Michigan survives close call against Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Mar 13, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CHICAGO — It’s often said that it’s hard to beat the same team three times in one season, let alone a rival.

The Wolverines can attest to that.

After sweeping the home-and-home series, top-seeded Michigan had to grind out a 71-67 win to send No. 8 seed Ohio State packing in Friday’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal at United Center.

Aday Mara had 17 points and seven rebounds, Elliot Cadeau had 15 points and seven assists and Trey McKenney scored 12 for Michigan (30-2), which scored 19 points off 10 Ohio State turnovers.

Michigan advances to face the winner of No. 4 seed Illinois and No. 5 seed Wisconsin in a semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday, with a spot in Sunday’s championship game on the line.

Michigan beat Ohio State by 12 at home and by 21 on the road in the first two matchups this season. Round 3 was a much tighter affair.

The Wolverines led by as much as 11 in the first half before the Buckeyes chopped it down to four at halftime and erased the deficit. Michigan sputtered on offense and turned it over a couple times out of the break. Ohio State made its first four shots of the second half and knotted it at 44.

Michigan responded with a 7-0 spurt during a stretch where Ohio State missed seven consecutive shots and went scoreless for five minutes. Cadeau scored on a driving layup before he lobbed a pass to Mara, who had an and-1 finish at the rim, and made two free throws to make it 51-44 with 12:45 to play.

The Buckeyes cut the deficit to one before Mara made a string of plays. Mara threw down an alley-oop slam and knocked down a deep jumper. Then after he blocked a shot on one end, he drew and foul and made two free throws for a 59-52 lead.

Michigan couldn’t stave off the Buckeyes as they kept hanging around and broke through with a 10-1 spurt. The Wolverines went six minutes without a made basket. Roddy Gayle Jr. missed the front end at the foul line. A foul by Yaxel Lendeborg on a defensive rebound put Ohio State in the bonus and led to a free throw. Ohio State took its first lead, 62-60, with 5:08 remaining.

The Wolverines countered with their own string of points to pull back in front. Cadeau drew a foul on a driving layup and made two free throws. Mara blocked a putback attempt that led to Morez Johnson Jr. (11 points) snapping the field-goal drought on a fast-break layup that was goaltended. A steal by Gayle turned into another fast-break opportunity that ended with a Cadeau free throw for a 65-62 advantage with 3:35 to go.

Michigan hung on from there. Mara made a key basket at the rim. Lendeborg was fouled battling for an offensive board and split two free throws. The Wolverines strung together stops on defense before, held the Buckeyes to one made shot over the final five minutes and made enough free throws down the stretch to seal it.

Bruce Thornton had 22 points, Devin Royal had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and John Mobley Jr. scored 12 for Ohio State (21-12), which trailed most of the way and led for less than a minute.

Michigan got off to a fast start in the third installment between the rivals, scoring the first seven points, scoring on seven of its first nine possessions and jumping out a double-digit lead.

Johnson took advantage of a mismatch in the post and scored at the rim. A steal by Mara led to another bucket in the paint by Johnson. Nimari Burnett hit a 3-pointer in transition. Lendeborg deflected a post entry pass for another turnover that led to a deep ball by McKenney. The Wolverines took a 15-5 lead with 14:47 left in the first half.

The Buckeyes put together a string of six unanswered points before McKenney stuffed their run. He buried a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer. He finished through contact on a tough drive and finish over Thornton.

The Wolverines got out in transition to push the lead back to double figures. McKenney broke up a pass that led to a fast-break dunk by Burnett. After another stop, Cadeau drained a pull-up 3-pointer. Michigan went up, 25-14, at the 8:36 mark.

Even after Johnson picked up his second foul at the 8:06 mark and sat for a stretch, Michigan kept turning defense into offense. A steal by Cadeau led to a thunderous fast-break dunk by Lendeborg. After McKenney blocked a shot from Royal from behind, Mara scored on a hook shot to make it 31-21.

Ohio State punched back with a 12-4 spurt to make it a one-possession game, as Thorton started to heat up. He fueled the run with seven points and ended it with a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to cut the deficit to two.

The Buckeyes had a chance to pull even when they blocked a layup by Gayle to spark a fast-break opportunity. But the Wolverines broke up an alley-oop attempt and scored the other way on a Mara alley-oop slam en route to taking a 39-35 advantage into the break.