Michigan Outduels Ohio State in Memorable Top-5 Showdown
Before we go any further, those are very clearly two of the very best teams in college basketball. That was an extremely high-level game.
The Buckeyes seemed to run out of gas by the end of the game, but that was as good of a college basketball as has been played anywhere in the country this year.
Trailing by a game-high eight points, Justice Sueing hit a 3-pointer with 44.4 seconds to play to cut the deficit to 84-79 and the Buckeyes struggled to get any closer. After trading fouls and free throws, with a couple of intermediate buckets, Duane Washington Jr. hit yet another 3-ball to bring the Buckeyes within three with 3.4 to go.
But after getting fouled on the in-bounds pass, Michigan's Eli Brooks hit the ensuing free throws to give Michigan the 92-87 victory.
The Buckeyes snapped a 7-game winning streak with the loss.
Both teams shot 53 percent from the floor in a terrific offensive showcase.
There were times where it looked like Michigan may score 100 points. They connected on 11-of-14 3-pointers to start the game and were getting contributions from all over the roster. But they cooled off in a noticeable way. After connecting on their first 3-ball of the half, the Wolverines never hit another one as they missed the next nine in a row.
The second half was basically a 1-possession game the whole way. On three occasions, Michigan led by four points, but never by more than that until Isaiah Livers stole the ball from Justice Sueing and scored a transition layup with 2:33 to play. Livers was also fouled and hit a free throw to put Michigan up 80-74.
For all of the 3-point shooting on both sides, Justin Ahrens was noticeably absent in the scoring column. Ahrens didn't score the entire game and played only 15 minutes.
Duane Washington's 3-pointer with 4:36 to play pulled Ohio State within one point (73-72), but also gave him a new career-high. He finished with 30 points on 12-of-18 from the floor, including five treys.
E.J. Liddell contributed 20+ points for the seventh time this season. He finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds
C.J. Walker added 15 points.
Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson had a monster second half, after only scoring six points before the break. He finished the game with 22 points to lead the Maize and Blue. He was one of four players in double-figures.
More to come after Chris Holtmann's postgame press conference, which can be streamed live on our YouTube channel.
-----
You may also like:
Ohio State vs. Michigan: First Half Notebook
Ohio State vs. Michigan: Final Pregame Thoughts Live in Columbus
WATCH: Chris Holtmann Previews Michigan Game
Projecting Big Ten Basketball First and Second Team All-Conference Selections
NCAA to Allow Limited Fan Attendance During March Madness
Instant Analysis: Ohio State Slides Past Penn State, Wins Seventh Straight Game
-----
Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!
Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Brendan on Twitter: @brendangulick22
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNowSI
Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook
