COLUMBUS, OHIO — Michigan got junior Eli Brooks back for Ohio State, but the shooting guard couldn't help the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes. U-M lost 77-63, getting seven points and seven rebounds from Brooks in 28 minutes.

Brooks wore a black mask to protect what he confirmed was a broken nose. The pain wasn't that bad, he said, until they reset it ... and that's not even what kept him from playing in a loss to Wisconsin Thursday.

"I had really bad sinus pressure,” Brooks said. “I had a headache and I didn't think I could give 100 percent, so I didn't go out there.

"I was just trying to get the headache out. Once I broke it, there wasn't that much pain. It was more of, 'what do I have to do now?' But when they reset it, it was definitely a lot of pain, but ever since then it's just been a headache.”

Brooks has been taking an antibiotic for the sinus infection. He went through a walkthrough last week and was thought to be able to play against the Badgers, but he decided he couldn't go.

"It was more just my comfortability and my pain level, so it was up to me the whole time,” he said.

As for the mask ...

"It's not too bad,” he said. "They did a really good job of molding it to my face. It doesn't block out a lot of vision.”

Having him back provided a boost, head coach Juwan Howard added.

"It was big. A kid with a broken nose coming out there, sacrificing, making himself available and throwing his body on the line goes to show you how he's all for the team," he said. "He's been like that all season long. Unfortunately for him, I would just like to see him healthy.”

NOTES

Junior Isaiah Livers hasn't been himself since returning from an ankle injury, and he struggled to 2-of-11 shooting (2-for-8 from three-point range) against the Buckeyes. His mobility seems limited, and he hasn't been able to get to the rim when isolated, relying too much on backing down, off-balance jumpers.

Howard responded "I don't know" when asked if Livers' injury was hindering him.

"I don’t know. New to me," Howard said. "When you’re out there playing, that means you’re healthy."

Ohio State, he noted, played without Kyle Young and lost frosh point guard DJ Carton earlier in the year.

"They played Nebraska without Kyle Young, so I got a chance to watch them on film and see. They’re like us; they don’t make any excuses," he said. "Truly, Kyle was missed, but they had other guys step up and play for him ... they do it by committee."

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