The No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes (19-9, 9-8) host the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines (18-10, 9-8) on Sunday for a 4:00 pm tip off on CBS. Michigan comes into this game following a tough loss at home Thursday night to the Wisconsin Badgers. They had won five in a row prior to the loss. The Buckeyes come into the game following a 72-54 win at Nebraska on Thursday, which came a few days after a 79-72 win over Maryland. Ohio State won the first meeting with Michigan this year (61-58).
Opening Tip
Who: Michigan at Ohio State
What: Men’s Basketball
Where: Columbus, OH — Value City Arena
When: Sunday 4:07 pm (CBS)
Why: Do you really need a reason when it’s Meechigan?
Line: Ohio State -3.5
The Ohio State Buckeyes
Three-Point Territory
+ Ohio State leads the all-time series with Michigan 98-78. The Buckeyes are 56-27 in Columbus and 38-48 in Ann Arbor. The teams have
met six times on a neutral court with Ohio State owning a 4-2 record in those games. Ranked Ohio State teams are 35-10 against the Wolverines while Michigan is 28-15 when ranked in games vs. the Buckeyes. When both teams are ranked when facing one another, the series is tied 7-all. Andre Wesson has faced the Wolverines five times, most on the Ohio State roster. He averages 3.8 points and just over two rebounds in the series. Kaleb Wesson averages 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in four career meetings.
+ Three Buckeyes scored in double figures in the win over Nebraska: Kaleb Wesson (16), Duane Washington Jr. (14) and CJ Walker (15). Holtmann’s Ohio State teams are 55-3 when building a double-digit lead in a game, including a 27-1 record vs. Big Ten opponents. Duane Washington Jr. connected on four made 3-pointers. He has made at least one three-point shot in 18 of the last 25 games that he’s played in. Kaleb Wesson recorded his 16th career double-double and his 11th of the season. E.J. Liddell blocked five shots, a career high for the freshman. The last time a Buckeye rejected five opponent shot attempts was Jan. 14, 2018 by Keita Bates-Diop vs. Rutgers.
+ Last week in a pair of games vs. Top 20 foes, Ohio State had five players averaged 10 or more points and another contributes 9.5 points. Duane Washington Jr. led with 14.5 points a game in a split at No. 20 Iowa and vs. No. 7 Maryland. Kaleb Wesson and Luther Muhammad each averaged 12.5 ppg. CJ Walker contributed 12.5 ppg. ahead of Andre Wesson (10.5 ppg.) and E.J. Liddell’s 9.5 ppg. The Buckeyes are 4-0 vs. Top 10 teams this season and, again, five Buckeyes average 10 or more points.
Vs. Top 10 Vs. Top 25
Washington Jr. 13.3 ppg. 12.4 ppg.
Carton 11.3 ppg. 10.2 ppg.
K. Wesson 11.3 ppg. 12.4 ppg.
Muhammad 10.5 ppg. 7.9 ppg.
The Michigan Wolverines
What You Need To Know
+ In his last game, Zavier Simpson scored a career-high 32 points, going 14-for-22 from the field. He is the first Wolverines to score 30+ since Charles Matthews had 31 against Alabama A&M (Dec. 21, 2017). Simpson is second the nation with a 7.9 assist average and first overall with his 213 total assists. This season he has his second straight season of 200+ assists after finishing last season with 244, which was just 16 dimes away from Trey Burke’s U-M record 260 (2012-13). Simpson became the 55th Wolverine in history to score 1,000 points (1,037) and has averaged a career-best 13.0 points per game this season. With his 644 career assists, Simpson needs to grab 38 rebounds to give him 500 for his career and help him become the first Wolverine to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists.
+ In his last four games, Franz Wagner has averaged 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds while shooting 61.3 percent from the floor (27-for-44) and 41.1 percent from deep (7-for-17). During the stretch, he scored a career-best 22 points at Purdue — the second 20+ point game of his career.
+ Over the last five games, the Wolverines have averaged just 6.8 turnovers per game with four games of eight-or-fewer including three at Purdue. Overall, U-M’s 10.7 per game is 15th in the nation. Michigan is shooting a Big Ten best 46.2 percent from the field.
+ There have been 14 games when both Michigan and Ohio State were ranked among the nation’s top 25. U-M and OSU are tied 7-7, however, the last time it happened the Wolverines claimed a 72-69 win at the 2014 Big Ten Tournament on March 15, 2014. There have been 34 games decided by three-or-fewer points. U-M trails 14-20, with the last game coming earlier this season at Michigan when the Buckeyes claimed a 61-58 decision. There have been eight overtime games in the all-time series, with U-M leading 6-2. The last OT contest was a 76-74 decision going to the Wolverines in overtime at Crisler Center on Feb. 5, 2013.
+ Michigan is averaging 75.4 points per game with five players averaging in double figures — Isaiah Livers (13.4), Zavier Simpson (13.0), Jon Teske (11.8), Franz Wagner (11.2) and Eli Brooks (11.0). With four Big Ten games left, Michigan’s 75.4 points per game is the most since the 2012- 14 (75.2) season. In fact, since 1997-98 (21 seasons), U-M has averaged over 75 points in a season six times — 1992-93 (81.9), 1993-94 (79.8), 1997-98 (77.4), 1999-2000 (75.5), 2012-14 (75.2) and 2016-17 (75.0). U-M is shooting 46.2 percent from the field, which leads the Big Ten and ranks 52nd in the nation. The Wolverines have had 12 games shooting above 50 percent from the field with a season-high vs. Iowa State (57.7%).