Even without Hunter Dickinson, Michigan managed to spoil Senior Day at the Schottenstein Center.
Ohio State led by seven at halftime but gave up their advantage in the second half, allowing the Wolverines to come back and split the season series with the Buckeyes in a 75-69 win in the final game of the regular season Sunday.
| Team | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #23 OHIO STATE | 37 | 32 | 69 |
| MICHIGAN | 30 | 45 | 75 |
The Buckeyes surrendered a 14-1 run to the Wolverines through the middle of the second half as Michigan changed the complexion of the game in the final period. Michigan overcame a sluggish start offensively, heating up in the second half while Ohio State lost control of the contest.
Ohio State made a late run, cutting the Michigan lead to just four points in the final two minutes, but a Kobe Bufkin triple with 1:23 left kept the Wolverines up seven in crunch time. Malaki Branham hit a three to make it a 71-67 game with 22.8 seconds left, but Eli Brooks sunk a pair of free throws thereafter to finish things off.
Branham led the Buckeyes with 18 points, but four Wolverines finished in double figures as Michigan outscored the Buckeyes 45-32 in the final 20 minutes.
First Half
Neither team had more than a four-point lead through the first 17 minutes of action as Michigan stayed within striking distance despite shooting 20 percent worse than the Buckeyes. Joey Brunk gave Ohio State a late lift, though, scoring three straight baskets from 2:05 to 1:08 to give the Buckeyes a seven-point lead.
A Malaki Branham bucket with 21 seconds to go made it an 8-0 run for Ohio State, which went up nine points on the Wolverines before Michigan’s Terrance Williams scored the final basket of the half. The Buckeyes hit each of their last four shots to end the half and took a 37-30 lead into the intermission.
Brunk had eight points while Liddell led all Buckeyes with 10, and Ohio State shot 55.6 percent from the field and hit four of its eight 3-point attempts in the period. The Buckeyes turned the ball over seven times but outscored Michigan 20-10 in the paint in the opening period.
Williams led the way with 11 points for the Wolverines as Michigan shot just 35.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line in the first half.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MICHIGAN |
|---|---|---|
| 69 | POINTS | 75 |
| 24-50 (48%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 28-68 (41.2%) |
| 9-22 (40.9%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 8-21 (38.1%) |
| 12-18 (66.7%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 11-11 (100%) |
| 13 | TURNOVERS | 6 |
| 34 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 35 |
| 7 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 27 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 22 |
| 6 | BENCH POINTS | 24 |
| 4 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 2 | STEALS | 11 |
| 9 | ASSISTS | 14 |
Justin Ahrens, who got the start on Senior Day, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early to help Ohio State get off to a quick start out of the gates.
Second Half
Michigan opened things up by scoring nine of the first 11 points in the second half, as an Eli Brooks 3-pointer tied things up at 39-all with 15:50 to play. Michigan took the lead less than a minute later as Devante’ Jones hit a three to put the Wolverines up 42-41.
Ohio State scored the next basket to retake the lead, but Michigan responded with a 7-0 run to go up six points at the 11:55 mark.
While Ohio State went cold from the floor, not hitting a field goal for more than four minutes, Michigan went on a 14-1 run to take a 12-point lead with just 10:13 to go. The Wolverines hit six of eight shots during the stretch while the Buckeyes struggled to get anything going offensively.
Jamari Wheeler knocked down a three to make it a single-digit game with less than minutes to play, but Jones nailed a jumper at the other end to keep Michigan ahead by 11 points at the 7:31 mark. Wheeler hit another three two minutes later, though, making it an eight-point game as the game reached its latter stages.
That shot was part of a 7-0 Ohio State run in the span of 1:40 as the Buckeyes cut the Michigan lead to four points in the final five minutes. Michigan fired back though, keeping the Buckeyes at bay with a pair of baskets to go back ahead by eight points with 3:49 left on the clock.
Justin Ahrens nailed a 3-pointer to make it a five-point game with 3:08 to go, and drained another at 1:46 to cut the Michigan lead to just four points. But back came the Wolverines once again, as Bufkin hit a clutch three to all but seal the deal in the final 83 seconds.
Branham made it a four-point game once again with a 3-pointer in the last 30 seconds, but Michigan hit its free throws late to put a bow on things in Columbus.
Jones led Michigan with 21 points, and the Coastal Carolina transfer dished out nine assists as well.
What’s Next
The Big Ten Tournament starts on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Ohio State will play either Penn State, Nebraska or Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at approximately 9 p.m. Thursday.
Game Notes
- In the first matchup of the season between the two teams, Ohio State beat Michigan 68-57 in Ann Arbor on Feb. 12.
- Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was not on the sideline for the Wolverines Sunday after being suspended for the final five games of the regular season for a postgame altercation with the Wisconsin coaching staff on Feb. 20.
- Kyle Young (concussion protocol) was unavailable for Ohio State for the second straight game.
- Zed Key, who missed the past two games with an ankle injury, was listed as a game-time decision for Ohio State. He ended up playing seven minutes off the bench, but re-aggravated the injury during the game.
- Meechie Johnson Jr. left the game in the second half after turning his ankle.
- Michigan center Hunter Dickinson was unavailable for the Wolverines.
