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After a disappointing home loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, Michigan looks to bounce back today in the midst of their road trip to No. 23 Ohio State.
Following the loss to the Badgers, the No. 19 Wolverines fell to 9-8 in the Big Ten and into a tie with the Buckeyes for seventh place in the league standings. Today’s matchup could be the deciding factor in which rival school will finish with a better seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament.
Ohio State and Michigan have mirrored one another for the majority of the season. Both teams got off to fast starts to rise into the nation’s Top 5, before both endured mid-season slumps which dropped them out of the national rankings.
However, the Wolverines and Buckeyes have hit their stride of late, with both clubs winning seven of their past nine games. Ohio State defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor back on Feb. 4 by the score of 61-58.
Today, both teams got off to slow starts offensively, battling to an 11-11 tie through the opening seven minutes. The Buckeyes asserted themselves over the course of the next eight minutes to build a 30-22 lead with just under five minutes to play in the half.
The Wolverines closed the first half well to cut their deficit to 32-29 as the teams entered the locker rooms.
NEGATIVES:
- Michigan has struggled to score through 20 minutes of this one. Ohio State has done a good job closing down driving lanes for Zavier Simpson and others, and it turned the Wolverines into a jump-shooting team in that first half. Michigan is just 10-of-26 from the floor at the break, and have managed to knock down just 3-of-13 attempts from three-point range. Another shooting performance like that in the second half won’t be enough to steal a Big Ten game on the road.
- While the Wolverines have struggled to score from outside thus far, the Buckeyes’ offense has been running through their perimeter shooting. Ohio State shot 5-of-12 from deep in that first half, and it’s opened up their options on offense. Michigan struggled to defend the perimeter in their loss to Wisconsin, and those struggles have carried over into this contest, even with Eli Brooks back on the floor.
POSITIVES:
- It’s hard to find positives in that first half outside of the fact that the Wolverines only trail by one possession despite all of their struggles on the offensive end. Michigan’s defense did look better than it did on Thursday against Wisconsin, though the Buckeyes had a stretch midway through the first half where they got several good looks from outside and knocked them down. One positive for the Wolverines on the offensive end was the fact that eight different players scored in that first half. The way this game has played out, it might take a group effort like that offensively for Michigan to pull out the road win.