How to Watch, Score Prediction for Michigan Basketball vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Michigan Wolverines are set to host their bitter rivals on Friday night. The Ohio State Buckeyes are sitting in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference with a 13-5 (5-3) record, and OSU has won its last three out of five games.

In addition to the game on Friday, Michigan is set to honor legendary point guard, Trey Burke, during halftime. The Wolverines will honor him with his jersey up in the rafters — the sixth Michigan jersey to be honored all-time.

Here's how you can watch the game, my score prediction, and some game notes.

How to watch

Day: Friday, Jan. 23
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Crisler Center (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Network: Fox
On the call: Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson
Radio: Michigan Sports Network from LEARFIELD

Prediction

Michigan G Roddy Gayle Jr. drives to the lane — Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

It's hard to predict rivalry games, but one thing that is for certain — Michigan is the better team. The Wolverines haven't been playing their best basketball, but they typically find ways to win games. Michigan's lone loss came at home against Wisconsin, but was able to go on the road and win back-to-back West Coast games by 10 points against both Washington and Oregon.

The Wolverines came back home and took down IU before facing the Buckeyes. Michigan will have to watch out for Bruce Thornton, who is the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, averaging 20.7 PPG. Ohio State has four players who average double figures, along with its 7-foot big man, Christoph Tilly.

It comes down to Michigan's want to win. The Wolverines have looked complacent at times since Big Ten play has began. Yaxel Lendeborg hasn't looked the same since Las Vegas, although he looked much better against IU. Assuming he continues to play well and looks to score the basketball, Michigan is always going to be tough to beat.

With this being at home, honoring Trey Burke, Michigan will be playing hard and look for the Wolverines to beat the Buckeyes.

Final score: Michigan 87, Ohio State 74

Game Notes

Michigan will honor U-M great Trey Burke in a halftime ceremony, raising his No. 3 jersey to the Crisler Center rafters -- the sixth honored jersey. The first 5,000 fans will receive a mini-replica banner. Only No. 33, worn by Cazzie Russell, is officially retired.

U-M's matchup with Ohio State is the first of two meetings and marks the eighth consecutive sellout at Crisler Center. The Wolverines will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a return game on Feb. 8.

U-M's Dusty May and Ohio State's Jake Diebler jointly asked the Big Ten to establish a permanent home-and-home series. The conference approved, giving Michigan two ongoing rivalry series: Michigan State and Ohio State.

U-M trails in the series, 84-108, but has won four of the last five meetings.

Michigan is in the middle of a three-game homestand that opened with an 86-72 win over Indiana. U-M welcomes Ohio State next, then caps the stretch with a top-10 clash against undefeated Nebraska before hitting a road-heavy final stretch with seven of its last 11 Big Ten games on the road.

After its 14-game win streak was snapped by Wisconsin, Michigan has three straight wins all by double digits -- at Washington (82-72, +10), at Oregon (81-71, +10) and Indiana (86-72, +14).

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