Fab Five Takeaways: Impassioned Michigan Squad Beats Rival Ohio State

No. 3 Michigan Wolverines basketball took down No. 4 Ohio State in Columbus Sunday afternoon, 92-87. With the win, the Maize and Blue remain atop the Big Ten standings at 10-1 in league play and take one step closer to a conference title.

Here are five takeaways from the victory.

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RELATED: Box Score

While many different Michigan players stepped up, freshman center Hunter Dickinson's contributions proved the most crucial in this win. In 29 minutes, Dickinson posted 22 points (8-14 FG, 6-6 FT), nine rebounds and two assists, with only one turnover.

Dickinson was a little slow out of the gate, missing his first two shots and four of his first five, but he settled in after that on the offensive end, scoring 20 points in the final 27 minutes and 16 in the second half on 5-of-7 from the field.

His performance after the break was especially important, since Michigan failed to find success from beyond the arc after lighting it up in the first half (10-of-13). Perhaps his best play was a two-handed slam with 4:15 to go, which gave the Wolverines a 75-72 edge.

Dickinson had a tough task defensively going up against OSU sophomore forward E.J. Liddell, who is a high-level player on both the perimeter and the interior, but he held his own, especially in the later stages, and blocked two shots — including one on Liddell with 1:23 to go to help seal the game.

We'll start by saying this — it was a high level offensive game from both teams. In a loss, Ohio State scored 1.299 points per possession to Michigan's ridiculous 1.415 points per play.

The Wolverines were lights out shooting the three in the first half, making 10 from deep. But after senior guard Eli Brooks' corner three with 16:52 to go in the game, Michigan missed its final nine shots from beyond the arc.

Going that cold from long range doesn't seem like a formula for success. But the Wolverines were able to adjust and still find the open guy. After Ohio State double-teamed Dickinson in the post plenty in the first half — leaving shooters with more space on the outside — the Buckeyes went away from that strategy just a bit in the second, and Michigan made them pay.

Michigan's size advantage ended up winning out. After scoring 14 of its 45 first-half points in the paint and relying primarily on jump shooting, the Maize and Blue were able to cash in with 22 points in the painted area and a 50-percent shooting percentage on twos in the second half.

The ability to win in different ways is something that is extremely important come March and do-or-die time. The Wolverines haven't had many close games this season — with just five games being decided by single digits — so on top of getting any sort of win, being able to do so against top-tier competition and while playing different styles of basketball means great things for them going forward.