who won't play this time due to a foot injury) had 12 points and Mike Smith recorded 11 points and seven assists. Franz Wagner, a potential NBA draft lottery selection in a few months, only had nine points, yet that didn’t much affect his team’s productivity.
Given Ohio State’s persistent defensive woes, it’s tough to figure out exactly how Holtmann can make things tougher on the Wolverines. But one way or another, as the head coach said, it has to figure out some way to make that happen.
It all starts with how the Buckeyes address Dickinson. Do they let their big men take him one-on-one with limited help? Do they double-team him or run guys at him? They tried both, and in the first half he hit open teammates for 3-pointers, then in the second half he got his buckets in the post. Ohio State will want big days out of E.J. Liddell and Zed Key if it has any shot of getting Michigan’s offense out of rhythm. Kyle Young will miss the game after suffering his second concussion of the season on Friday against Purdue.
Outside of the Dickinson issue, Ohio State will look to Washington, Justice Sueing, Justin Ahrens and CJ Walker for improved defense on guards and wings. It’s no secret that Michigan has an array of ways to hurt teams from those positions.
Ridiculous Shot-Making Again Required
Michigan’s going to put up points aplenty. That might as well be an assumption, and if it doesn’t happen, Ohio State can feel good about it. But Saturday’s game is almost certainly going to call for the Buckeyes to go blow-for-blow in a high-scoring affair.
It worked out all right last time – until Sueing’s late behind-the-back turnover put his team in a two-possession hole. Washington managed a career-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and Liddell pulled off a double-double with 23 points and 10 boards. Walker (15 points) was the only other Buckeye with more than six points.
Ohio State needs a couple simple things to happen.
Washington and Liddell again have to make difficult shots, smart decisions and score loads of points. They’re the two best offensive players, have proven to be tough matchups for the Wolverines and continue to play well with more consistency than ever before.
The other guys have to produce more. It doesn’t matter if it’s Walker, Ahrens, Sueing, Key, Musa Jallow, Gene Brown or Meechie Johnson. They have to play within their roles, make plays and hit shots when called upon.
These Buckeyes hit a ton of tough shots and made a stout Michigan defense look pedestrian a few weeks ago. Can they do so again? We’re about to find out.
The Same Question We Keep Asking
You tired of it yet? Me too.
But until Ohio State can put an end to the questions of its ability to finish games, it’ll continue to get asked.
The Buckeyes fumbled away an 18-point halftime lead on Friday, only beating Purdue once the game went to overtime. They watched a 12-point lead on Minnesota with 1:38 remaining turn into a one-point edge with 15 seconds left the day prior.
Somehow, they avoided losses despite those second-half errors. If those issues pop up once more on Saturday, however, they could spell the end of the run in this tournament.
Prediction: Michigan 89, Ohio State 83
