Juwan Howard’s Wolverines didn’t clinch the Big Ten title on Sunday. It just felt like they did.
The No. 3 Wolverines did cut the head off the snake, right next door to The Snakepit. They took down No. 4 Ohio State, 92-87, nailing down the toughest, most emotional, grittiest win of a grit-glutted season.
Michigan guarded their Big Ten-leading, one-loss record like a hardware store guarding the last generator in Texas. U-M weathered hot Buckeye shooting, wayward whistles and a venue where they hadn’t won in seven long years.
In the end, they hung on. At 16-1, 11-1 in the Big Ten, they’re closer to the desired conference ending than ever.
“I compare it to a boxing match,” Howard said afterward. “One team delivered a blow, and then the other team delivered another blow. It kept going back and forth.
“In order to sustain it, you had to have the mental toughness. Our guys showed their mental toughness through some of those ups and downs.”
The Wolverines weathered 30 points by Ohio State’s Duane Washington and 23 more by E.J. Liddell in a heavyweight bout where the lead never made double figures, either way. They overcame that barrage with six players scoring nine or more.
Nobody stood taller in this survival match than freshman center Hunter Dickinson, who looked as awed as an MMA fighter at a Weight Watchers meeting in his first crack at OSU. Dickinson powered home 22 points with nine rebounds and two blocks, draining a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line to help put the Buckeyes away.
“He’s a competitor,” Howard said of Dickinson, who scored 16 of his points in the final 20 minutes. “He’s not going to shy away from competition. He’s a large part of our team at the offensive and defensive end … you look at his plus/minus, he was plus-10.”
He got plenty of help, with senior guard Eli Brooks scoring 17, including 3 of 4 three-pointers. Senior guard Chaundee Brown managed 15 points with three threes of his own, but it took a village to burn down the OSU hot streak.
The Wolverines rained down 10 three-pointers in the first half alone, scoring 30 of their 45 first-half points from deep. Brown came off the bench to nail three of them, Michigan going 10-for-13 on threes in the opening 20 minutes.
They still needed Brooks’ drive and scoop at the halftime buzzer to lead by a deuce at intermission. That’s because Liddell looked almost unstoppable, pouring in 14 first-half points of his own.
It’s also because game officials seemingly based every block or charge call on uniform color, especially in the first half. Senior forward Isaiah Livers (12 points, four rebounds, four assists) began the show by getting called for charging with a defender on his hip, and those whistles degenerated from there.
Had this been a Civil War battle, the crew in Columbus would have been just whistling Dixie.
But hey, play on. It’s life of the road in the Big Ten, even in a nearly empty building. A tradition much like getting smothered — The Disasters.
“Our guys have kept their poise under tight, pressure situations, throughout the year,” Howard said. “We’ve been battle tested with the pause, Covid … our guys handled themselves very well.”
Michigan’s toughness amid adversity clearly put the Wolverines within clawing distance of a championship. Even if they drop two games in the reconfigured finish to the schedule — Iowa, at Indiana, Illinois, and a home-and-away with victory-challenged Michigan State — Illinois would need to sweep to match the Wolverines in the loss column.
That would mean four more road wins — at MSU, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State. The Wolverines could almost certainly clinch a championship in Juwan Howard’s second season with a March 2 win at Crisler Center versus the Illini.
That’s too far down the road, Howard reminded.
“We have a tough schedule ahead, and we’re going to look at it one game at a time,” he insisted. “But for right now, we’re going to enjoy this victory.”
Like a beefeater does a 32-ounce steak.
This one featured the Buckeyes at their best. Their best just wasn’t good enough.
“Ohio State is a great team,” Howard stressed. They were 18-4 before this game, ranked fourth in the country. Great coach, and a very balanced team. They have outside shooting, inside scoring … they’re a very skillful group.”
Michigan keeps making very skillful groups come up short. That’s what championship seasons are all about, and the Wolverines remain full steam ahead.
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