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Not an hour had passed and Duane Washington Jr. saw the future.
“We will definitely see them again,” he said.
His Buckeyes had just suffered a 92-87 loss to Michigan, their second in a 12-game streak in which they rose to become the nation’s No.4 team. Following the shooting, he had an idea that they would see each other again. Or, at the very least, he hoped it would.
| who | Or | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Michigan (20-3, 14-3) |
Indianapolis, Indiana (Lucas Oil Stadium) |
13 hours |
CBS |
This weekend, he will make his wish come true.
Fifth-seeded Ohio State earned an 87-78 overtime victory, avoiding a totally catastrophic loss to fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday, advancing to the semi-finals of the Big Ten tournament where he will face the Michigan, first favorite. The Wolverines, now pitted against the Buckeyes again, dominated Maryland in the Lucas Oil Stadium quarterfinals to get to this point.
“I told you earlier in another interview that we were going to see them again, and here it is,” Washington said on Friday. “So we’re super excited. About to finish this interview with you guys, go get some recovery, and see you at 1 tomorrow. Go through the game plan stuff, stay locked in, do what we need to do to get out with the voice acting and survive and move on. The guys are locked and loaded.
So far, the state of Ohio has narrowly won twice. It won’t be easier in the next game.
Michigan, the nation’s fourth team, has proven itself as one of the best varsity basketball teams, knocking out Iowa, Wisconsin and Purdue, as well as the Buckeyes. He has a top-five offense and a top-five defense, has an enviable mix of experience and youth, and scored 92 points on Ohio State the first time they shot the opponent on Saturday.
Once again, the Buckeyes will need a little magic from EJ Liddell, Duane Washington Jr. and company.
“I think they’re still a bit off of this one,” said head coach Chris Holtmann after Friday’s win. “They understand that we play a great Michigan team, well trained and really, really good. We have to defend much better than we did in the first game. We need to defend better. But we kind of have to get our legs under us and be able to respond quickly to a team that is a really complete team offensively and defensively. I think these are the big challenges that await us at the moment, is that we have to rest and react.
Three things to watch out for
Can wolverines be confined offensively?
No team has lit up the Buckeyes this season like the Wolverines.
They set the opponent’s single-game highs in points, points per possession, 3-point percentage, effective field goal percentage and adjusted offensive efficiency. In short, they did what they wanted. Seven-foot freshman Hunter Dickinson lost 22 points with nine tables, Eli Brooks (17 points) and Chaundee Brown (15 points) each hit a line of 3, Isaiah Livers had 12 points and Mike Smith had recorded 11 points and seven assists. Franz Wagner, a potential NBA Draft Lottery selection in a few months, had just nine points, but that didn’t affect his team’s productivity much.
Given Ohio state’s lingering defensive issues, it’s hard to understand exactly how Holtmann can make things harder for the Wolverines. But somehow, as the head coach said, he has to find a way to get there.
It all starts with the way the Buckeyes address Dickinson. Do they let their big men take her one-on-one with limited help? Do they team up with him or make him run guys? They tried both, and in the first half he hit his teammates open for 3 points, then in the second half he got his buckets at the post. Ohio State will want great days for EJ Liddell and Zed Key if he has a chance to unbalance Michigan’s offense. Kyle Young’s status is unclear given the fact that he was assessed for a concussion after the game.
Aside from the Dickinson issue, Ohio State will look to Washington, Judge Sueing, Justin Ahrens and CJ Walker for better guard and wing defense. It’s no secret that Michigan has an array of ways of injuring teams in these positions.
A ridiculous shot is required again
Michigan will collect a lot of points. It might as well be a guess, and if that doesn’t happen, the state of Ohio may be okay with it. But Saturday’s game is almost certainly going to call the Buckeyes blow for blow in a high scoring affair.
It worked well last time around – until Sueing’s late turnover put his team in a two possession hole. Washington clocked a career-high 30 points on 12 of 18 shots, and Liddell had a double-double with 23 points and 10 tables. Walker (15 points) was the only other Buckeye with more than six points.
The state of Ohio needs two simple things to happen.
Washington and Liddell must once again make tough shots, make smart decisions and score tons of points. They are the two best offensive players, have proven to be tough clashes for the Wolverines and continue to perform well with more consistency than ever before.
The others must produce more. It doesn’t matter if it’s Walker, Ahrens, Sueing, Key, Musa Jallow, Young, Gene Brown or Meechie Johnson. They have to act in their roles, do plays and hit punches when called upon.
These Buckeyes hit a ton of tough shots and made Michigan a solid defense a pedestrian a few weeks ago. Can they do it again? We’re about to find out.
The same question we keep asking
Do you still have enough? Me too.
But until the state of Ohio can put an end to questions about its ability to complete games, it will continue to be asked.
The Buckeyes escaped an 18-point halftime lead on Friday, only beating Purdue after the game in overtime. They watched a 12-point lead over Minnesota with 1:38 left to make a one-point turn with 15 seconds left the day before.
Somehow they avoided losses despite those second half errors. However, if these issues reappear on Saturday, they could spell the end of this tournament’s race.
Prediction: Michigan 89, Ohio State 83
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