Ohio State wasn’t able to overcome Michigan’s massive size advantage on the glass Sunday afternoon.
The significance of this one couldn’t be overstated. When Roddy Gayle Jr. stepped on the floor for warmups with over an hour to go before tipoff, he was greeted with a chorus of boos, jeers, and various four-letter words that I won’t type here.
The storylines wrote themselves. Gayle returning to Columbus for the first time since the Buckeyes’ loss to Georgia in the NIT and his subsequent transfer. Dusty May coaching against Jake Diebler as fellow coaches in their first years at Big Ten programs. Michigan’s pursuit of a Big Ten title, and Ohio State’s need for another resume win. Phew.
The game did not start well for the Buckeyes (15-11, 7-8), trailing Michigan (20-5, 12-2) at halftime and getting destroyed on the glass. They put themselves in a position to win the game on the final possession, but Thornton’s floater from seven feet away did not fall, and the Buckeyes lost to Michigan, 86-83.
The Wolverines hit five of their first seven shots, getting six points apiece from Nimari Burnett and Vlad Goldin to take a 12-10 lead at the first media timeout, 4:43 into the game. Ohio State got baskets from five different players in that timeframe, including three-point makes from Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr.
Danny Wolf Vlad Goldin@umichbball‘s big men team up for the highlight at rival Ohio State.#B1GMBBall on CBS pic.twitter.com/7PZtC0PJJ4
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 16, 2025
Jake Diebler clearly instructed his guys to double every post touch regardless if the ball was in the hands of 7-foot tall Vlad Goldin or 7-foot tall Danny Wolf. The Buckeyes swarmed the ball when either of them got it, but Michigan was perfect early on at finding the open man off the double team, assisting on each of their first five baskets.
The teams continued to trade baskets (literally) every other possession for the first seven minutes, but back-to-back three-pointers from Devin Royal and Ques Glover put the Buckeyes up 21-16 with 13:10 remaining in the first half. Glover was also knocked down by Burnett on the shot, but nothing was called as Ohio State took its first two-possession lead of the game.
Ohio State benefitted from a flagrant foul called against Will Tschetter to turn what would’ve been two missed free throws into a four-point possession, as Parrish was shoved to the ground on Stewart’s second miss. Parrish hit both free throws, and Thornton scored on the automatic possession to put the Buckeyes up, 26-24. However, Michigan scored the next four to make it 28-26 Wolverines with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half.
The Buckeyes went on a prolonged cold stretch where it hit just one of 12 shots and went over six minutes without a made basket. In the meantime, the Wolverines increased their lead from two to six points, making it 35-29 with 3:33 left until the halftime break.
This And-1‼️
Ques Glover makes the highlight-reel play for @OhioStateHoops #B1GMBBall on CBS pic.twitter.com/ewGSoloOQJ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 16, 2025
An acrobatic layup from Ques Glover cut the deficit to 42-39 with 34 seconds remaining in the half, but the Buckeyes weren’t able to box out Goldin on a missed Donaldson three-pointer at the buzzer, so Michigan went to the locker room with a 44-39 lead. Goldin had 12 first-half points to lead Michigan, which shot 46.9% in the first half and out-rebounded Ohio State 21-15.
Royal had 10 points in the first half for Ohio State, but the Buckeyes only had four made baskets in the last 9:38 of the opening stanza.
The Buckeyes tied the game, 61-61 by the first media timeout of the second half which by happenstance didn’t happen until the 13:34 mark. Thornton had a pair of driving layups and Mobley Jr. knocked down a pair of three-pointers, which tied things up for the first time in over 14 minutes.
Michigan went back ahead 67-65 with 10:40 on yet another dunk for Goldin, his third of the game. The Buckeyes still weren’t doing a lot to stop the Wolverines’ pair of seven-footers, but at the other end Rubin Jones and Tre Donaldson were having quite a hard time stopping Thornton and Mobley. Ohio State’s backcourt got them back in this game with over 10 minutes remaining.
Stewart tried to put back a missed Mobley floater with 9:15 remaining but was fouled by Burnett, and split the free throws to put Ohio State up, 68-67. It was Ohio State’s first lead since Mobley hit a trio of free throws in the first half to give Ohio State a 29-28 lead. However, Thornton and Royal both air-balled three-pointers right after, and Michigan scored below the basket to make it 71-68 Wolverines once again.
A Devin Royal and-one dunk off of a missed Thornton floater made it 78-76 with 3:48 remaining, but Wolf found Gayle on a backdoor cut with nobody near him for a wide open slam that brought a big grin to the face of the former Buckeye. That put Michigan up 80-76, but a Sean Stewart slam off a feed from Thornton got them back within two, 80-78, with 2:38 left on the clock. On the very next possession Thornton scored over the top of Donaldson to tie the game, 80-80, and Dusty May called a timeout.
Gayle scored again to put the Wolverines up two, and Goldin made it four on Michigan’s third attempt after grabbing multiple offensive rebounds. The Wolverines’ size advantage was Ohio State’s undoing all afternoon, and in a spot where they desperately needed a stop, it popped up again.
