CHICAGO – The No. 1-ranked Michigan Wolverines are on a quest to repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions as they took down their rivals in the No. 8-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 71-67 in an ugly performance to advance to the semifinals.
Friday’s (March 13) early morning tip (11 a.m. CT) was due to their successful regular season as they locked up the No. 1-seed while winning the Big Ten regular season championship outright, capping off a 29-2 record in the process.
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Last season, head coach Dusty May led the men in maize to the Big Ten Tournament championship after taking down the Wisconsin Badgers inside Bankerslife Field House in Indianapolis as a No. 3-seed.
Including the regular season, Michigan has won 16 straight Big Ten games while snapping Ohio State’s four-game winning streak in the victory.
The Buckeyes took down the Iowa Hawkeyes 72-69 on Thursday before their season ended in the first game of the Friday slate in Chicago.
Michigan, on the other hand, has won five games in a row following its regular season finale victory over the Michigan State Spartans 90-80 inside Crisler Center on March 8.
Both teams met again on Feb. 8 in Columbus, when Michigan won 82-61. With Friday’s win, Michigan improved to five consecutive wins against the Buckeyes.
Aday Mara led the team with 17 points along with seven rebounds, while Elliot Cadeau chipped in with 15 points and seven assists.
Lendeborg dropped six points, six assists, and five rebounds, but he sealed the victory with clutch free-throws in the games waining moments.
Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes with 22 points in the defeat.
POSTGAME SOUND COMING.
1st half
The Wolverines won the tip, and Yaxel Lendeborg found Morez Johnson Jr. for the first two points of the game.
After getting the stop on defense, Johnson Jr. knocked down a fadeaway jumper, followed by a Nimari Burnett three-pointer to take a 7-0 lead.
Bruce Thornton got the Buckeyes on the board following an offensive rebound and a hesitation to get the defender in the air, followed by a floater.
Lenderborg drove to the paint and got fouled, missing the first free throw but making the second to take an 8-2 lead.
Devin Royal drained a contested three-pointer, followed by a Johnson Jr. contested layup.
Roddy Gayle Jr. entered the game for Aday Mara and lost the ball out of bounds following his missed contested layup, leading to an official’s timeout with 15:54 to play.
Ohio State came out of the timeout and turned the ball over, leading to a Trey McKenney three-pointer.
Following another turnover, Lendeborg found Gayle Jr., who got fouled during a contested layup.
Gayle Jr., vs his former team, went to the line and drained both as Will Tschetter entered the game.
Christoph Tilly drove to the paint and got fouled by Tschetter, making both free throws to cut the deficit to 15-7.
Mara picked up an offensive foul while setting a screen for Lendeborg.
Royal drained a jumper in the paint over McKenney to cut the deficit to 15-9, followed by a turnover from Gayle Jr.
After back-to-back offensive rebounds and a Michigan turnover, Thornton cut the deficit to four with a contested jumper.
McKenney hit a three-pointer to extend the lead back to seven, followed by a contested jumper to push the lead to 20-11.
Johnson Jr. got put into a spin cycle by Tilly, who nearly got an and-one before the ball rolled off the rim with 11:11 to play, timeout.
Tilly missed the first but made the second as Michigan led 20-12.
Ohio State turned defense to offense after Johnson Jr. got blocked, followed by a John Mobley Jr. bunny.
Michigan returned the favor and got a steal and a lead pass to Burnett for the contested jam.
Elliot Cadeau got on the board with a contested three-pointer, taking a 25-14 lead with 8:36 to play, and Ohio State called a timeout.
Johnson Jr. got called for his second foul of the game during a contest, sending Royal to the line for two, making both.
Cadeau put on a dribbling display before making a runner in the lane.
Mobley Jr. followed suit with a layup of his own before Cadeau turned the ball over for Michigan’s fourth of the half.
Johnson Jr., with two fouls, and Mara, with one, with 7:06 to play in the half, had Michigan switching their defensive mindset.
Gayle Jr. picked up the Wolverines’ fifth foul of the half on a ticky-tack call.
Michigan turned defense into offense with Lendeborg’s massive dunk over Tilly.
Mobley Jr. drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit back to eight.
McKenney got a block, leading to a Mara contested jump hook.
Brandon Noel got a contested putback over two defenders before picking up his first foul of the game on defense.
Thornton played bully ball for a contested floater before stealing the ball and drawing a fastbreak foul on Cadeau with 3:51 to play as Ohio State cut the deficit to six.
Timeout.
Thornton went to the line out of the timeout and made both as the once double-digit lead was cut to four.
McKenney drained an uncontested jumper as his defender tried to draw an offensive foul.
Amare Bynum drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 33-30 with 2:21 to play.
Thornton turned the ball over on the next possession.
Gayle Jr. made a hustle play by grabbing an offensive rebound and putting the ball in the basket as Michigan took a five-point lead.
Thornton came down and hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer as the shot clock expired, as Michigan went cold before turning defense into offense as Gayle Jr. threw a lob to Mara with 30 seconds to play in the half.
Timeout, Ohio State, who trailed 37-33.
Michigan played full-court defense and got a turnover to Cadeau, who drove to the paint and got fouled, making both to push the lead to six.
Thornton made a floater at the buzzer to cut the once double-digit deficit to 39-35 at the half.
He finished the first half leading all scorers with 13 points, as Michigan had no answer for him.
McKenney was the top scorer for Michigan as he finished with 10 points, as Lendeborg (three points), Johnson Jr. (six points), Mara (four points), Burnett (five points), and Gayle Jr. (four points) all finished with single digits in the half.
