COLUMBUS, Ohio: In a virtually empty Value City Arena, the clash between Michigan’s No. 3 and Ohio’s No. 4 in February looked more like an intense NCAA tournament game in March: good shot , 3 point points, fierce edge play, few mistakes and some late drama.
After six draws in the second half, Michigan retired in the final minutes and then held on to Ohio State 92-87 Sunday in a meeting that showed two teams aiming to reach No. 1 since then. next month.
“It was like a boxing match,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “One team hit once. The other team hit again. It went back and forth. Our guys showed their mental toughness through some of those ups and downs.”
The win also highlighted the importance of Michigan’s first center, 7-foot-1 Hunter Dickinson, who was several inches tall and had considerable scope in the big men of Ohio State. He led the Wolverines with 22 points and nine rebounds, getting all six shots missed.
“I thought its length and size bothered us,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann acknowledged.
Michigan (16-1, 11-1 Big Ten) had pulled away and led again with 23 seconds left. But a couple of triples from Duane Washington Jr. around a CJ Walker throw he got the Buckeyes to three points with 3 seconds to go.
Ohio State was forced to commit a foul and Eli Brooks hit his free throws to seal Michigan’s fifth straight win, a run that came around a three-week break due to COVID problems. -19.
Brooks had 17 points, Chaundee Brown Jr came off the bench to score 15 and Isaiah Livers added 12 for Michigan, which earned Ohio State’s seven-game winning streak.
Washington had 30 points maximum in the race and won 5 by 10 in 3 against the Buckeyes (18-5, 12-5). EJ Liddell had 23 to finish with 10 rebounds.
“It was a great game, man,” Washington said. “Two teams in the top five and I thought we were competing at a very high level. We were in a good position to take it home. Basketball is a racing game, and they had their there in the end, and we just got a little better in the final stretch “.
Both teams shot 53% from the ground.