Ohio State brings out Michigan’s best in basketball, too … and so does desperation

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It might be a bit early to say the worm has completely turned completely in the Michigan – Ohio State rivalry, but one thing is certain — the Wolverines have the upper hand. 

A few months after Jim Harbaugh’s football team crushed the Buckeyes for a second time in a row, Juwan Howard’s basketball team captured its second in a row over Chris Holtmann’s squad. The 77-69 win was also the second straight Big Ten victory for Michigan, and a good performance from start to finish.

RELATED: Michigan basketball takes down rival Ohio State: Recap, box score

The Michigan energy was great from the get-go, on both ends, in Sunday’s home game. The Wolverines ran their action and set screens with a purpose, and they communicated on defense. OSU needed to hit tough shots to stick around, even though they were only at 36.6 percent at the first TV timeout of the second half and would finish at 41. 

But they did, and that made for an entertaining game. The Buckeyes are better than their record — they came in losers of 8 of their last 9 in Big Ten play despite having plenty of talent — and played like they wanted this one against their rival. 

Hunter Dickinson, though, came to win. The Michigan junior big man had 13 at the half on his way to 26, and each time the Buckeyes crept closer in the second half, he posted strong and got a hoop. When they started to double, he found open cutters. 

His teammates ran over screens, and answered every OSU run with one of their own.

A 3-point lead ballooned to 9 at the second TV timeout, and Dickinson was the biggest reason for it. When Michigan frosh point guard Dug McDaniel hit a triple at 9:15 to push the lead to 11, it looked to be U-M’s day. And the hope started to creep in … 

Maybe this team could make a run to salvage the season.

At the very least, they’re starting to play with the intensity needed to compete in and win a physical Big Ten game. 

“Our preparation [has been different],” grad student wing Joey Baker said of the last two games. “I think we’re more dialed in now. We’re preparing for these teams knowing that our back is against the wall … that we have to put together wins. When you have that, it changes some things. Our focus is there that it wasn’t in the games prior. We’ve taken that up a notch, for sure.”

He called it “desperation,” and freshman wing Jett Howard (16 points) agreed. He likened it to having to play each game like it’s a Game 7 of a series, knowing any loss seriously hinders their playoff prospects. 

A loss to Quad 4 Central Michigan put them in this position, but all they can do is move forward to compensate. You do that by bringing it on every play, every loose ball. 

Granted, this was one they were supposed to win. OSU has pieces, but the Buckeyes haven’t put them together … kind of like Michigan. But the Wolverines hadn’t strung two good performances together since the Maryland and Penn State wins in early January. 

The win over the Buckeyes followed an impressive performance Thursday at Northwestern, and with two more home games upcoming — Nebraska Wednesday and Indiana Saturday — there’s opportunity. Win those two, and they’ve got a lot of confidence heading into a Feb. 14 contest at Wisconsin. Win that one, and they come back to face Michigan State at home, and … 

We’re getting ahead of ourselves. 

This team hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt yet given how the season has gone. Had the effort from the last two nights been there all year, we’d be talking about seeding instead of a bubble watch. But Howard was pleased with what he saw from his team, and his offensive adjustments worked well.

As one local coach noted, Dickinson rim running in transition and posting early seemed to be an emphasis rather than having him just trail the ball screening. That allowed him to get deeper touches in the middle of the paint early in a few possessions, and it paid off.  

But OSU came to play, Howard noted. Michigan needed to match the intensity, and did. 

“Our team they looked like they were really ready from the jump ball. You could just see the energy on the defensive end, and you look at the box score,” the Michigan coach said. “It just shows we were really dialed in to making every shot Ohio State took or every drive to the basket, they saw bodies ore every shot was contested.”

It’s coming together, Howard noted. They’re starting to communicate better, and guys are growing up. As a result, there’s still a chance — an outside shot, but a chance — to do some things this year. 

“Definitely hope is alive, but we’re not looking ahead at all,” Baker said. “We’re taking it one game at a time. We know we just have to keep going 1-0, and that’s our whole focus … preparing for these teams we play.

“We’ll get a little bit of rest, watch some film on this one and get ready for Nebraska. That’s our mindset. That’s as far as it goes.”

But there will be a little bounce in the step at the next practice knowing they’ve taken another step in digging themselves out of a hole. A few more, and it starts to really get fun.