On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Ohio State (12-5, 2-4 Big Ten) fell to Michigan (7-10, 2-4 Big Ten) 73-65 in front of a raucous crowd at the Crisler Centre in Ann Arbour, Mich.
Bruce Thornton, a sophomore guard who scored seven points in the first half, finished 3-9 from the floor, including 1-5 on several fast break threes. Thornton shot 2–17 from downtown during those final five quarters.
Devin Royal, a freshman forward, was one bright spot for Ohio State as he scored seven points and pulled down three rebounds in just six minutes off the bench. Royal trails senior Zed Key and junior Felix Okpara in the scoring column and has not played in the past two games, both of which have been losses. He also averages less than eight minutes per game.
Senior forward Jamison Battle, who had been on fire the previous few games, was largely kept out of the scoring in the opening game by Michigan guard Nimari Burnett, who smothered him defensively.
But Nkamhoua got off to a blazing start. This season, the Tennessee transfer is averaging over 17 points per game, but he scored just 12 in the first half.
But the Wolverines had balanced scoring from all over the court, not just from Nkamhoua. Senior forward Terrance Williams II and sophomore guard Dug McDaniel, who leads the team in points, both had eight in the first quarter.
McDaniel scored nine points ahead of Michigan going into the half with a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
After halftime, head coach Chris Holtmann must have energised his team because the Buckeyes emerged from the locker room a completely different team.
Evan Mahaffey, a sophomore forward, scored the opening basket in just 3.5 minutes of the second half with back-to-back baskets in the paint. Battle then got hot from the field with a huge dunk. Not too long after, Battle returned to the floor and made a three off a pick-and-pop.
With twelve minutes remaining, Michigan led nine points in the second half until Ohio State rallied. Thanks to a comeback from Thornton and Gayle, the Buckeyes took a 16-0 lead in just four minutes.
Up to the very end of the game, the teams traded baskets and leads. While Michigan let Ohio State get closer, the Buckeyes did the same, continuing their pattern of finishing the game later than expected.
Despite Thornton’s 19 points in the end, Ohio State was unable to maintain its lead, and Michigan won their second straight conference game by taking advantage of the Buckeyes’ carelessness and open shooting opportunities beyond the arc.
The Buckeyes take on Penn State in Columbus on Saturday at noon, live on Big Ten Network.
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