The Michigan Wolverines took down their rivals to advance to the Big Ten semifinals.
The Ohio State Buckeyes barely inched by the Iowa Hawkeyes in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals against Michigan Wolverines, and they couldn’t do it twice as they lost to the top seeded Wolverines in a closely contested 71-67 defeat in the quarterfinals on Friday.
It highlighted a rivalry that translates across seasons and sports, and Michigan was happy to notch this one under their belts and punch their ticket to the semifinals. The No. 1 Wolverines will continue their historic run under Dusty May in his second season as head coach and face the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinals on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
It wasn’t an easy victory, as the Buckeyes put up a fight and crept back into the contest after Michigan went up by as many as 10 points a little more than five minutes into the game. But the efficient offense of the Wolverines won out as they simply kept chipping their lead higher and Ohio State couldn’t catch them.
Standouts Elliot Cadeau and freshman Trey McKenney were able to set the tone early while Big Ten Player Defensive player of the Year fended the Buckeyes late push off.
Here is the full story from Wolverines Roundtable writer Dakota Allen on the dominant victory for Michigan.
The loss knocks Ohio State to 21-12 overall and 12-8 in Big Ten play, while they’ll have to sit around and wait to see if their resume is enough to grab a spot in the NCAA Tournament as the Wolverines continue to build their strong case through Big Ten tournament play.