OSU Michigan Notes
That said, Michigan won the game on the defensive end, where it held the Buckeyes to .91 points per trip, and in some part it has the Buckeyes to thank. Shooting guard William Bufordstruggled yet again, going 3-of-12 and continuing his senior slump. Credit the Wolverines for forcing the Bucks into perimeter jump shots, but also blame Ohio State, which often settled for those jumpers without first attempting to get Sully into an iso situation on the low block. When Sullinger did touch the ball, the Buckeyes usually got a score. They figured this out eventually, which is what got them back into the game in the second half. But it was too little, too late. You wouldn’t think you’d need to “figure out” that you should probably give the ball to Sullinger because, you know, he’s really good.
Look, Ohio State remains a very good defensive team. After all, holding Michigan to 56 points on its own floor is no easy task. But the Buckeyes’ offense, particularly its perimeter shooting (or lack thereof), looks like a serious liability. It lurched helplessly against Michigan State’s defense last Saturday, and it played right into Michigan’s hands tonight. As a result, OSU allowed its sworn rival to tie it in the league standings, a game behind MSU in the loss column. If the Buckeyes can’t fix these problems, their March ceiling — once as limitless as any team’s in the country — will suffer accordingly.
Feb 25th Bilas: The Bilas Index has been favoring Michigan over every other metric (BPI No. 30) because my eyes tell me that the Wolverines are better than their numbers indicate. Going into the Ohio State game, Michigan had shot 50 percent or better in two straight games for the first time all season. And Michigan shot 56 percent in the second half against OSU in a game the officials allowed to be a wrestling match. Such a physical foul fest does not favor Michigan — the Wolverines were bumped and impeded on cuts, and Burke was bounced around — yet it won a street fight of a game by matching Ohio State’s physicality. Burke is the real thing. He was the star of the game with 17 points and some really big plays off the dribble.
