Guard John Mobley Jr. (0) drives past a pair of Michigan defenders to get under the basket. Michigan beat Ohio State 82-61 Sunday at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Liam Ahern | Sports Photo Editor
17,684 fans packed the Schottenstein Center with hopes of watching the Buckeyes pick up their first ranked win of the season.
“Let’s go Bucks” chants rang out from the red-clad crowd as the opening horn sounded, carrying the belief that a long-awaited signature victory was within reach.
Instead, the day ended with “Let’s Go Blue” echoing down from Michigan fans as the Buckeye crowd flooded to the exits with five minutes still on the clock.
In a game where Michigan never trailed, the Buckeyes were held to their fewest point total this season and suffered a 82-61 loss Sunday.
“There were too many things that we didn’t do well enough that we either knew we needed to do or that we have done,” Head coach Jake Diebler said. “In a game like this, you can’t afford to have that.”
The Wolverines dominated on the glass to start the game, outrebounding the Buckeyes 11-3 through the first five and a half minutes. But two 3-pointers from Christoph Tilly kept Michigan within reach, trailing 13-8.
Rebounding was an issue all day, as Michigan outrebounded Ohio State 42-26.
Offensively, Ohio State’s leading scorers, Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr. were also kept in check early.
Thornton’s first made field goal came with 11:02 remaining in the half and Mobley Jr. was held scoreless until 4:15.
Mobley Jr. was held to four points on one made field goal.
The Wolverines tallied 12 offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points in the half, as the Buckeyes fell behind 44-34 at the break.
“When you give up that many offensive rebounds in the first half and they at least convert on half of them, it’s just hard to win,” Thornton said.
The second half did not start much better for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State stumbled out of the locker room, committing turnovers on two of their first three possessions. Michigan capitalized, extending its lead to 50-36.
Looking to score Ohio State’s first fast break points of the game, Tilly drove down the lane, floated up a shot, but it was blocked by Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, which resulted in a fast break dunk for Johnson Jr.
The sequence tone for how the rest of the game would play out.
The emphatic dunk led to a timeout from Diebler, as the Buckeyes trailed 54-39 with 15:07 remaining.
Thornton scored seven straight points out of the timeout, but Ohio State’s offense soon stalled again. The Buckeyes missed six consecutive shots during a 4:39 scoring drought midway through the half before a Taison Chatman 3-pointer cut the deficit to 12.
The Buckeyes didn’t cut the deficit any further.
“We didn’t fight as hard as we fought all year,” Diebler said. “I think that was something that was disappointing to me personally.”
As time waned down, it seemed as if it was only a matter of time until Michigan delivered a final knockout punch.
That moment came with 3:52 to go.
An alley-oop dunk from Michigan’s Aday Mara, who scored a game-high 24 points, capitalized an emphatic 10-1 run by the Wolverines, to put Michigan ahead 74-53.
Lendeborg, who scored 14 points, described how he thinks the Wolverines compare to the Buckeyes.
“We think they’re a good team, but they don’t deserve to be in the same conversation as us.”
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back Wednesday at home when they play USC.
“We’ve got to turn the page after we reflect on why we didn’t play at the level we’re capable of today, so we can get ready for the next one,” Diebler said.
