COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Once Buckeyes sophomore forward E.J. Liddell swished his second free throw attempt to tie the game at 69 with 6:30 to go on Sunday, he led his defense down court and awaited freshman center Hunter Dickinson and the Wolverines offense.
Three different Wolverines players missed 3-point shots before senior guard Chaundee Brown Jr. laid in a score. Forty-five seconds had passed, three offensive rebounds were grabbed and No. 3 Michigan never surrendered the lead thereafter.
“They had a couple offensive rebounds in a key sequence, and I think ultimately that was the difference," Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann said. "I think they deserve credit for winning the game, and we’ll give them that and try to figure out how to improve and move forward."
The first top-five showdown in the rivalry that exists between No. 4 Ohio State and Michigan lived up to the hype as the two teams combined to score the most in a game between one another since Feb. 2, 2006, when the Buckeyes took a 94-85 decision in Ann Arbor.
This time, the Buckeyes were on the other end of a high-scoring loss at home.
RECAP: Michigan edges Ohio State 92-87 in back-and-forth Big Ten barnburner
Aside from a career-high 30 points from junior guard Duane Washington Jr. and a 23-point, 10 rebound double-double from Liddell, only one Buckeye made more than two field goals.
Starters junior forward Justin Ahrens, redshirt-junior forward Justice Sueing and senior forward Kyle Young combined for 11 points off 4-for-12 shooting, and a particularly costly turnover from Sueing with 2:36 allowed Wolverines senior forward Isaiah Livers to score on a fast break.
“It was a great game, man, just got to be a little bit better in the last war," Washington said. "I didn’t feel like our details were great. They had a lot of rhythm three’s - shots we’ll make as well - at a high level. You give them those, you get them rolling."
Michigan was lights-out from the 3-point line in the first half of Sunday's contest, hitting 10 of its 13 attempts for a 77% clip. Washington said the Wolverines' first half 3-point shooting was "unacceptable" for a game the Buckeyes were trying to win.
Sueing shot just 2-for-5 and was whistled for three fouls during his worst-shooting game since he shot 25% against Purdue on Jan. 19. Despite the struggle, Washington had strong words of encouragement for his teammate.
“I’ve been in that position, man, everybody makes mistakes. That’s the beauty of playing here at a high, top-major school, a really good school at that," Washington said. "He just needs to keep his head on straight. He played a good game, just, shots didn’t go in. One little mistake towards the end is not why we lost the game, simple, so whoever says that, that’s not the truth. Definitely could’ve played better, but everybody could’ve.
"I’m definitely gonna just keep talking to him and telling him it’s not over, it’s not done, keep your head up, we need you for the rest of the year, we always have. He’ll be fine. He’ll be back better than ever."
Michigan entered Sunday holding Big Ten opponents to 74.5 points per game, and its offense saw five players score at least 11 points.
“They’ve got a good shooting team," Holtmann said. "They were making shots at a higher clip maybe than what their percentages have shown. Some of it was a byproduct of us being in scramble situations, worrying about [Dickinson] too much."
Holtmann said he had "no issue" with the Buckeyes' offensive attack, noting his team played well on that end.
The Buckeyes ended up shooting better from deep - 50% versus 48% - than their rival counterparts, and missed just one of their 13 free throws. Michigan, however, scored 13 points against Ohio State's two off fast-break attempts.
“They’re a good team; we should’ve adjusted more and focused on the defensive end," Liddell said. "We can hang with them, we showed that, but we just didn’t make them miss. They were out there making tons of shots."
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The loss represents just the third time since 1999 that the Wolverines won in Columbus, and first in seven years. The Buckeyes offense rated fourth-best in the Big Ten prior to Sunday, and an 87-point performance is sure to keep them among the conference's best.
As Ohio State enters its next stretch - a game in East Lansing and two at home against current AP top-11 teams or better - it will need to rekindle better shooting and more production than from just a trio of players while strengthening its defense.
“We know what we’re capable of and what our plan is to do here," Washington said. "Everybody wishes we could get this one back."
