Michigan tops
Ohio State, 77-69,
for back-to-back
wins
ABBIE TELGENHOF
Daily Sports Editor
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY
S
prawled on the floor underneath the
basket, sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin
should’ve been out of the offensive
possession. After his jumper in the lane
bounced around the rim and ultimately fell to
the floor, Bufkin too fell to the ground looking
for a foul call.
But in the absence of a whistle, Bufkin jumped
up, grabbed his own rebound off a bounce, and
tossed it back up for a put-back layup.
That moment was emblematic of Bufkin’s
whole performance. Looking for back-to-back
wins for the first time since early January, the
Michigan men’s basketball team (13-11 overall,
7-5 Big Ten) dominated Ohio State (11-12, 3-9),
77-69, on the shoulders of Bufkin’s effort.
Despite being the Wolverines’ third-highest
scorer behind junior center Hunter Dickinson
and freshman wing Jett Howard, Bufkin’s 13
points, eight rebounds and five assists was the
difference maker in Sunday afternoon’s tilt.
Showcasing all the intangibles, communicating
on defense and facilitating game play, Bufkin
was irreplaceable against the Buckeyes.
“(The win) means a lot, it means that we’re on
the right track hopefully,” Howard said. “That
was a really good team. So we just had to come
out early to bring that energy.”
From the tipoff, the Wolverines controlled
all facets of the game. Draining back-to-back
3-pointers on the first two offensive possessions
— one off an assist from Bufkin and one from
his own hand. Michigan capitalized on its deep
shooting to sustain early offensive momentum.
The Wolverines scored from all three levels
by finding their consistent scorers — Bufkin,
Howard and Dickinson. Michigan quickly
gained an early lead that it didn’t relinquish.
On the defensive end, in large part due
to a major contribution from Bufkin, the
Wolverines prevailed against the third-ranked
offense in the country by capitalizing on their
defensive advantages. Bufkin proved the most
advantageous, contesting shots on the wing and
playing elite pick-and-roll defense, keeping Ohio
State from easy buckets.
“Kobe is huge to our team’s success,” Michigan
coach Juwan Howard said. “We’re going to need
him and there are going to be times when we go
through him. But offensively he’s a guy that has
really embraced becoming a two-way player.”
Even when the Buckeyes strung together a run
after the under-8 timeout — cutting Michigan’s
once 10-point lead to just three — the Wolverines
found a way to keep it together, something they
haven’t been able to do in the past. On the back
of a made layup from Bufkin, Michigan kept
hold of its lead. Fending off Ohio State for the
remainder of the half, the Wolverines entered
the locker room up 41-36.
And the Wolverines’ strong narrative only
continued out of the break.
Coming out of halftime, the Buckeyes once
again tried to claw their way back into the
game. But Bufkin helped silence that hope with
a clutch 3-pointer, stemming the bleeding from
Ohio State’s quick offensive barrage and once
again putting the game just out of reach.
“(Bufkin’s) just someone you love competing
with,” graduate guard Joey Baker said. “He’s
gonna give it everything he’s got and works
his butt off and he’s a really good player. We’re
happy to have him on our team and I think he’s
just going to continue to get better and better.”
After a single-handed offensive run from
Dickinson, the Wolverines built their lead back
up to seven points midway through the half. The
small lead, boosted by defensive stops, was the
final nail in the coffin for the Buckeyes down the
stretch. Continuing to go with what it knows,
Michigan dug deep on defense and utilized its
trio of scorers — Dickinson, Bufkin and Jett — to
maintain that small lead.
Continuing their prowess on the defensive
end throughout the remainder of the half, the
Wolverines held Ohio State to 69 points —
under the Buckeyes’ average of 76 points per
game. Locking down the paint and contesting
every shot from behind the arc, Michigan made
scoring increasingly difficult.
And as the clock ticked down on Sunday
afternoon, the Wolverines — riding the high of
Bufkin’s stellar performance and back-to-back
wins for the first time since early January —
headed to the locker room.
This time, to celebrate.
JULIANNE YOON & LILA TURNER/Daily
LYS GOLDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
RIVALED
E
AST LANSING — Until Sunday, the No.
