Michigan got off to a slow start in a 65-49 win over Ohio State, but the Wolverines made a run at the end of the first half and rolled in the second on the way to their ninth conference win against one loss.
U-M fell behind early, 7-2, with Ohio State big man Kaleb Wesson scoring the first five points of the game. Michigan would end up playing from behind for the first 10 minutes. Frosh Ignas Brazdeikis cut a 12-6 lead to 12-10 with a pair of free throws, but the Buckeyes controlled the offensive glass early, turning three rebounds on that end into four second-chance points.
Sophomore Jordan Poole, meanwhile, struggled out of the gate again. He missed his first six jump shots, scoring only on a breakaway lay-up. He finally hit his first three-pointer in five attempts, his third on the possession, to cut a 17-12 deficit to two.
U-M finally tied it up at 19 on an Isaiah Livers triple at 8:10. Poole hit his second in a row at 7:05 to give U-Ms its first lead, 22-19.
The Buckeyes proved they weren't going to go down without a fight. C.J. Jackson scored five straight, three from the line, to put the Buckeyes back up before redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews hit a triple at 3:05 to put the Wolverine back up … and back and forth they went.
U-M, though, took control at the half with a late un. Brazdeikis hit a triple in transition and Matthews tipped in his own transition miss to make it 32-26 at the break.
Poole led the Wolverines with eight points, while Matthews and Brazdeikis added seven each. Wesson and Jackson had nine each for Ohio State.
U-M shot 11-for-28 in the first half to 10-of-22 for the Buckeyes. OSU outrebounded Michigan 17-11.
SECOND HALF
Michigan was discombobulated offensively to start the second half, turning it over three times before finally scoring at 17:20 on a cut and finish by Brazdeikis.
Still, the defense was stellar, and Poole from Simpson in transition at the 15-minute mark gave U-M its biggest lead, 36-29. A Livers triple after an OSU bucket expanded it to eight.
Poole drew an offensive foul and tripled to push it to 11 again, and Michigan was in control at the 12:35 mark. The Wolverines still led by 11 at 10:23 after another Brazdeikis triple from the corner.
Simpson then turned it up. He ran the court to block Wesson’s shot, and he finally hit a triple, his first in four attempts, to make it 50-38. Wesson went after Simpson at 8:05 after a U-M stop, and the two teams had to be separated. Wesson picked up his third and fourth fouls when he got a technical (offset by Simpson’s), sending him to the bench.
He wouldn't return.
Junior big man Jon Teske’s two free throws extended the lead to 52-38; two more from Poole made it 54-38 at 7:34, and the Wolverines were rolling.
It was 59-41 after a Livers three, and all that was in question was whether or not Simpson would finish with a triple double against his home state team. He picked up his ninth rebound at the four-minute mark to go with nine points and 11 assists, and he scored on his patented hook shot at 3:26, giving him 11 points.
Simpson brought the house down with his 10th rebound at 2:55 ... he'd add a steal and a 12th assist, setting Livers up for a dunk that made it a 20-point game at 65-45, before leaving to a standing ovation, the crowd chanting his name.
Poole scored 15, Brazdeikis 14 and Livers 12 for the 20-1 Wolverines.
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