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What's better than beating Ohio State two times in a season? Beating the Buckeyes three times. And Michigan basketball had that chance on Friday afternoon in Chicago.
After having a double bye as the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines drew 8-seed OSU in the quarterfinals. The maize and blue jumped out to a 10-point lead at 15-5, but the Buckeyes weren't content to let Michigan blow it out, either. Even so, the Wolverines opened up by shooting the lights out, hitting on the first three 3-point attempts (with reserve guard Trey McKenney hitting two of them), with a 70% overall shooting percentage in the first half of the first half.
The maize and blue had some miscues, allowing OSU to get back within six, but a Nimari Burnett breakaway dunk and an Elliot Cadeau 3 (the Wolverines were 4-for-4 at this point) pushed Michigan to being up 11 with 8:36 remaining in the first half.
Michigan kept extending the lead to 11 while Ohio State continued to keep the game within distance. The Wolverines finally missed from beyond the arc when Cadeau couldn't hit, nursing an eight-point lead, 29-21, with 5:30 remaining in the first half. But the defense continued to hold the Buckeyes to just 33% from the floor; the only saving grace for OSU was that it was getting to the foul line and was dominating the offensive boards and getting second-chance points.
Even still, Michigan couldn't pull away, and moments later, that 11-point lead was down to just six at the under-four media timeout, with Bruce Thornton heading to the foul line. He hit both, making it a four-point Wolverines lead, and with Michigan missing on the other end, the defense was going to have to hold. It did, as McKenney's hot hand continued, pushing the lead back to six. But Amare Bynum hit a 3 after a missed jumper on the other end, and what was 11 was now just three.
McKenney had his first miss, but former Buckeyes guard Roddy Gayle stemmed the bleeding after collecting the miss and putting it back. However, Bruce Thornton responded with a 3, narrowly beating the shot clock, and it was a two-point game. After OSU missed an opportunity with a three-on-two, Yaxel Lendeborg threw it ahead to Gayle, who hit Aday Mara on the alley oop.
The press on the inbound led to Cadeau getting a steal and ultimately getting to the line, where he hit both shots. Thornton added two at the end of the half, so Michigan went into the locker room up 39-35 at halftime.
The second half started with a miss from Cadeau and a make for Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr., making it a two-point game. Mara and Mobley traded baskets before Morez Johnson Jr. hit a 3 to put the Wolverines back up by five. But Mobley answered with a 3 of his own, so the maize and blue still had some work to do. After Cadeau lost the handle, the turnover resulted in a Christoph Tilley layup, and the game was tied for the first time since the game was 0-0.
After a couple of errant 3-point attempts, not only were the field goal percentages growing close to even, but Michigan gave the ball back to the Buckeyes, giving Ohio State a chance to take their first lead of the game. Both teams missed 3-point attempts, and the game was tied 44-all at the under-16 media timeout. The Wolverines were shooting 33% in the second half while Ohio State was shooting 57%.
Michigan turned the ball over coming off the media timeout, but a Johnson block kept OSU from taking the lead. However, another missed 3 kept the game tied, though the Wolverines turned the Buckeyes back over with a Mobley travel. Finally, Cadeau broke the three-plus-minute scoring drought to put Michigan back up by two.
At this point, OSU had gone nearly four minutes without scoring, but Michigan only really had one score in that same period. Mara got a layup with the and-one to put the Wolverines back up five. A Thornton 3 rattled in and out, and Cadeau was fouled on the other end, drilling two free throws to put the maize and blue up seven. But Gabe Cupps hit a 3 to pull back within four. Moments later, Thornton hit a 3, and it was back to a one-point game. An alley oop from Cadeau to Mara pushed the lead back to three at the under-12 media timeout.
An Ohio State turnover led to a Mara jumper from just inside the arc to stretch the lead back to five. After a block by Mara, he went back to the line and drained both, and it was a seven-point lead with 9:20 remaining. Christoph Tilly broke the Buckeye drought, and when Trey McKenney missed another 3 attempt, Nimari Burnett got a foul on the rebound.
After having just two fouls for the first 11 minutes, the Wolverines picked up four in a one-minute span. Thornton hit two free throws to get the Buckeyes back within three coming out of the under-eight media timeout. On a three-minute scoring drought, Michigan turned it over, but the Wolverines kept OSU from scoring, leading to Thornton fouling Burnett, picking up his third of the game. Burnett missed the front end, but hit the back, four-point Wolverines lead, 6:30 remaining.
