Michigan
20-4,14-3Big Ten
Ohio State
21-8,12-8Big Ten
Michigan Comeback Falls Short in Semifinal Against Ohio State
3/13/2021 4:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan's 11-0 run in the final four minutes came up just short in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal game.
» Hunter Dickinson scored 21 points, nine of which came in the final four minutes.
» The Wolverines made a season-best 21 free throws on 23 attempts.
Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Lucas Oil Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
Score: #9 Ohio State 68, #4 Michigan 67
Records: U-M (20-4), OSU (21-9)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 14 -- NCAA Tournament Selection Show, 6 p.m. (TV: CBS)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit to come within one point in the final 48 seconds of the game but it was not enough as the Wolverines fell, 68-67, to No. 9 Ohio State in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal game on Saturday afternoon (March 13) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Freshman Hunter Dickinson scored nine points in the final 3:40 during the U-M comeback. The freshman ended the day with his fifth career 20-point appearance, posting a team-best 21 points, while grabbing eight rebounds and adding one block and one steal. Senior Eli Brooks and Mike Smith scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Franz Wagner had eight points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks before fouling out late in the second half.
U-M made a season-best 21 free throws on 23 trips to the line, with junior Brandon Johns Jr. going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.
Michigan had to battle back from a small deficit in the first eight minutes of the first half but coming out of the under 12-minute timeout, the Wolverines went on a 7-0 run, including a Wagner's second three-pointer to take its first lead of the game, 18-14, with 9:22 to go.
The Buckeyes responded to Michigan's run U-M run with an 8-0 run, and a four-minute U-M scoring drought helped Ohio State take a 21-18 advantage until Wagner made a pair of free throws and Brooks scored off an OSU turnover to swing the lead back to the Wolverines.
Johns scored the final five points of the half with five free throws, and U-M went into the halftime break with a one-point lead, 27-26. Wagner filled his stat line in the first half with eight points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Johns had five points and four rebounds in 10 minutes of work.
Ohio State went go up as many as five points early in the second half, but a Wagner block and lead pass to Smith, who dropped a three-pointer with 14:55Â left knotted the score at 36. Michigan fell victim to another scoring drought, and the Buckeyes went on an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 56-45 with just over seven minutes to play in the contest.
Dickinson put the team on his back in the closing minutes, scoring nine points and adding a rebound and a steal to pull the Wolverines within four, 68-64, with 1:29 on the clock. Ohio State committed a costly turnover, and the ball wound up back in Michigan's hands. Chaundee Brown Jr. dropped in a timely three-pointer to bring Michigan within one, 68-67, with 48 seconds left.
Ohio State used a timeout but turned the ball over on the inbounds play to give U-M one last chance at the winning basket. With two seconds on the clock, Smith took a stepback jumper that hit the back of the rim and Michigan could not corral the rebound as time expired.
The Wolverines now will wait for the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday (March 14) to find out who will be their opponent in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The show is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on CBS.
