After taking care of business against Michigan in Columbus, the Buckeyes, newly clad in new scarlet uniforms (to offset those nightmare highlighter unis that Michigan wore) looked to take both regular season tilts from the Wolverines.
The first half started out with a pretty steady pace. The first ten minutes were a game of runs. After Ohio State took an early 4-1 lead, Michigan ripped off 12 points. Ohio State kept it close and went on a 7-0 run themselves. It went back and forth with the half ending with OSU on top, 31-30.
Once again Aaron Craft asserted his alpha dog status among the point guards of the Big Ten, flustering Burke during the first half and holding Burke to shooting 2 of 6 from the field for a paltry 5 points. Nick Stauskas got hot early in the first half and Mitch Mcgary had a big first half with 10 points. The Buckeyes got a solid contribution from Q Ross who took it inside and out for 7 points. It looked like Ross was tentative at times but when he gets in a scoring mode, he really looks at ease.
Our biggest fears came true in the second half as players not named Burke started hitting shots. Tim Hardaway Jr. was absolutely en fuego, hitting 5 straight threes (although he pushed off on his last shot) and Stauskas pitched in as the Wolverines chipped away at an Ohio State lead.
Laquinton Ross and Amir Williams both had solid minutes during the second half with Ross really coming into his own.
And then there was overtime when the second half ended 72-all.
After a great 34 seconds of defense at the beginning of the overtime, Trey Burke hit a desperation 3 that gave them the lead. Ohio State then played four minutes of great defense, preventing a basket by Michigan but simply couldn’t convert on the offensive end. Ohio State didn’t score until Aaron Craft drove the ball into the lane with 50 seconds left. Craft then stripped the ball on the defensive end and had the ball taken away by Burke on the other end. With 20 seconds left, Ohio State had the ball and after a quick drive by Craft, Trey Burke blocked the shot from behind with 7.6 seconds left. Robinson was fouled and made one of two free throws. Aaron Craft raced the length of the court and was clearly fouled by Hardaway Jr. but there was no call.
Michigan wins, 76-74. Ohio State scored 2 points in overtime.
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