Just like football — Michigan basketball picks up huge road win over Ohio State

Michigan and Ohio State met in a pivotal Big Ten rivalry matchup Sunday with plenty on the line for both teams, and the offenses were working early. Both U-M and OSU shot it well in the early going, with Nimari Burnett hitting a pair of long triples to get Michigan going, but the Wolverines finished plays down the stretch for a huge, 86-83 road victory.

Ohio State made five of its first seven triple to take a 21-16 lead, getting way too many good looks. The Michigan defense struggled to close out on the Buckeyes’ shooters, and while the Wolverines had six more shots than OSU at the second TV timeout (11:51) on the strength of six offensive rebounds, OSU was ahead 21-19 after making seven of their first 10 shots. 

Michigan center Vlad Goldin had it working early, scoring 8 points and grabbing two rebounds in the first six minutes. A U-M spurt made it 24-21, the eighth lead change of the game when senior Will Tschetter tripled to give the Wolverines the lead out of the timeout. 

U-M got a bad break when Tschetter received a flagrant one foul — Michigan’s seventh foul of the half — on what appeared to be an attempted boxout at 9:49. OSU took the lead, but steals and transition opportunities on the next two possessions led to a 4-0 Michigan run. 

OSU went on an 0-for-8 shooting drought to open the door the Wolverines. Michigan, though, couldn’t take advantage, going through its own 2:15 drought. It was 35-29 at the 3:33 mark, and the Wolverines turned to L.J. Cason to get them to halftime with junior point guard Tre Donaldson on the bench with two fouls. He responded with a drive and finish and a long triple to push the lead to seven at 42-35. 

Goldin’s putback at the buzzer gave him 12 points at the break and had the Wolverines up 44-39. Burnett added 8, Tschetter 6, and Gayle and Cason 5 each at the break. Michigan had outrebounded OSU 21-15 and had only 5 turnovers in a solid first half in which the Wolverines shot 45.5 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from long range. 

SECOND HALF — Michigan guts out a huge road win

Michigan forward Danny Wolf got the Wolverines off to a great start with a drive and finish, but he missed the and-one free throw to keep the largest lead at 7. OSU then ripped off six straight to cut the lead to one, and it was game on. 

Michigan, though, responded. Goldin’s follow up and a Rubin Jones triple quickly pushed the lead back to six at 18:15. OSU continued to fight, but the Wolverines stayed a step ahead in the first five minutes thanks to Donaldson. He attacked the basket to score six straight for Michigan, though the Buckeyes started shooting well again from long range to keep it close. They finally tied it at 13:34, 61-61, the pace picking up. 

OSU took its first lead since the 7:28 mark of the first half, 65-63, at 12:40. Wolf then started picking it up for the Wolverines to keep U-M going offensively. It was 65-65 at the second TV timeout. 

The Buckeyes continued to protect the ball in the second half, while Michigan started to get a bit careless. The Wolverines had five giveaways to none for OSU midway through the second half, giving them more opportunities. 

Back and forth the two teams went. Tschetter gave Michigan a 69-68 lead under 8 minutes to go — the 16^thlead change of the game — and Wolf pushed it to three following a Burnett steal. A huge Burnett triple made it 74-70; Wolf’s runner off the glass crated a little distance, 76-71 at 6:00, and he answered two OSU free throws with a putback jumper off one foot to give him a double double. 

U-M had several opportunities to expand the lead but missed a number of open looks, leaving the door open. OSU finally cut it to 78-75 and was going to the line for a free throw following the last TV timeout, setting up a nail biter to the finish. It was 84-80 after a Goldin finish at the rim with :52 remaining, but the Buckeyes’ Micah Parrish tripled with 32 seconds remaining to keep OSU right there.

Michigan finally got to the bonus at :16, and Wolf made one of two free throws, leaving the door open for potential late Buckeyes heroics. OSU called timeout to set something up, and Bruce Thornton got into the lane but left a short jumper a foot short for an airball. Jones closed it with a free throw for the final edge with .2 seconds remaining.

Goldin scored 20 and added 10 rebounds, Wolf added 17 and 11, and Burnett put up 11 in the win that left Michigan in first place all alone with a 12-2 record.