Key Takeaways from No. 4 Ohio State's Disappointing Late Loss to No. 3 Michigan
Duane Washington hit five 3-pointers as he poured in a career-high 30 points in Sunday's loss to Michigan. With that in mind, here are my five biggest takeaways from the first ever Top-5 showdown in the rivalry's history.
Washington Lights Up The Scoreboard
Let's just start with Duane. After more the his share of extremely frustrating outings this year, his two most recent games are arguably the two best of his season (and maybe his entire career).
Washington scored 30 points on Sunday afternoon from literally all over the floor. He carved his way to the basket, he absorbed contact, he nailed 3's from several different spots around the arc and he gave Ohio State real quality on the offensive end. He only turned it over once the entire afternoon. 12-of-18 from the field is a solid day from him.
If Washington can continue to play like that on offense, Ohio State can make a very deep tournament run.
Michigan's Size Was a Real Problem
The Wolverines have the runaway freshman of the year in the Big Ten with Hunter Dickinson. But while he garners a lot of the attention, it's their length and athleticism across the floor that really poses problems.
UM has 10 players listed at 6-foot-5 or taller, and it felt like most of them made a substantial impact on Sunday. Isaiah Livers can really stroke it, Chaundee Brown Jr. lit it up in the first half and Franz Wagner was a commanding presence (even if he only scored nine points). But for as big as they are, the fact that they can move so well makes this team extremely difficult to guard.
Where was Justin Ahrens?
It was a really frustrating day for Ohio State's best 3-point shooter, who was held scoreless for the first time since Dec. 26 against Northwestern. It also marked the first time all season that Ahrens didn't connect from deep when attempting at least two 3-balls.
Chris Holtmann said afterwards that Ahrens wasn't on the floor late in the game because the Buckeyes wanted to go with a little more size. He also praised Ahrens' attention to detail in practice and said he's improving on the defensive end of the floor. But in a game that was decided by just five points, one or two 3's from Ahrens could have been the difference between winning and losing.
By no means am I pinning the loss on his shoulders. But it's fair to point out how impactful he can be when he's clicking on all cylinders.
This Game Absolutely Lived Up to the Hype
If you've seen a better college basketball game this year, I'd like you to show me. That was extremely impressive, high-level basketball. While the Buckeyes weren't the better team on Sunday, they showed the can absolutely beat a team that has a legitimate chance to win a national championship.
Those two offenses traded major body blows all game long, but it almost the entire second half was a 1-possession game.
I can only hope this won't be the only meeting between these two squads this season.
Rhythm vs. Rest
I said before the game that I preferred Ohio State's rhythm to Michigan's rest, after the Wolverines had three weeks between games in late January and early this month. Ohio State was cruising with seven straight victories and had shown their durability during some really physical play the last three weeks.
By the end of Sunday's game, it appeared the Michigan was a bit less fatigued and I think that played a factor. Justice Sueing's turnover that led to a Livers layup-and-1 with 2:33 to play was really frustrating. There were also a couple of sloppy rotations that left Michigan in good spots under the basket. E.J. Liddell didn't seem to be terribly affected by fatigue, but there were some extremely physical sequences for him ... he really earned his double-double.
Hopefully the Buckeyes can get healthy and rest up over the next few days before the play at Michigan State on Thursday. Musa Jallow was unavailable on Sunday, Kyle Young nearly didn't play, Seth Towns is still nursing his previously-injured knee, C.J. Walker's hand isn't yet back to 100 percent, Ibrahima Diallo hasn't played in months ... and those are just the injuries that we know about.
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