The Ohio State men’s basketball team (13-6, 5-4) walked into the lion’s den Friday night, tasked with knocking off one of the most dominant Michigan teams of the last 20 years. Plenty of words were said by the Buckeyes leading into the game, but it was Michigan who set the tone early, taking a 9-6 lead into the first media timeout. Former Buckeyes Roddy Gayle blocked a shot early, and Aday Mara also chipped in a block just in the first four minutes of play. Despite the noticeable size disadvantage,
the Buckeyes were trying to establish a presence near the basket — with mixed success.
A few buckets by Tilly aided by five Michigan turnovers in the first eight minutes resulted in a 14-13 Ohio State lead with just under 12 minutes left in the game. John Mobley Jr. was called for a technical foul after scoring in the teeth of Michigan’s interior defense and shouting something at the Wolverines, but Yaxel Lendeborg did not hit the free throw given to him, so the Buckeyes weren’t punished for Mobley’s momentary outburst. Despite being the smaller team by quite a bit, Ohio State didn’t settle for three-pointers early — only two of their first 12 shots came from beyond the arc.
The first half was physical, every possession felt very intentional, and the pace favored Ohio State over a Michigan team that ranks ninth in the country in adjusted tempo. Mobley hit an off-balance, sideways three to give Ohio State a 17-14 lead with 10:38 left in the first half, and Ohio State would lead for the next seven-plus minutes until the Wolverines put together a 6-0 burst to retake the lead, 28-26, with 3:17 left in the first half.
Ohio State momentarily re-took the lead, but L.J. Cason scored a basket that was counted when a goaltend was called on Bynum, and the Wolverines took a 33-30 lead into the halftime break. Mobley had 14 points in the first half, but the two teams combined to go 4-for-24 (16.6%) from three in the first half. The Wolverines got as combined 17 points from Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr.
The Buckeyes came out of the halftime break and went on a 10-1 run, which included threes from Mobley and Tilly, to go ahead 40-34 with 17:31. After Tilly dropped in a wide open three from the far wing to put Ohio State up six, Dusty May called timeout. The Wolverines answered with a quick 11-0 run in just over two minutes to take a 45-40 lead, stifling Ohio State’s chance to create a substantial lead.
The Buckeyes swung back and tied the game 50-50 on a pair of free throws by Thornton with 8:49 remaining in the game — Ohio State’s second trip to the charity stripe all game. Michigan was out-shooting Ohio State by a good bit, but the Buckeyes’ effort on the offensive glass kept them in the game throughout against the No. 3 team in the country.
Mara, who was much better defensively than offensively on Friday, scored six critical points down the stretch for Michigan, putting the Wolverines up 64-56 with 5:16 remaining in the game. Ohio State battled for the better part of 30 minutes, but Michigan just outlasted the Buckeyes on Friday, pulling away in the final minutes to win, 74-62.
Here are a few of the moments that mattered in Ohio State’s fourth Big Ten loss of the season:
Colin White grabs the offensive rebound, finds Mobley for the lead
With the game tied 14-14 and 10:38 remaining in the first half, Bruce Thornton dribbled into the paint and tried to knock down a short jumper, but the shot was short and bounced off the front of the iron. Colin White, who was not a fan favorite in Ann Arbor, grabbed the loose ball and kicked it out to Mobley on the perimeter for his second three-point make of the game. That gave Ohio State a 17-14 lead.
Tough inbounds turns into a big three for Mobley
Two possessions after Mobley’s three gave Ohio State the lead, the Buckeyes found themselves in a brutal spot — inbounding the ball from just beside the basket with 2.9 seconds remaining. Thornton inbounded the ball over top of everyone to Devin Royal towards the top of the three point line, who passed to Mobley. Mobley then hit a quite shot fake and hoisted up a falling down, sideways prayer of a three, that banged home and gave the Buckeyes a 20-14 lead with 9:54 left in the first half.
Gayle’s 3-on-1 dunk
With Ohio State up 24-20 and just over six minutes remaining in the first half, Mobley shot a straightaway three that was short, making the ball shoot right back towards Mobley. He got his legs tangled with Cason’s on the rebound, and Mobley fell. Cason quickly grabbed the ball and ran the other way with it, creating a quick 3-on-1 break for the Wolverines. Thornton was the only Buckeye on the other end, and Lendeborg threw up a lob to Roddy Gayle with Thornton defending the basket. Gayle threw down a monstrous dunk directly on top of his old teammate Thornton, and on the way back up the court he raised his arms in the air asking for the Michigan faithful to stand and yell. Gayle’s dunk cut Ohio State’s lead to 24-22.
Michigan’s 11-0 run
Dusty May was forced to call a timeout after Ohio State opened the second half on a 10-1 run to take the lead, but the Wolverines responded and scored 11 in a row in just over two minutes to take a 45-40 lead. It was the first chance Ohio State had to potentially put some space between them and Michigan. Instead, it was a huge turn in momentum towards the Wolverines, capped off by a big three-point play by Trey McKenney, who was fouled by Colin White on the made basket.
Royal called for delay of game
A floater from Ivan Njegovan gave Ohio State a 48-47 lead with 10:45 remaining in the game, but for the second time in the game, Royal touched or pushed the ball towards the baseline after a made basket. The junior was given a delay of game warning in the first half, so when he did it a second time, he was immediately whistled for a technical foul. Michigan’s Trey McKenney hit the technical free throw to tie it back up 48-48, and then Cason scored on the next Michigan possession to give the Wolverines a 50-48 lead with 10:31 remaining in the game.
Lendeborg’s offensive rebound feeds Cadeau for backbreaking three
Michigan, already in the middle of a little 5-0 run, watched Will Tschetter miss a three from the corner, but Lendeborg was able to corral the miss. He kicked out to Cadeau on the far wing, who buried his second three-pointer of the game to put Michigan up 60-51 with 6:30 remaining. Jake Diebler called timeout, and the Michigan crowd was as loud as it had been all evening.
