Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 22 points in the Buckeyes’ third loss to Michigan this season. (Press Pros File Photos)
Ohio State took its first lead with 5:39 left, but Michigan had enough answers in the final minutes to advance to the Big Ten tournament semifinals with a four-point victory.
Ohio State’s four-game winning streak came to an end Friday afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, but the Buckeyes played one of their best games of the season.
When that kind of performance – a 71-67 down-to-the-wire loss – comes against No. 3 Michigan, however, two things are apparent.
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First, the margin for error on the offensive end to beat this long and talented Michigan team is as razor thin as the sharp tip of a wolverine’s claw. Michigan, forced to play Ohio State’s style, is just that good, good enough to beat you with your game and at your game.
Second, the Buckeyes recent run of success isn’t a fluke. They are, pardon the cliché, playing their best basketball in March.
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Now the Buckeyes (21-12) await their NCAA Tournament destination for the first time since 2022. Not long ago the Buckeyes were on the wrong side of a slippery bubble. Now, with wins over No. 8 Purdue, Penn State, Indiana and in the Big Ten tournament over Iowa, they are firmly in the field of 68.
ESPN’s bracket projections slated the Buckeyes as a No. 8 seed after they beat Iowa. Losing a tight game to Michigan, an assumed No. 1 seed, shouldn’t hurt the Buckeyes in the selection committee’s eyes.
They will find out Sunday evening.
To accomplish what the Buckeyes did in 2022 as a No. 7 seed with a first-round win over Loyola before losing to Final Four-bound Villanova, they will need to play like they did against Michigan.
The Buckeyes, playing in Chicago at the United Center, kept Michigan from fast breaking at will as the Wolverines have often done at 88.4 points a game. Ohio State’s half-court defense from the midpoint of the second half on forced a number of bad shots and kept Big Ten player of the year Yaxel Lendeborg in check with six points and only four shot attempts. Michigan shot 45% and made only 5 of 17 3-pointers.
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Michigan, however, with its defensive length created the problems it always does. Center Aday Mara, who is 7-foot-3 with arms that stretch above the rim while standing flat-footed, affected the game as you would expect from the Big Ten defensive player of the year. He blocked two shots and altered numerous others.
That led to Ohio State’s worst stat of the day: 38% on field goal attempts. They made eight 3-pointers (33%), but with Michigan’s interior defense the Buckeyes needed a double-digit day from three-point range.
Devin Royal’s 3-pointer late in the second half gave Ohio State’s its first lead. He scored 13 points.
Still, the Buckeyes hung around and hung around until Bruce Thornton passed to Devin Royal in transition and Royal made a wide-open 3-pointer. With 5:39 left, the Buckeyes had their first lead at 61-60.
Christoph Tilly then set a pick and got bulldozed by Lendeborg for a foul. Tilly made one of two free throws for a 62-60 lead with 5:08 left.
But Michigan came back with two free throws at the 4:46 mark to tie the score for the final time.
Two Thornton free throws cut Michigan’s lead to 65-64 with 3:23 left. Then Mara, with those long arms, retrieved a loose ball in the lane created by a Tilly deflection and made the easy layup for a 67-64 lead.
The Buckeyes cut the deficit back to 68-65 with a free throw with 29 seconds left. Michigan added a free throw and Royal scored in the lane with 6.5 seconds left for a 69-67 deficit. Then Lendeborg did what a player of the year should do. He made two free throws with six seconds left for the final margin.
Thornton led all scorers with 22 points to go with four assists. Royal added 13 points and 11 rebounds and Mobley Jr. scored 12. The Buckeyes took boxing out seriously and were outrebounded by only 34-32. Mara led four Wolverines in double figures with 17 points.
The Buckeyes have until next Thursday or Friday’s first-round NCAA game to get healthier and deeper. Brandon Noel made his first appearance since early January, playing in each half for a total of 12 minutes. Taison Chatman, who has provided much needed bench scoring over the past month, did not play due to a minor injury. Puff Johnson played two minutes after not playing against Indiana and Iowa.
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