No. 20 @umichbball holds on at rival Ohio State.
Relive the final seconds of the back-and-forth game #B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/wwkz3aafSN
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 16, 2025
A late Parrish three put the Buckeyes in a spot to tie or win the game on the final possession, but Thornton’s floater did not fall, and Ohio State lost to their biggest rival, 86-83.
Royal led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting in a losing effort. He also knocked down a trio of three-pointers for the second time in his career. Thornton and Mobley combined for 33.
Goldin and Wolf combined for 37 points and 21 rebounds, including nine offensive rebounds. Michigan scored 46 points in the paint compared to Ohio State’s 34, and out-rebounded Ohio State 46-31.
If you weren’t around today to see Roddy Gayle and the 20th-ranked Wolverines roll into Columbus and beat the Buckeyes on their home floor, here were a key moments and plays that were critical in the Michigan win:
Burnett knocking them down early for Michigan
Nimari Burnett came into this game having hit seven three-pointers in his last three games, and was shooting 42.7% from deep. He knocked down two of them before the first media timeout, the second of which was a direct result of Ohio State doubling Wolf below the basket.
The senior finished with 11 points over 33 minutes, and was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Royal, Glover go back-to-back to put Ohio State up
After Roddy Gayle Jr. scored on a reverse layup to put the Wolverines up 16-15, Glover knocked down a triple from just in front of the Michigan bench to retake the lead, despite being knocked down by Burnett. On the very next Ohio State possession, Royal knocked down a straightaway three to make it 21-16 with 13:10 left in the first half. Both Royal and Glover lifted their arms to the crowd to make it loud, and the crowd obliged.
Glover played 10 minutes and scored five points on 2-for-2 shooting. He also had one assist and rebound apiece.
Free throw wedgie! And a flagrant!
With Michigan leading 24-22 and just over 10 minutes left in the first half, Mobley did a step-back that caused Michigan’s Will Tschetter to stumble backwards. Mobley lifted a three, but missed, with Sean Stewart coming down for the offensive rebound. Stewart was then fouled by Gayle as he went back up with it, sending him to the line for two.
Stewart missed both free throws that could’ve tied the game, with the second free throw perfectly wedging itself into the corner of the rim. The possession should have gone to Michigan, but upon review a flagrant foul was assessed to Will Tschetter, who shoved Parrish out of the lane on the miss.
Parrish knocked down both free throws, and on the ensuing possession Thornton knocked down a contested two-point jumper to put Ohio State up, 26-24.
Parrish had a tough game, scoring nine points on 2-for-11 shooting and was 1-for-6 from three. He committed three turnovers and grabbed three rebounds.
Stewart ties it, but Buckeyes don’t get back to stop Tschetter
Trailing 61-59 with 13:37 left in the game, Parrish drove to the basket but his struggles continued, missing the left-handed layup. However, Stewart was there for the putback, tying the game for the first time in over 14 minutes, 61-61.
On the Michigan inbounds, Jake Diebler was screaming at his team to quickly get to the other end, but Tschetter was able to streak down the floor like Jeremiah Smith and get open for a full-court inbound pass from Donaldson. Tschetter caught the pass, and Royal caught up and fouled him — his third — before Tschetter could shoot.
The Michigan bench gestured at the officials that he was shooting and should be given two free throws, but they called the foul on the floor. Danny Wolf scored on the next possession, making it 63-61.
Michigan wins the race to 69
Ohio State took a 68-67 lead for a few seconds on a Stewart free throw, but Thornton and Royal air-balled three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. In the meantime, Michigan got buckets from Wolf and Tschetter to go ahead 69-68 and then 71-68 with 7:25 remaining in the game.
Thornton’s floater ties it 80-80
After the three-time captain found Stewart for an open dunk to make it 80-78, Ohio State was able to force a Goldin miss and then went the other way, with Thornton driving to the basket and scoring over the top of Donaldson to tie the game up, 80-80.
The crowd started to get into it again, and Dusty May called a timeout with 1:54 left on the clock.
Goldin’s putback puts Michigan up 4 with 52 seconds left
After Roddy Gayle scored to put Michigan up two, Mobley tried to take the lead with a three-pointer but missed. On the next Michigan possession, the Buckeyes forced a miss from Wolf, but Goldin grabbed multiple offensive rebounds and was eventually able to drop it back in to make it 84-80 Wolverines.
Thornton’s second floater doesn’t fall
Ohio State had the ball, down two, with 16 seconds remaining. Bruce Thornton was matched up with Danny Wolf and drove to the basket, creating space and got a very good look from about seven feet away. However, his floater didn’t fall, and Michigan held on to win, 86-83.
What’s next?
Ohio State finishes up this three-game homestand against Northwestern on Thursday, February 20. The Wildcats have lost five of their last six games, fallen to 16th-place in the Big Ten, and are without second-leading scorer Brooks Barnhizer for the rest of the season.
Chris Collins’ Wildcats are No. 57 in the country according to KenPom and are No. 59 in the NET, so it will be a Quad-2 game for Ohio State. Northwestern has won the last two meetings between the two programs.
Ohio State’s game against Northwestern is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FS1.