JOSH TAUBMAN
Daily Sports Editor
With Dickinson ill,
Michigan mounts come-
back to shock Ohio State
C
OLUMBUS — sometimes,
it’s not how you start.
The
Michigan
men’s
basketball team walked into the
locker room at halftime down by
seven, a lifeless offensive performance
making its chances to win the game —
and make the NCAA Tournament —
look bleak.
But in the second half, the
Wolverines surged. The offense found
its footing, and combined with a
stellar defensive effort, they garnered
the sort of performance they needed
to stun the Buckeyes on their home
court.
Michigan (17-13 overall, 11-9
Big Ten) took down No. 23 Ohio
State (19-10, 12-8), 75-69, in its
regular season finale, securing a
huge resumé boost with Selection
Sunday only a week away.
“I’m just in awe of the players’
character,” acting head coach Phil
Martelli said. “I’m in awe of the
support staff’s knowledge.”
There was plenty for Martelli to
marvel at, especially considering
the blow the Wolverines were
dealt before the game even began.
Just hours before tip, they learned
that sophomore center Hunter
Dickinson had been ruled out
with a stomach ailment. Without
Dickinson, Michigan knew it
would be
nearly impossible
to make
up the offensive
production of its
premier player.
Instead,
it
turned
to
its
defense
to
slow
down the Buckeyes.
“I
believe
that
when we play as a
team, no matter who’s missing,
we’re definitely going to give a
challenge to any team that we
play,” freshman forward Moussa
Diabate said. “We obviously need
him, but we did what we needed
to do and it worked out.”
For much of the first half,
that
gameplan
worked.
The
Wolverines
frustrated
Ohio
State, generating six steals and
eight
offensive
rebounds
to
secure
extra
possessions
for
an undermanned offense. But
Michigan couldn’t cash in on
those extra possessions, as it shot
a measly 13-for-37 in the first half.
The defense fought tooth and
nail to keep the game within
reach, but late in the first half
cracks
began
to
show.
The
Buckeyes finished the final three
minutes on an 8-2 run, giving the
Wolverines a 37-30 deficit at the
break.
A maligned offense now had to
pull itself out of an even greater
hole.
“I was worried,” Martelli said.
“Because there had been a little
bit too much engagement with the
referees. Like we could have come
off the court whining about zero
foul shots and that kind of thing.”
But coming out in the second
half, no one panicked. And the
shots at last began to fall.
Michigan shored up its interior
presence
while
also
playing
aggressive on offense to tie the
game at 39 coming out of the
break. Back-to-back triples from
graduate guard DeVante’ Jones
shortly after helped Michigan
surge
ahead,
proving
the
Wolverines would not go away
quietly.
Instead,
quietness
hung
throughout a shell-shocked Value
City Arena. Michigan continued
to apply the pressure to Ohio
State, raining down threes to take
a 58-49 lead into the under-eight
timeout. A win that had seemed
unattainable
at
the
halftime
buzzer was suddenly very much
within reach.
“I think the biggest thing in
the locker room was coming out
with energy,” sophomore forward
Terrance Williams II said. “…I
feel like that was the biggest part
— and that we stayed together
throughout Ohio State’s run in
the end of the first half.”
The Buckeyes, though, kept
fighting — and the lead at once
shrunk. They cut a double-
digit margin to six, and as the
clock ticked under four minutes
remaining,
the
Wolverines’
chance to complete the comeback
was teetering in the balance.
But the resilience Michigan
displayed throughout the second
half continued to shine through.
An emphatic block by Diabate
with two-and-a-half minutes to
play maintained a two-possession
lead for the Wolverines. A clutch
three from freshman guard Kobe
Bufkin moments later served as
the dagger.
“(Bufkin) raised up like the ball
was going in,” Martelli said. “And
not just Kobe, but too many times
this year, we’ve had guys raise
up and they hope it’s going in. If
you’re hoping that a ball is going
in, don’t shoot it.”
Despite missing its best player,
despite an ugly first half, despite
the fact a loss would’ve sunk its
tournament chances, Michigan
found a way to win.
For once in this tumultuous
season, when the Wolverines
needed to do so, they finished.
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