Michigan’s dreadful men’s basketball season continued with an 84-61 loss to Ohio State. Sunday’s latest shortcoming left former Wolverines head coach John Beilein at a loss for words.
Michigan fell to 3-16 in Big Ten play after suffering its seventh straight loss and 12th defeat in the last 13 games. After the game, Ohio State interim coach Jake Diebler called it “special” to beat their rivals, whom he called the “team up north.”
Beilein struggled to follow Diebler’s comments on the Big Ten Network .
“I don’t know how to respond as the coach from this place up north,” Beilein said. “I don’t have a comment right now. I really don’t have a comment.”
He later found a comment when crediting Diebler but acknowledging the pain of seeing his former school lose the rivalry game.
“Coach Diebler has done a great job with it, but no Michigan coach likes to see Ohio State win,” Beilein added.
Michigan’s allowed 52 second-half points in a game they have led Sunday at Columbus. Juwan Howard’s team will finish the season last in the Big Ten standings.
At 8-22, Michigan matched its most losses in a single season since Beilein’s first year as head coach in 2007-08. He took the Wolverines to the NCAA tournament the following year.
Michigan made eight more March Madness appearances — including a 2018 trip to the national final — in nine years before Beilein went to the NBA in 2019. Howard led his alma mater to an Elite Eight and Sweet 16, but the Wolverines have fallen on hard times this season.
The Wolverines will try to snap their losing streak when concluding the season against Nebraska on Sunday.