Gayle picked up his third foul, putting OSU in the bonus, and Bynum hit both to make it a two-point game. It had been over four minutes since Michigan had scored from the floor, and Gayle missed a 3-pointer to continue the drought. Ohio State hit a 3 on the other end to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game, 61-60, with 5:40 remaining. Gayle was fouled on the other end, but missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Lendeborg picked up his first foul on the other end, allowing Tilly to score one and take a two-point lead.
It had now been over five minutes without a Michigan field goal, a streak that would continue as Tilly picked up his third foul, sending Cadeau to the line. He tied the game up at 62-all, and Mara got his second block of the game. Michigan broke its six-plus-minute field goal drought with Johnson managing to get a goaltended layup on a fast break. Gayle got a block on the Devin Royal 3 attempt, and Cadeau was fouled by Thornton on the fast break, his fourth. He missed his first but hit the second to make it a three-point game.
Johnson put Thornton on the line, and he hit both, closing the gap to one point. Mara answered with a layup after Cadeau was blocked, so with under three minutes left in the game, Michigan would just need to hang on and go basket for basket. OSU hadn't scored from the floor in nearly four minutes, but the Wolverines were still struggling to get much going on offense.
Michigan held serve on defense, and Lendeborg was fouled on the other end, but missed the front end. He hit the back, and it was a four-point lead for the Wolverines with 84 seconds left.
The maize and blue had a chance to go up six, but Mara missed from underneath the basket, and with a foul on the other end, Royal hit one of two free throws to cut it to three points. Mobley fouled Cadeau to put him on the line with 20 seconds left, and he hit one to make the lead four. Royal scored with six seconds left to cut it to a one-possession game. Royal managed to foul Lendeborg, and he struck both to put the game out of reach. The Wolverines beat the Buckeyes for the third time this year, 71-67.
Mara led the Wolverines with 17 points, Cadeau added 15, McKenney had 12, and Johnson had 11.
Michigan will now face the winner of Illinois and Wisconsin on Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT for a chance to play in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, with the game to be broadcast on CBS.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Recap: Michigan beats Ohio State in Big Ten tournament
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After having a double bye as the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines drew 8-seed OSU in the quarterfinals. The maize and blue jumped out to a 10-point lead at 15-5, but the Buckeyes weren't content to let Michigan blow it out, either. Even so, the Wolverines opened up by shooting the lights out, hitting on the first three 3-point attempts (with reserve guard Trey McKenney hitting two of them), with a 70% overall shooting percentage in the first half of the first half.
The maize and blue had some miscues, allowing OSU to get back within six, but a Nimari Burnett breakaway dunk and an Elliot Cadeau 3 (the Wolverines were 4-for-4 at this point) pushed Michigan to being up 11 with 8:36 remaining in the first half.
Michigan kept extending the lead to 11 while Ohio State continued to keep the game within distance. The Wolverines finally missed from beyond the arc when Cadeau couldn't hit, nursing an eight-point lead, 29-21, with 5:30 remaining in the first half. But the defense continued to hold the Buckeyes to just 33% from the floor; the only saving grace for OSU was that it was getting to the foul line and was dominating the offensive boards and getting second-chance points.
Even still, Michigan couldn't pull away, and moments later, that 11-point lead was down to just six at the under-four media timeout, with Bruce Thornton heading to the foul line. He hit both, making it a four-point Wolverines lead, and with Michigan missing on the other end, the defense was going to have to hold. It did, as McKenney's hot hand continued, pushing the lead back to six. But Amare Bynum hit a 3 after a missed jumper on the other end, and what was 11 was now just three.
McKenney had his first miss, but former Buckeyes guard Roddy Gayle stemmed the bleeding after collecting the miss and putting it back. However, Bruce Thornton responded with a 3, narrowly beating the shot clock, and it was a two-point game. After OSU missed an opportunity with a three-on-two, Yaxel Lendeborg threw it ahead to Gayle, who hit Aday Mara on the alley oop.
The press on the inbound led to Cadeau getting a steal and ultimately getting to the line, where he hit both shots. Thornton added two at the end of the half, so Michigan went into the locker room up 39-35 at halftime.
