Wolverines survive Buckeyes’ late rally
NO. 3 MICHIGAN 92, NO. 4 OHIO STATE 87
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a virtually empty Value City Arena, the matchup between No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Ohio State in February looked more like an intense NCAA Tournament game in March: good shooting, timely three-pointers, fierce play under the rim, few mistakes and some late drama.
After six ties in the second half, Michigan pulled away in the final minutes and then held off Ohio State 92-87 Sunday in a meeting that showcased two teams aiming for No. 1 seeds next month.
“It was like a boxing match,” Michigan Coach Juwan Howard said. “One team delivered a blow. The other team delivered another blow. It went back and forth. Our guys showed their mental toughness through some of those ups and downs.”
The win also highlighted the importance of Michigan’s 7-1 freshman center Hunter Dickinson, who had several inches and considerable reach on Ohio State’s big men. He led the Wolverines with 22 points and nine rebounds, hitting all six of his foul shots.
“I thought his length and size bothered us,” Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann acknowledged.
Michigan (16-1, 11-1 Big Ten) had pulled away and led by nine with 23 seconds left. But a pair of three-pointers from Duane Washington Jr. around a layup by CJ Walker got the Buckeyes within three points with 3 seconds to go.
Ohio State was forced to foul, and Eli Brooks hit both of his free throws to seal Michigan’s fifth consecutive win, a run that came around a three-week break due to covid-19 issues.
Brooks had 17 points, Chaundee Brown Jr. came off the bench to score 15 and Isaiah Livers added 12 for Michigan, which snapped Ohio State’s seven-game win streak.
Washington had a career-high 30 points and went 5 for 10 on three-pointers for the Buckeyes (18-5, 12-5). E.J. Liddell had 23 to go along with 10 rebounds.
“It was a great game, man,” Washington said. “Two top 5 teams, and I thought we competed at a really high level. We were in a good position to bring it home. Basketball is a game of runs and they had theirs toward the end there, and we just got to be a little better in the closing stretch.”
Both teams shot 53% from the floor.
NO. 6 HOUSTON 90, CINCINNATI 52
HOUSTON — Quentin Grimes had 20 points and eight rebounds, and No. 6 Houston used a big first half to roll past Cincinnati.
Tramon Mark scored 12 points, DeJon Jarreau added 11 points and five rebounds, and Fabian White Jr. had 10 points and nine rebounds for Houston (18-3, 12-3 American Athletic). The Cougars shot 47% and hit 19 of 21 from the free throw line.
The Cougars forced Cincinnati into 13 turnovers, which Houston converted into 22 points.
The margin of victory was the largest for either team in the series, besting a 115-78 win by the Bearcats in Dec. 1998. Cincinnati leads the series with Houston 34-6.
Jeremiah Davenport scored 11 points and Tari Eason added 10 points for the Bearcats (7-8, 5-5), who saw their fourgame winning streak snapped. Cincinnati shot 30%.
Houston outscored the Bearcats 32-7 over the final 11 minutes of the first half to take a 50-26 lead at the break. Jarreau scored nine points and Mark had eight in the half-ending run.
The Cougars shot 9 of 18 from the floor and hit 13 of 13 from the freethrow line during that stretch, while Cincinnati was 2 of 15 from the floor and did not have a field goal over the final five minutes of the half.
NO. 11 IOWA 74, PENN STATE 68
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Luka Garza scored 23 points to become Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, and the 11thranked Hawkeyes beat Penn State.
Garza has 2,126 points for Iowa, breaking the record of 2,116 points set by Roy Marble from 1985-89. Garza scored 12 points in the first half to get within a point of Marble and passed the mark with a layup off a pass from Jordan Bohannon at the 8:18 mark of the second half.
Garza also had 11 rebounds.
It was the fourth consecutive win for Iowa (17-6, 11-5 Big Ten).
Garza, who came into the game as the nation’s leading scorer at 24.7 points per game, scored 10 consecutive points in Iowa’s 13-2 second-half run after the game was tied at 54. Penn State (7-12, 4-11) went six minutes without a point in the second half.
CJ Fredrick added 18 points for the Hawkeyes.
Izaiah Brockington and Myreon Jones each had 11 points to lead Penn State.
EVANSTON, Ill. — Micah Potter scored 19 points, D’Mitrik Trice had 13 and No. 21 Wisconsin shut down lowly Northwestern.
Jonathan Davis and Brad Davison added 12 points apiece, helping Wisconsin (16-8, 10-7 Big Ten) bounce back from consecutive losses to No. 3 Michigan and No. 11 Iowa.
With a matchup against No. 5 Illinois looming on Saturday, Wisconsin used its deep roster and stingy defense to avoid a three-game slide. Led by Potter, the Badgers had a 31-16 advantage in bench points. They also forced 14 turnovers.
Northwestern (6-14, 3-13) lost its 13th consecutive game. Boo Buie scored 19 points.