The Michigan Wolverines beat the Ohio State Buckeyes,, 71-67, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday afternoon in Chicago at the United Center. Michigan improved to 30-2 overall and will take on the winner of Illinois vs Wisconsin tomorrow afternoon.
Here are seven takeaways from the game.
Michigan is two wins from making more history
Michigan has made history all season long and could continue to do so in the coming days. The Wolverines have never won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same season, but just two
more wins would change that. Michigan could also become the first team to repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions multiple times if they can secure two more wins.
Dusty May remains unbeaten against Ohio State
In two seasons as head coach, Dusty May is a perfect 4-0 against the rival Buckeyes, including two double-digit wins this year. Michigan has completely controlled the rivalry in recent years even before May was hired, going 6-1 against Ohio State in the last seven meetings. With the win on Friday, the Wolverines also beat Ohio State three times in a single season for the first time ever.
Aday Mara takes over in the second half
Ohio State tied it 44-44 early in the second half and was staying within striking distance. Then Aday Mara completely took over, as the big man scored six straight points to help extend the lead to 59-52. After scoring just four points in the first half, Mara eventually finished with a team-high 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Suffocating defense leads to easy looks on offense
Michigan’s defense was suffocating, to say the least, recording six blocks and seven steals. That defense was consistently leading to easy looks on the offensive end. The Wolverines totaled 22 fast-break points and 19 points off turnovers. The highlight in this department was a steal by Elliot Cadeau that led to a posterizing dunk by Yaxel Lendeborg to take a double-figure lead in the first half.
Trey McKenney continues to seize opportunity
Since L.J. Cason suffered a season-ending ACL injury, freshman guard Trey McKenney has taken advantage of the opportunity and his increased playing time. He followed up his 12-point outing in a win over Michigan State last Sunday by recording 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field on Friday against the Buckeyes, including a 10-point first half.
Elliot Cadeau snaps out of recent shooting slump
Following a 15-point performance against Minnesota last month, Cadeau has slipped into a concerning slump in recent weeks — shooting 5-for-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from three-point range in the last three games leading into this game. He was much better today against Ohio State, scoring 15 points (3-of-9 overall, 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, 8-of-10 from the free throw line), seven assists and three steals.
Success in March — and April — is predicated by a team’s guard play. With Cason’s ACL injury, Cadeau will have to step it up a bit more in order for the Wolverines to have the best chance possible of making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Yaxel Lendeborg needs to be more aggressive offensively
Lendeborg was Big Ten Player of the Year for a reason, and even when he isn’t scoring at a ton, he still had his fingerprints all over the game. However, he will need to be more aggressive at times — Lendeborg has a but of a tendency to be passive, which can hurt his team when the offense is struggling. He had just six points on 1-for-4 shooting from the field (4-of-6 from the free throw line) against Ohio State.
Up next
Michigan will face either Illinois or Wisconsin in the tournament semifinals on Saturday (1 p.m. on CBS).
