Sunday, February 19, 2012

Basketball Buckeyes Fall At Michigan

Cold shooting left the Bucks with an L
More than 17 hours after Beilein showed up at the Crisler Center with doughnuts for the fans, Michigan (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) finished off a 56-51 victory over No. 6 Ohio State. (Ed. Note That gives Ohio State a 2-game losing streak against teams from TSUN)

The Wolverines (20-7, 10-4 Big Ten) are 15-0 at home and tied with the Buckeyes for second place in the Big Ten, a half-game behind Michigan State.

The star of the night was a true freshman who was introduced to the fired-up crowd as "The pride of Columbus, Ohio, Trey Burke."

Burke finished with 17 points, including a game-clinching runner with 11 seconds left that helped Michigan stop a six-game losing streak to the Buckeyes.
Burke's rainbow shot floated over All-America forward Jared Sullinger, hit high off the backboard and dropped through the net. Burke said he knew what kind of shot to take because he knew what to expect from Sullinger -- his old high school teammate.

Sullinger struggled in his head-to-head matchup with Michigan sophomore Jordan Morgan.

Morgan had his first career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Sullinger had 14 points and eight rebounds.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta, though, thought Morgan's biggest contribution came outside the boxscore, by taking 5 charges, which he said must be an NCAA record.

Deshaun Thomas finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds for Ohio State (22-5, 10-4), but Sullinger was the only other Buckeyes player to score more than six.

The other seven Ohio State players combined to hit just five of 23 shots as the team shot 38.8 percent for the game.

With the Michigan student section all revved up in its "Maize Rage," the first half was a defensive struggle. Neither team was able to break 40 percent from the floor and Ohio State's seven turnovers were the major difference -- the Wolverines had only three while taking a 25-20 lead.

The Buckeyes missed all nine 3-point attempts in the first half, but Thomas knocked one down on Ohio State's first possession after the break.

Morgan, though, had a pair of fast-break dunks, both off long bounce passes from Burke, to give Michigan a 33-25 advantage. The lead got as big as 10 before three straight baskets by Sullinger pulled Ohio State within 42-38.

The Buckeyes couldn't get any closer than three, however, and Burke's layup made it 54-49 with 1:17 left. Burke blocked a shot at the other end, then missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

Aaron Craft made two free throws, but Burke ran the clock down to 11 seconds before hitting the clinching shot and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
blog comments powered by Disqus