Michigan ends losing streak with rivalry win over Ohio State

The Michigan Wolverines have ended their five-game losing streak, earning a 73-65 win over Ohio State on Monday afternoon at Crisler Center to move to 7-10 (2-4 B1G) on the season.

For at least one day, Michigan and head coach Juwan Howard were able to put together a solid 40-minute effort to get back in the win column. Olivier Nkamhoua led the way for the Wolverines with 20 points, while Terrance Williams II added 18 of his own. Point guard Dug McDaniel had 15 points.

The Fab Five (Howard, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson) was in attendance and recognized by U-M for the first time, making it a bit of a milestone day for the program on that front.

Here is the recap from the Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee.

First half

Michigan won the opening tip and got the scoring started 24 seconds in on a jumper from Olivier Nkamhoua to take a quick 2-0 lead over the Buckeyes. Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, OSU went on a 6-0 run to take a 6-2 lead with 17:06 remaining. Michigan’s Terrance Williams II ended the run with a three-pointer at 16:47 to narrow the deficit to 6-5. The Buckeyes would lead 8-5 at the first media timeout after a Bruce Thornton jumper.

Nimari Burnett hit a pair of free throws at 15:31 to trim things to 8-7, answered by a jumper at the other end by OSU. Nkamhoua tied the game at 10-10 with a three-pointer at the 13:31 mark. A quick 3-0 burst from the Buckeyes was answered by a Will Tschetter three at 11:41, followed by a layup from OSU’s Devin Royal at 11:25. The Buckeyes held a 15-13 lead at the under-12 media timeout.

The Wolverines came out of the timeout and rattled off an 8-0 run thanks to buckets from Nkamhoua (x2), Tschetter and Williams to go up 21-15 with 8:38 remaining. OSU’s Felix Okpara answered with a jumper at the other end, narrowing the Michigan lead to 21-17 with 8:08 to go. A pair of Buckeye free throws trimmed the deficit to 21-19 in favor of U-M at the 7:30 mark before Michigan went on an 8-0 run thanks to threes from Nkamhoua and Williams and a layup that was called for goaltending by the Buckeyes. Michigan was up 29-19 with 5:28 to go in the half.

Ohio State got the lead down to five points at 29-24, but the mini-run was cut short by a three-pointer from Dug McDaniel. Michigan held a 32-24 lead at the final media timeout of the half (2:21). OSU went on a 4-0 run that was answered by a five-point burst by Michigan, headlined by McDaniel’s three at the buzzer. The Wolverines went into the locker room up 37-28 over Ohio State.

Second half

The Buckeyes started the second half on a 4-0 scoring burst to narrow Michigan’s lead to 37-32 befor Nkamhoua answered with a shot in the paint to push the lead back to 7 at 18:39. Ohio State called timeout at 16:37 after both teams traded a flurry of baskets over the first few minutes with Michigan holding a 43-39 lead.

Over the next five minutes, Michigan started to settle in and take control, holding a 12-point lead at 55-43 with 11:46 to go. But the biggest flurry of the game came from the Buckeyes, who went on a 16-0 run over the next 3:48 to jump ahead 59-55. Nkamhoua stopped the scoring run with a jumper, followed by Nimari Burnett hitting a shot from three to re-take the lead at 60-59 with 5:48 remaining. The Buckeyes grabbed it back on a dunk from Roddy Gayle Jr. at 4:23 before the officials went to a review and determined the possession stood.

The Wolverines followed up that stretch with a 7-0 run to charge back ahead at 67-61 with 2:26 left in the game. OSU’s Thornton made a few layups in the final two minutes, but a jumper from Nkamhoua at :56 and a three-pointer from Williams at 33 seconds to go sealed the victory. Williams hit a free throw with 9 seconds left to take one final point onto a 73-65 win.

Final Michigan vs. Ohio State box score