18 Michigan women’s basketball team
had never won a game in which it trailed
at halftime.
Despite heading into the locker room down
40-33 against in-state rival Michigan State, the
Wolverines rewrote that narrative and completed
their first season series with a sweep. Coming
from behind in the second half, Michigan (19-5
overall, 9-4 Big Ten) ultimately overpowered
Michigan State (11-12, 3-9) en route to a statement
77-67 victory.
“(Fifth-year wing) Leigha (Brown) says her
heart is still racing because of the intensity at
which (the Spartans) started the game,” Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “They came out just
on fire and intense and playing hard. And it took
us a minute, but thankfully we were able to adjust
and finish really strong.”
That intensity was evident as Michigan State
jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead. Only after
junior forward Cameron Williams notched a
put-back layup in the fourth minute of play did
the Wolverines get on the board. From there, the
game was a battle of intensity and aggressiveness
from both sides — a display that lived up to the
rivalry hype.
However, in the second half and especially
the final quarter, Michigan found its footing
on both ends of the floor while the Spartans
struggled to keep pace and sustain their first-half
performance.
“We really emphasized defense (at halftime),”
Brown said. “We weren’t really following our
principles a lot in the first half. … Just really
locking in and trying to get the people that we
wanted to take shots, especially the threes, I
think definitely helped our success.”
As the Wolverines tightened up on the
defensive end, they simultaneously found their
offensive stride.
Key to that offensive success was the
Wolverines’ neutralization of Michigan State’s
aggressive full court press after the Spartans
successfully trapped players, intercepted passes
and deflected loose balls throughout the first half.
“We didn’t get stops early and that allowed
them to get full court pressure,” Barnes Arico
said. “Once we got some stops, they weren’t able
to do that as much and we settled down a little bit,
but they got up in us and were super physical and
super aggressive.”
The Spartans looked like the more aggressive
team throughout the first quarter and parts of the
second, feeding off the energy in a packed Breslin
Center. As the game wore on into the second half,
however, the Wolverines made adjustments that
allowed them to take control when it mattered
most.
Those adjustments were facilitated by the
usual suspects — Brown and senior guard Maddie
Nolan. The duo led the charge for the Wolverines
on offense. Brown finished with a double-double,
notching 29 points and 12 rebounds along with
eight assists — all team-highs. She served as a
complete leader, facilitator and scorer on the floor
throughout the matchup.
Nolan knocked down five of the team’s seven
total 3-pointers, many of them coming in crucial
moments. Her shots helped keep Michigan within
striking distance in the first half and contributed
to extending the comeback lead in the second.
“When (Nolan is) hitting shots like that, it’s
really really hard to guard us,” Brown said. “She
was shooting with a lot of confidence today.”
Graduate forward Emily Kiser also contributed
to the Wolverines’ turnaround performance after
the halftime break. Despite being held scoreless
in the first half, she finished the game with eight
points, increasing her involvement in the second
half and allowing the Wolverines to effectively
open up the floor.
“We couldn’t really establish Emily in the first
half because she was guarded by a guard,” Barnes
Arico said. “She was getting double teamed on the
other side, so the players were able to make some
adjustments and really get Emily going a little bit
more (in the second half).”
Although Michigan eventually pulled away in
the fourth quarter, the game was still up for grabs
heading into the final 10 minutes and neither
team’s intensity let up until the final buzzer.
The Spartans refused to go down easy, but
Michigan’s momentum proved too much to keep
up with down the stretch. The Wolverines looked
firmly in control throughout the final quarter,
holding Michigan State scoreless for over five
minutes towards the end of the game.
In the process, Michigan flipped the script and
achieved its first comeback victory of the season
in sweeping fashion.
UN
Michigan beats
Michigan State,
77-67, completes
series sweep
Michigan flipped the script
and achieved its first
comeback victory of the
season in sweeping fashion.
MICHIGAN 77 | OSU 69
MICHIGAN 77 | MSU 67
Design by Lys Goldman
Showcasing all the
intangibles, communicating
on defense and facilitating
game play, Bufkin was
irreplaceable against the
Buckeyes.