Wolverines Head to Columbus for Rematch with Buckeyes

Sunday, March 1

Columbus, Ohio

4:00 PM

Michigan

Ohio State

(Michigan Photography)

Wolverines Head to Columbus for Rematch with Buckeyes

2/28/2020 1:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Tom Wywrot

» No. 19 Michigan will open March on the road against No. 23 Ohio State at Value City Arena.
» Earlier this season (Feb. 4), U-M fell, 61-58, to OSU at Crisler Center.
» Zavier Simpson is expected to play in his 144th career game in Columbus, tying Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman's all-time Michigan mark for most career games played.
» In his last four games, Franz Wagner has averaged 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 61.3 percent from the floor (27-for-44) and 41.1 percent from deep (7-for-17).
» Michigan has won its last four Big Ten road games.

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The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (18-10, 9-8 B1G) travels to Columbus, Ohio, to face No. 23 Ohio State in the second regular-season meeting on Sunday (March 1). Earlier this season, the Buckeyes bested the Wolverines with a 61-58 win Feb. 4 in Ann Arbor. The second match-up is at Value City Arena with a 4 p.m. tipoff. Kevin Harlan (p-by-play) and Dan Bonner (analyst) will be the CBS broadcast crew.

What You Need to Know for Today's Game

• Sunday's game marks the second meeting of the regular season between Michigan and Ohio State. The Buckeyes got the better of the Wolverines on Feb. 4 with a 61-58 victory at Crisler Center.
• Michigan saw its five-game winning streak come to an end with an 81-74 loss to Wisconsin Thursday (Feb. 27) at Crisler Center.
• Michigan is 25th in the NCAA Net rating system. With the Big Ten's continued overall strength this season and U-M's challenging non-conference slate, the Wolverines' schedule continues to be listed as one of the best in the nation -- 2nd (Sagarin; 14th rated team), 3rd (ESPN's BPI; 14th rated team) and 3rd (KenPom; 13th rated team).
• 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).
• In his last four games, Franz Wagner has averaged 16.7 points and 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.
• Isaiah Livers has missed two free throws as he leads U-M at 95.3 percent (41-for-43). He is 33-for-33 over his last 10 games and a perfect 31-for-31 in Big Ten play. The two misses were in the Bahamas at the Battle 4 Atlantis -- vs. Iowa State (4-for-5; Nov. 27) and vs. North Carolina (0-for-1; Nov. 28).
• Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske are the all-time winningest Wolverines with 107 career victories. The duo passed the record of 104 against Indiana (89-65; Feb. 1).
• Simpson is expected to play in his 144th career game at Ohio State (March 1). It would tie him for the all-time U-M record held by former teammate Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (144). Meanwhile, Jon Teske has played in 106 consecutive games for the Wolverines and has 126 career games under his belt.
• Simpson is second the nation with a 7.9 assist average and first overall with his 213 total assists. This is 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 career 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 make him the first Wolverine to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
• Reaching 1,000 points, Simpson (1,037 points, 644 assists) became the fourth Wolverine with 1,000 points/500 assists, joining Gary Grant (2,222 points, 731 assists; 1985-88), Rumeal Robinson (1,446 points, 575 assists; 1988-90) and Antoine Joubert (1,594 points, 539 assists; 1984-87).
• Teske (606) became the 29th Wolverine to reach 600 rebounds in a career. Hhe leads the team with 7.1 per game and has had 5+ boards in 23 games. Additionally, Teske moved into a tie for fifth for blocked shots with 161.
• Austin Davis has shot 22-for-30 (73.3%) from the field over his last nine games. This season, "Big Country" has come off the bench to average 4.8 points and 2.7 rebounds. During this stretch, he posted his first career double-figure game with 11 against Ohio State (Feb. 4).

Who are the Ohio State Buckeyes?

