Michigan basketball bashes Ohio State Buckeyes, 77-69: Game thread recap
Michigan Wolverines (12-10, 6-5 Big Ten) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-11, 3-8)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.
TV: CBS.
Radio: WWJ-AM (950) WTKA-AM (1050).
Line: Wolverines by 1½.
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Game notes: The hoops version of the rivalry between That Team Up North and That Team Down South hasn’t been nearly as lopsided as the football version, though, like their gridiron brothers, the Wolverines have the most recent win in the series, taking down the Buckeyes , 75-69, last March. A U-M win today would be the first streak for the Wolverines since they won in 2018 and 2019.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines have been two of the most disappointing squads in Big Ten play; both picked to finish in the top half of the league, U-M is barely holding on to the No. 9 seed while OSU sits in 12th. Despite that, they feature two of the top contenders for Freshman of the Year in OSU forward Brice Sensabaugh and U-M guard Jett Howard. Sensabaugh is averaging 17.4 points a game — good for fifth in the conference — as well as 5.4 rebounds and one steal while shooting 51.1% from the field and 47.5% on 3-pointers. Howard is close behind, at 14.6 points and 2.7 rebounds a game while hitting 43.3% fro the floor and 39.9% on 3s.
The big question is Howard’s ankle; he injured the joint against Minnesota on Jan. 22 and missed one game (Purdue) before returning with 21 points on Jan. 29 against Penn State. He wasn’t nearly as effective Thursday in Michigan’s win over Northwestern, hitting two of eight shots en route to eight points.
After their matchup today, the Wolverines will start getting ready for a visit from Nebraska (sitting in 13th in the conference, but definitely not a surprise) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, while the Buckeyes will head home to host Northwestern on Thursday.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball beats Ohio State, 77-69: Game thread recap