The second half started with a miss from Cadeau and a make for Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr., making it a two-point game. Mara and Mobley traded baskets before Morez Johnson Jr. hit a 3 to put the Wolverines back up by five. But Mobley answered with a 3 of his own, so the maize and blue still had some work to do. After Cadeau lost the handle, the turnover resulted in a Christoph Tilley layup, and the game was tied for the first time since the game was 0-0.
After a couple of errant 3-point attempts, not only were the field goal percentages growing close to even, but Michigan gave the ball back to the Buckeyes, giving Ohio State a chance to take their first lead of the game. Both teams missed 3-point attempts, and the game was tied 44-all at the under-16 media timeout. The Wolverines were shooting 33% in the second half while Ohio State was shooting 57%.
Michigan turned the ball over coming off the media timeout, but a Johnson block kept OSU from taking the lead. However, another missed 3 kept the game tied, though the Wolverines turned the Buckeyes back over with a Mobley travel. Finally, Cadeau broke the three-plus-minute scoring drought to put Michigan back up by two.
At this point, OSU had gone nearly four minutes without scoring, but Michigan only really had one score in that same period. Mara got a layup with the and-one to put the Wolverines back up five. A Thornton 3 rattled in and out, and Cadeau was fouled on the other end, drilling two free throws to put the maize and blue up seven. But Gabe Cupps hit a 3 to pull back within four. Moments later, Thornton hit a 3, and it was back to a one-point game. An alley oop from Cadeau to Mara pushed the lead back to three at the under-12 media timeout.
An Ohio State turnover led to a Mara jumper from just inside the arc to stretch the lead back to five. After a block by Mara, he went back to the line and drained both, and it was a seven-point lead with 9:20 remaining. Christoph Tilly broke the Buckeye drought, and when Trey McKenney missed another 3 attempt, Nimari Burnett got a foul on the rebound.
After having just two fouls for the first 11 minutes, the Wolverines picked up four in a one-minute span. Thornton hit two free throws to get the Buckeyes back within three coming out of the under-eight media timeout. On a three-minute scoring drought, Michigan turned it over, but the Wolverines kept OSU from scoring, leading to Thornton fouling Burnett, picking up his third of the game. Burnett missed the front end, but hit the back, four-point Wolverines lead, 6:30 remaining.
Gayle picked up his third foul, putting OSU in the bonus, and Bynum hit both to make it a two-point game. It had been over four minutes since Michigan had scored from the floor, and Gayle missed a 3-pointer to continue the drought. Ohio State hit a 3 on the other end to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game, 61-60, with 5:40 remaining. Gayle was fouled on the other end, but missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Lendeborg picked up his first foul on the other end, allowing Tilly to score one and take a two-point lead.
It had now been over five minutes without a Michigan field goal, a streak that would continue as Tilly picked up his third foul, sending Cadeau to the line. He tied the game up at 62-all, and Mara got his second block of the game. Michigan broke its six-plus-minute field goal drought with Johnson managing to get a goaltended layup on a fast break. Gayle got a block on the Devin Royal 3 attempt, and Cadeau was fouled by Thornton on the fast break, his fourth. He missed his first but hit the second to make it a three-point game.
Johnson put Thornton on the line, and he hit both, closing the gap to one point. Mara answered with a layup after Cadeau was blocked, so with under three minutes left in the game, Michigan would just need to hang on and go basket for basket. OSU hadn't scored from the floor in nearly four minutes, but the Wolverines were still struggling to get much going on offense.
Michigan held serve on defense, and Lendeborg was fouled on the other end, but missed the front end. He hit the back, and it was a four-point lead for the Wolverines with 84 seconds left.
The maize and blue had a chance to go up six, but Mara missed from underneath the basket, and with a foul on the other end, Royal hit one of two free throws to cut it to three points. Mobley fouled Cadeau to put him on the line with 20 seconds left, and he hit one to make the lead four. Royal scored with six seconds left to cut it to a one-possession game. Royal managed to foul Lendeborg, and he struck both to put the game out of reach. The Wolverines beat the Buckeyes for the third time this year, 71-67.
Mara led the Wolverines with 17 points, Cadeau added 15, McKenney had 12, and Johnson had 11.
Michigan will now face the winner of Illinois and Wisconsin on Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT for a chance to play in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, with the game to be broadcast on CBS.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Recap: Michigan beats Ohio State in Big Ten tournament
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