• Ohio State hosts U-M with a 19-9 overall record, including a 9-8 mark in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have won two straight conference games after a Thursday night (Feb. 27) win at Nebraska (75-54). In fact, the Buckeyes have won four of their last five games and seven of nine.
• Three players are scoring in double figures for the Buckeyes, led by junior center Kaleb Wesson's 14.0 points per game. Wesson also averages a team-high 9.6 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Duane Washington Jr. adds 11.0 per game. Freshman guard D.J. Carton, who averages 10.4, remains on personal leave while he addresses personal and mental health issues.
• Ohio State is holding opponents to just 39.1 percent shooting from the field, third-best in the Big Ten and 21st nationally. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten and rank 21st in the country in three-point percentage, shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc. Five players are shooting better than 40 percent individually from three, led by senior forward Andre Wesson at 45.7 percent (41-of-94).
• Ohio State allows just 62.3 points per game, which is third-best in the Big Ten and 19th in the country. An opponent has surpassed 70 points six times against the Buckeyes, who average 72.0 per game.
• Seven Buckeyes have 20+ three-pointers, led by Washington's 47. Andre Wesson has 41, and Kaleb Wesson has 39. Overall, 42 percent of OSU's offense is from long range.
• Chris Holtmann is in his third season as head coach at Ohio State, having guided the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament in each of the first two seasons. Holtmann came to Columbus from Butler, where he led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in each of his three seasons (2015, '16, '17).

Earlier This Season against Ohio State

• In a game that featured 19 lead changes and was tied nine times, Michigan dropped a 61-58 decision to Ohio State on Feb. 4 at Crisler Center.
• With U-M trailing 57-56 with 33 seconds left, Zavier Simpson drove down the lane and was fouled by Kyle Young. However, as Simpson was falling out of bounds he grabbed Young's jersey, ripping it, and was assessed a flagrant foul. After Simpson made his two free throws, Young made his as the Buckeyes held on to the one-point lead (59-58). After U-M trapped OSU, the Wolverines nearly got the ball before a foul was called. The Buckeyes' C.J. Walker made his two free throws, Eli Brooks' last-second triple missed, and OSU escaped with the victory.
• Simpson led the Wolverines with 15 points (seven rebounds, five assists), while Franz Wagner pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds (eight points). Austin Davis came off the bench for a strong 14 minutes and had a career game for U-M, scoring 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting.
• For the Buckeyes, Kaleb Wesson guided OSU with a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Duane Washington Jr. made three three-pointers and had 17 points off the bench.
• The Wolverines, who were without the services of leading scorer Isaiah Livers, made 10 three-pointers in the loss as Simpson had three while Wagner, Brooks and Brandon Johns Jr. had two apiece.

The All-Time Series with Ohio State

• Sunday's game will be the 184th all-time meeting between Michigan and Ohio State.
• U-M trails in the all-time series, 79-104. Michigan holds a 49-39 record in Ann Arbor, with the Wolverines winning four of the last six. U-M has a 28-59 record in Columbus, winning just once in the last 13 games. U-M has a 2-6 record in neutral-site games, with the last coming in the 1999 Big Ten Tournament, an 87-69 U-M loss.
• Michigan has 10 games (7-3) against Ohio State vacated by the Wolverines due to NCAA sanctions -- giving U-M a recognized 72-100 all-time record. Additionally, the Buckeyes have eight games (1-7) vacated by the NCAA.
• 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 points or fewer. 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.
• Longest U-M win streak: seven games (two times).
• Longest U-M losing streak: eight games (Feb. 18, 1967 to Jan. 15, 1972)
• Largest U-M Victory: +39 (100-61) at Michigan on Feb. 20, 1965
• Largest U-M Loss: -47 (99-52) at Ohio State on Feb. 1, 1960
• U-M Victories by 10+ Points: 44 | U-M Losses by 10+ Points: 53
• U-M's average margin in wins: +10.9 | U-M's average margin in losses: -11.2
• All-Time U-M Points: 11,199 (61.2) | All-Time Ohio State Points: 11,505 (62.9)