The No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines officially have their opponent lined up for their first game of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, as the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes took down the No. 9 seed Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
Facts about Ohio State
- Big Ten Seed: 8
- Projected NCAA Tournament seed: 9
- KenPom rankings: Overall: 26th, Offense: 19th, Defense: 52nd
- Quad 1 record: 3-10
- Best wins: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Purdue, vs. UCLA
- Worst losses: @ Pittsburgh, @ Washington
- Previous meetings with Michigan: Wolverines won, 74-62, in Ann Arbor on Jan. 23; Wolverines won, 82-61, in Columbus on Feb. 8
- How they got here: 72-69 win over No. 9 Iowa in third round
- Last conference tournament championship: 2013
- Player to watch: PG Bruce Thornton
The second-team All-Big Ten power guard Bruce Thornton recently became the Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer and is a legitimate threat to record at least 20 points every time he steps on the floor. However,
he didn’t play his best against the Wolverines this year, as he put up just 10 points in the first matchup at Crisler Center in January and followed that up with a slightly better 16 points in the rematch in Columbus last month.
Thornton has been on a tear since the calendar flipped to March, putting up 20 points in the upset win vs Purdue, 18 points at Penn State, and 25 points in the regular season finale vs Indiana. Not to mention the 24 points he scored against Iowa this afternoon in Chicago.
It’s hard to beat a team three times in one season, but Michigan is more than capable of doing so against its rival and advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
What do you think about this matchup? Did you prefer Michigan to play Ohio State or Iowa? Let us know down in the comments section!
