Michigan basketball fades in the second half, falls to Ohio State, 68-57
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan battled defensively and got many good looks offensively, but poor shooting doomed the Wolverines in a costly, 68-57 loss to Ohio State.
RELATED
Michigan great Rudy Tomjanovich talks Michigan
There was a lid on the basket early for Michigan, which got several good looks in the first few minutes. Despite going 3-for-7 out of the gate, the Wolverines could have been better, missing on several bunnies. The still took an early four-point lead on four points from Moussa Diabate, who continued to roll to the rim like a veteran.
Point guard DeVante’ Jones showed up again, too, aggressive in finishing at the rim for four early points.
The first half would prove to be a slugfest. Michigan continued to dump it inside and work through the post — OSU would counter with the same with big man E.J. Liddell. Still, Hunter Dickinson didn’t score his first two points until 8:40, putting Michigan up 14-11.
Neither team got much separation in the first 15 minutes. Michigan, which had only seven turnovers the entire game in a blowout win of Purdue Thursday, had six in the first 14 minutes against the Buckeyes. Many of them were unforced. U-M also had tough time getting looks from beyond the arc, missing all three in the first 15 minutes.
Michigan fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks ended that streak with a three at 4:15, giving Michigan a 23-21 lead. His second triple of the half made it 28-27 at the two-minute mark.
OSU, meanwhile, made tough shot after tough shot. The Buckeyes were 14-for-28 in the first half (50 percent) and turned it over only three times. Michigan made only two of seven triples in the first half — Caleb Houstan missed his only two looks, both wide open — though Dickinson heated up. The Michigan center finished the half with eight points.
Brooks scored eight points or Michigan, Diabate six in the first half. U-M outrebounded the Buckeyes 16-13. The Wolverines had 22 points in the paint to OSU’s 16.
Michigan wilts in the second half
Michigan score first in the second half, but the buckeyes grabbed control early. They went on a 6-0 run to go up by seven, and the Wolverines continued to miss wide open looks. They had three wide open jumpers in a row miss, and OSU grabbed control.
Brooks did his part to sow the run. He hit a floater to cut it back to five. But a triple from the top by Cedric Russell made it a 10-point spread, and Michigan was in dangerous territory. Brooks cut for a finish, but he missed a triple after a stop on the other end that would have cut it to five. At that point, U-M was only 2-for-12 from long range.
Michigan got another stop, and a Frankie Collins drive and finish cut it to 46-40. They had several chances to cut it to four but couldn’t convert. The Wolverines found themselves down eight again, and it was 48-42 at the 7:17 mark and third TV timeout of the half. U-M trailed 52-47 and again had several chances to cut it to three, but couldn’t convert. E.J. Liddell, meanwhile, score five straight, icing a key triple from the corner, to push the lead back to eight.
Michigan cut it to five on a Brooks triple, but the Wolverines would get no closer. OSU pushed it to nine, and Houstan and Brooks both missed threes with just over a minute remaining. The Buckeyes closed it out from the line for a key, Big Ten road win.
Brooks led Michigan with 17 points, while Dickinson added 14 in defeat. Ohio State outscored the Wolverines from the free throw line 16 to 5 and the Wolverines made only 4-of-17 triples, one of them Houstan’s from the corner with U-M down 14.
