Michigan
7-3, 1-1B1G
Ohio State
7-3, 2-0B1G
Early Lead Stolen in Road Loss to Buckeyes
12/4/2017 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan led by as many as 20 points with 1:31 remaining in the first half and held a 43-30 lead at halftime.
» Ohio State used a 26-3 run from the end of the first half through the first eight minutes of the second half to take its first lead of the game. The Buckeyes closed the game on a 15-2 run to earn the 71-62 win.
» Both teams made 22 field goals -- Michigan 22-for-59 (37 percent) and Ohio State 22-for-45 (49 percent) -- while U-M went 10-for-14 from the free-throw line and OSU converted 22-of-29 attempts.
» Michigan had three players in double figures, led by Moritz Wagner with 14 while Zavier Simpson and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 11 points each.
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena)
Score: Ohio State 71, Michigan 62
Records: U-M (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten), OSU (7-3, 2-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 9 -- vs. UCLA, Noon, CBS (Star Wars Day)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team saw a 20-point first-half lead evaporate and eventually was edged by Ohio State, 71-62, on Monday night (Dec. 4) inside Value City Arena.
Junior Moritz Wagner finished the game one rebound shy of his fourth double-double of the season, recording 14 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Zavier Simpson and senior Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 11 points each.
Five of Michigan's first six field goals came from different players, led by Freshman Eli Brooks, who opened the scoring and then hit U-M's first three pointer of the night minutes later to put the Wolverines up, 9-3, at 16:31.
Following an Abdur-Rahkman triple, Simpson came off the bench and scored Michigan's next seven points, which included a finger roll to beat the shot clock, a three-pointer and a fast-break layup while being fouled, and the Maize and Blue took a 19-10 lead with 9:55 remaining in the first half.
Ohio State's C.J. Jackson responded with a pair of threes before Michigan went on a 14-1 run, holding the Buckeyes without a field goal for 4:16, to go up 36-17 at the 4:05 mark. The Wolverines showed their versatility during the run, as four different players tallied points, scoring on dribble-drives, three-pointers, dunks and free throws.
OSU once again slowed U-M's momentum with consecutive three-point field goals, but Michigan countered those triples with a layup from Abdur-Rahkman, which was sandwiched by a back-door layup and a three from Wagner. That quick 7-0 run from the Wolverines gave them their largest lead of the game, 43-23. Ohio State ended the half on a 7-0 run of its own cut Michigan's lead to 13, 43-30, at the break.
The Buckeyes carried that momentum into the second half and scored five unanswered points to trim U-M's lead to single digits, 43-35, and forced Michigan to call a time out at 17:43. Ohio State scored the first four points after the timeout to extend the run to 16-0 and cut the Michigan lead to four, 43-39. Brooks slowed the run with U-M's first points of the half, a corner three at 16:07, before the Buckeyes scored 10 straight points to erase the Wolverines' lead and go up 49-46 with 11:41 to play.
Sophomore Jon Teske came off the bench and briefly tied the game with an old-fashioned three-point play. Ohio State went ahead by as many as five points and freshman Jordan Poole added a three-point play of his own to make it 56-54 OSU at the 8:20 mark.
Both teams went quiet on the offensive end and free throws helped bring Michigan back into the lead, 60-56, with under five minutes to play, as Simpson, Abdur-Rahkman and Wagner added consecutive free throws.
The tide turned down the stretch, as Ohio State closed the game on a 15-2 run, going 11-for-12 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes to seal the 71-62 win.
Both teams finished with 22 made field goals in a game that featured two drastically different halves. Michigan shot 57 percent (17-for-30) in the first half, while holding Ohio State to 43 percent (10-for-23).
Overall, U-M finished the game shooting 37 percent (22-for-59), with OSU shooting 49 percent (22-for-45). The difference came at the free-throw line, where Michigan had sunk 10 of 14 while Ohio State hit 22 of their 29 attempts.
Michigan turned the ball over just eight times, committing 10 or fewer turnovers for the eighth time this season.
Following an early 1-1 start in Big Ten play, Michigan will resume non-conference action when the Wolverines host UCLA on Saturday (Dec. 9) at noon inside Crisler Center on Star Wars Day. The game will be broadcast live on CBS.
