No. 8 Ohio State Falls to No. 19 Michigan 84-75, Suffering First Big Ten Loss of Season

The Buckeyes got the best of Michigan in Ann Arbor earlier this month, but the No. 19 Wolverines got their revenge on Tuesday night, downing No. 8 Ohio State 84-75 in Columbus to hand the Buckeyes their first Big Ten loss of the season.

Meanwhile, Michigan was hot from the field from start to finish, shooting 54 percent from the field and 57 percent from three on the game. The Wolverines topped Ohio State in nearly every statistical category, dominating the paint and the perimeter.

The only thing keeping the Buckeyes in the game for so long was pesky defense as Ohio State forced 21 Michigan turnovers in the game.

"Think that's a reflection that I think our physical effort was fine, we played hard, but I think just mentally we weren't good enough tonight," Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said after the game.

The defense was there, but do win a game the Buckeyes still needed to make shots, and they didn't.

Normally a high scoring, hot shooting team, Ohio State couldn't seem to get the lid off the basket on Tuesday night, particularly in the second half. The Buckeyes shot just 36 percent from the field and 20 percent from behind the arc in the game, and just 26 percent and 10 percent respectively in the second.

"I thought to start the second half, we got some really good looks at the basket," McGuff said. "When those didn't go in, we got a little anxious and quit executing to get good shots at that point."

To make matters worse, the team played much of the game with its star player in foul trouble as Kelsey Mitchell picked up her third foul with just 5:49 to play in the second quarter. Mitchell did manage 20 points despite the fewer minutes, though that is still well below her average.

"It does," McGuff said when asked if Mitchell's foul trouble affects the team's rhythm. "It's something she's got to kind of learn to deal with. It certainly can be problematic, that's for sure."

Stephanie Mavunga helped pick up the scoring slack, putting up 21 points and pulling down eight boards before fouling out with just under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Just one other player reached double figures – Linnae Harper with 15 points.

In the first, Michigan led the Buckeyes in nearly every statistical category except the score, though that would change by the end of the game. The Wolverines shot a red-hot 64 percent from the field and 67 percent from three-point range yet trailed nearly the entire quarter.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle where Ohio State never seemed to be able to pull away despite seeming to control the game. The Buckeye lead reached double digits twice in the quarter, but Mitchell picked up her third foul and once again Michigan closed the quarter strong, going on a 9-2 run to cut the score to 41-36 at the intermission.

The Buckeyes began to collapse in the second half.

The Wolverines came out hot in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 43-41 lead, and Ohio State punched back with 7-0 run of its own.

The Buckeye lead hovered around five points for much of the quarter until Michigan closed the quarter on a 12-4 run, taking a 62-58 lead into the fourth, where the Wolverines pulled away, outscoring the Buckeyes 22-17 to earn a 84-75 victory.

With the loss, Ohio State falls to 16-3 overall and suffers its first Big Ten loss of the season, falling to 5-1 in conference play. Meanwhile, Michigan improves to 16-4 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play.

The Buckeyes will look to rebound in back-to-back road games against ranked opponents as Ohio State travels to College Park to take on No. 14 Maryland on Monday before heading to Iowa City to take on the No. 20 Hawkeyes.

"We're in a place where we're going to get everybody's best shot," McGuff said. "So if you're not mentally ready and you don't prepare mentally to play the game the right way, you're going to be vulnerable."