Michigan
22-7 (11-5)
Ohio State
22-7 (13-3)
Wolverines Upset No. 8 Buckeyes in Home Season Finale
2/18/2018 4:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Despite trailing for 8:38 of the first 20 minutes, the Wolverines regained the lead for good with 7:15 remaining in the first half.
» The win marks U-M's second victory over a higher-ranked foe this season.
» Michigan shot an impressive 57 percent (13-for-23) from the field in the second half to finish at 48 percent shooting for the game (25-for-52).
» Seniors Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Duncan Robinson, graduate student Jaaron Simmons and undergraduate student assistant Austin Hatch were honored with a Senior Day presentation prior to tipoff.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #22 Michigan 74, #8 Ohio State 62
Records: U-M (22-7, 11-5 Big Ten), OSU (22-7, 13-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Feb. 21 -- at Penn State, 7 p.m. (TV: BTN)
• Watch: Senior Day Postgame Report | Beilein Postgame Press Conference
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 22nd-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team defeated the 8th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 74-62, on Sunday (Feb. 18) inside Crisler Center. The win improved the Wolverines' home record to 15-1 and was their final home game of the season.
Prior to the game, Michigan basketball honored four Wolverines with a special presentation during Senior Day festivities: seniors Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Duncan Robinson, graduate student Jaaron Simmons and undergraduate student assistant Austin Hatch.
Four Wolverines scored in double figures in the win -- Abdur-Rahkman (17), freshman Jordan Poole (15), sophomore Zavier Simpson (13) and junior Mortiz Wagner (12).
The Wolverines forced four Ohio State turnovers in the first 3:17, despite the score being tied at 2 at the 17:17 mark. Both teams fought tooth-and-nail to the second media timeout, when Ohio State held a 13-10 edge over Michigan with 11:26 remaining.
The Wolverines used a corner triple from Poole and a Wagner slam dunk to regain the lead, 15-14, and get the Crisler Center crowd on its feet at 9:39. After an Ohio State bucket, Michigan went on an 11-2 run to earn its largest lead to that point, 26-18, at the 5:19 mark. The run began with a Poole layup followed by a triple from Abdur-Rahkman before a four-point play from Poole caused the Crisler crowd erupt once again. The run was capped by a layup from Simpson.
To finish out the half, Poole hit his third triple of the afternoon to extend Michigan's advantage to 31-25 with 1:55 remaining. Sophomore Jon Teske scored two more points at 1:09 and an Ohio State three-pointer sent Michigan into halftime with a 33-28 lead.
Michigan forced nine turnovers in the first half and scored 13 points off of turnovers.
The second half began with a free throw and layup from Wagner to grow U-M's lead to eight, 36-28, with 19:12 remaining. The Buckeyes used two three-point plays to cut their deficit to two points, 36-34, at 17:26. Abdur-Rahkman kept the Wolverines alive with a key pair of free throws and a layup at 15:09 to make it 40-39 before Abdur-Rahkman connected with Teske for a dunk and six-point U-M lead, 42-36, with 14:27 remaining.
With the Wolverines leading, 51-44, Teske stole the ball and found Simmons for a fast-break layup to get Crisler loud once again as the graduate student recorded his first points of the game and gave U-M a 53-44 lead with 10:40 to go.
At the 3:15 mark, captain Abdur-Rahkman hit a triple to give the Wolverines their first double-digit lead of the game, 65-53. U-M finished out the final minute of regulation with a pair of free throws from both Abdur-Rahkman and Robinson to earn a 74-62 victory over the rival Buckeyes.
Michigan shot an impressive 57 percent (13-for-23) from the field in the second half and 48 percent (25-for-52) for the game. Going into the contest, U-M was ranked second in the nation in turnovers per game (9.32). The Wolverines committed just seven turnovers this afternoon -- their 15th game of the season with single-digit turnovers and sixth straight. The win marks U-M's second victory over a higher-ranked foe this season.
Michigan will travel to Penn State on Wednesday (Feb. 21) for the first of two away games to finish out the regular season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
Tweet of the Game
We had the chance to honor our seniors before the game today.Â
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) February 18, 2018
Thank you for everything seniors! ??@J5immons @AustinHatch30 @theprophet_5 @D_Bo20 #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/J5kBF9c7zs
