Second-Half Run Pushes No. 2 Ohio State Past Michigan

On a day when the University of Michigan announced Brady Hoke as its new football coach -- and Hoke stated the No. 1 goal was to beat Ohio State -- it was fitting that Ohio State and Michigan squared off. Even if on the hardwood and not the gridiron, it seemed to fit.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, it was more of the same, as No. 2 Ohio State prevailed, 68-64.

Michigan (11-5, 1-3 Big Ten) actually either outplayed or played right with Ohio State for much of the game, though. A 12-0 Ohio State run after a 41-41 tie proved to be too much for the Wolverines to overcome. They scratched and clawed their way back to within two on three separate occasions in the final minute of play, but could never come up with the big takeaway or 3-pointer needed to get over the hump.

William Buford led Ohio State (17-0, 4-0) with 19 points and nine rebounds. David Lighty had 12 points and five assists, though his free throw shooting (just 6-of-13) left much to be desired. Star freshman Jared Sullinger had 12 points and seven rebounds, but he battled foul trouble and frustration throughout. He fouled out late in the game and at one point in the second half needed to be settled down by the officials.

Darius Morris led Michigan with 18 points and seven assists. Zack Novak had 16 points (including hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers), though he missed a crucial free throw late in the game that could have cut the Ohio State lead to one (it was the first of three free throws with Michigan trailing by four; he hit the next two). Evan Smotrycz added 14 points and six boards.

How It Was Won: Talent. Michigan probably played a better game, relatively speaking, but the Buckeyes are so good in so many different ways, they were able to overcome it. Buford was hot in the first half and many others hit big shots in the second, including big threes from Jon Diebler and Aaron Craft.

How It Was Lost: The Ohio State 12-0 run was actually sparked by Michigan. More specifically, Jordan Morgan's foul trouble. The 6-foot-8 sophomore was quite the match for Sullinger. Morgan pestered Sullinger to a first half of four points, two rebounds and three turnovers. Sure, there was double-teaming coming at Sullinger, but Morgan's strength was making a huge difference. Once Morgan sat down with his third foul, Ohio State went on a 14-3 run (containing that 12-0 stretch). Without Morgan, the Wolverines had to spend much more manpower on Sullinger, which also created open looks from outside for the rest of the Buckeyes.

Where to Go From Here: Michigan played a top-three opponent at home for the second consecutive game. And for the second consecutive game, it made said opponent sweat quite profusely. There is no shame in this young team taking Kansas to overtime and then only losing to Ohio State by four. If the Wolverines play every team like these two, they'll have a real shot at the NCAA tournament, which was not even a consideration entering the season.

On the flip-side, Ohio State has allowed Iowa, Minnesota (at home) and Michigan to hang around far too long in the past three games. Big leads have shrunk, and it could be alarming. It's hard to worry when the team is 17-for-17 on the season, but at some point the Buckeyes need to go back to putting people away instead of relying on missed shots late to hold on.