Ohio State out-rebounded Michigan 19-14 in the first half.
2nd half
The men in maize opened the second half with the ball and put up a brick floater by Cadeau as Mobley Jr. cut the deficit to two with a jumper of his own.
Mara drew a foul on Tilly in the post, his first of the game.
Cadeau found Mara on an alley-oop layup for their first points of the half.
Sloppy play led to an uncontested jumper by Mobley Jr. as Johnson Jr. and Cadeau dove to the floor for the loose ball.
Johnson Jr. drained a three-pointer, followed by Mobley Jr., who followed suit with a three-pointer of his own.
A turnover led to a Tilly floater to tie the game at 44.
Johnson Jr. turned the ball over as Michigan looked completely shocked and out of focus for the matchup.
Ohio State fans got back into the game as they fought back in the matchup.
The old adage of rest vs. rust showed its ugly head as Michigan looked like they were still in bed for the early morning slate.
Bynum shot an airball that went out of bounds, leading to a timeout with 15:45 to play in the game.
A lob play between Gayle Jr. and Lendeborg wasn’t successful, but Thornton’s bully ball attempt turned into a turnover on the other end.
Mobely Jr. turned the ball over on the other end as both teams began to play sloppily, before Cadeau made a driving layup to take the lead.
Thornton bullied his way to the paint, drawing a foul on Gayle Jr., his second of the game.
Ohio State called a timeout with 14:09 to play.
Cadeau found Mara for another alley-oop; this time, he got fouled on the play, sending him to the line to cap off the and-one.
Gayle Jr. ran the floor and got tangled up between two defenders, leading to a jump ball and possession for Ohio State.
Thornton missed a wide-open three-pointer, which rimmed out.
Cadeau drew a foul on Thornton on the other end, his second and the team’s fifth of the game.
The North Carolina transfer made both free throws before getting called for a foul on the next play.
Trailing 51-44, Gabe Cupps drained a wide-open three-pointer before McKenny drove to the cut for two.
Cupps came back with a layup of his own before Thornton drained a wide-open three-pointer.
Mara caught another lob from Cadeau for the dunk, to the amazement of the crowd as Michigan took a 55-52 lead with 10:59 to play; timeout.
The lob-dunk was Mara’s second of the game.
Thornton tried to play bullyball on Johnson Jr., but turned the ball over after the timeout.
Mara drained a shot expiring jumper assisted by Lendeborg to take a five-point lead.
Mara, the Defensive Player of the Year, got his first block of the game, saved by McKenney, leading to a foul on Mara, sending him to the line for two.
He went to the line and made both to push the lead to 59-52 with 9:20 to play.
Tilly drove the ball on Mara for the contested layup.
McKenney got called for his first foul of the game, his team’s fourth with 8:33 to play.
Mara missed a bunny at the rim and then got called for his second foul of the game.
Thornton played bully ball and drew a foul on Burnett with 7:43 to play, nearly getting an and-one, but the ball rolled off the rim.
Thornton made both free throws to cut the deficit to three.
Tschetter got an offensive rebound, but Michigan turned the ball over on the possession.
Trailing by three, Ohio State big man Tilly missed a layup, leading to a Burnett foul, sending him to the line, where he missed the first and made the second.
Gayle Jr. got called for his third foul of the game, and Bynum went to the hole and missed the layup.
Bynum made both, cutting the deficit to 60-58 with under six minutes to play.
Ohio State took its first lead of the game with a three-pointer by Royal.
Gayle Jr. drew a foul and missed the front end of a one-in-one as they trailed for the first time in the game.
Tilly went to the line after getting fouled by Lendeborg for the front end of a one-in-one and made it, taking a 62-60 lead.
He stepped back to the line and missed the second.
Cadeau nearly made a three-point play as he drew a foul on Tilly while attacking the rim, his third of the game.
He made both to tie the game at 62 with 4:46 to play.
Michigan turned defense into offense as Johnson Jr. ran the floor after the stop and had his shot blocked after bouncing off the glass, taking a 64-62 lead.
Michigan forced a turnover, and Cadeau drew a fast-break foul on Thornton, his fourth of the game with 3:35 to play, sending him to the line for two.
Cadeau missed the first free throw but made the second as Michigan took a 65-62 lead.
Johnson Jr. got called for his third foul of the game, sending Thornton to the line for a one-in-one, making the first.
Thornton made the second as the deficit was cut to one with three minutes to play.
Cadeau got blocked at the rim on the next possession, but Mara picked up the loose ball and layed it in to take a three-point lead with under two minutes to play.
Ohio State called a timeout with 1:59 to play.
Out of the timeout, Thornton missed a jumper inside the paint, leading to a Mara defensive rebound.
Cadeau shot an uncontested three-pointer, but he bricked, leading to a defensive foul against Ohio State, sending Lendeborg to the line.
Lendeborg missed the first, but made the second as Michigan took a 68-64 lead with under 1:20 to play.
Thornton drove to the rim for a contested layup on Mara, but he missed, as Michigan got the rebound and May called a timeout with one minute to play.
Ohio State got a defensive stop as Mobley Jr. missed a layup, teammate Royal cleaned the glass and got fouled by Mara, sending him to the line.
Royal split the pair and fouled Cadeau with 20.7 to play.
Cadeau split the pair, leading to a Royal one-legged floater with 6.5 to play.
Timeout.
The Big Ten Player of the Year, Lendeborg, got fouled on the inbounds play with six seconds to play, leading by two.
He rimmed in the first one and closed the game with the second as Michigan took a 71-67 victory.