Takeaways from Michigan’s narrow win at Ohio State

Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin took over on Saturday afternoon, as the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines won its sixth game in a row with a big rivalry win at Ohio State. Here are some takeaways from today’s game:

In a back-and-forth rivalry game that featured 16 lead changes, the Wolverines won yet another close game, beating the Buckeyes in Columbus, 86-83. That’s six games in a row now that Michigan has won by four points or less.

The Wolverines entered this game on a five-game winning streak — just as I predicted — with the most recent win being a comeback victory over No. 7 Purdue to take sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. But Ohio State is no pushover, as the Buckeyes were ranked 28th on KenPom with a 7-7 Big Ten record and a 15-10 overall record. Ohio State is a projected 9-seed on Bracket Matrix , with impressive recent victories over No. 7 Purdue and No. 25 Maryland.

With the win, Michigan remains one game ahead of the Michigan State Spartans for the lead in the Big Ten. Not too bad for a team full of transfers and a first-year head coach.

Forget the Big Ten championship — with the way Michigan is playing right now, it should be discussed as a dark horse title contender. The Wolverines have proven in recent weeks they have the resiliency to win close games, even on the road.

Here are the takeaways from Michigan’s 20th win of the season.

Michigan offense thriving with Area 50-1’s chemistry

More than halfway through February, Michigan’s pair of 7-footers look very comfortable playing next to each other. Before Danny Wolf got benched midway through the first half with two fouls, he found Vlad Goldin for more than a few easy buckets. He dished out four assists, as Goldin scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of play.

Goldin finished the first half with an efficient 12 points (6-of-8) in 13 minutes, and finished the game with a team-leading 20 points. Goldin has now scored 15 points or more in nine of Michigan’s 14 conference games, proving to be a consistent source of offense in these tightly contested Big Ten matchups.

After only scoring four points in the first half while dealing with foul trouble, Wolf took over the second half and drew a Dirk Nowitzki comparison from the CBS broadcast team when he squared his shoulders and drove to the rim against the Buckeyes time and time again.

Wolf posted his 11th double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go along with five assists.

As we’ve seen all season long, Michigan leaned on its big men in the closing minutes, and there wasn’t a whole lot the Buckeyes could do to slow them down.

Michigan can’t slow down Ohio State’s three-headed dragon

The Ohio State offense was carried by a trio of players the Wolverines couldn’t slow down, as Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. combined for 59 points. Michigan was unable to slow them down, which kept Ohio State in this game. Thornton was especially good late, helping the Buckeyes work their way off the bubble with each clutch bucket late.

Lucky for Michigan, Thornton’s shot in the final seconds was an airball, with the Wolverines hanging on for yet another close victory.

I didn’t think Michigan’s defense was terrible on Sunday by any means, but it definitely wasn’t its best team performance in recent weeks.

Revenge game for Roddy Gayle Jr., and another good showing from Michigan’s bench

After spending his first two college seasons repping the Scarlet and Grey, Roddy Gayle Jr. returned to Columbus in enemy colors, and the boos came early and often. In his first few minutes of play, Gayle got a tough bucket in his new bench role, a role he has been thriving in recently .

Gayle finished with nine points.

After Michigan’s bench outscored Purdue’s, 21-0, on Tuesday, the second unit had another solid showing. Freshman L.J. Cason came in late in the first half and made an instant impact by scoring five vital points. Gayle and Will Tschetter combined for 11 first-half points to give Michigan an early advantage in bench points (16-5).

Michigan’s bench ended up outscoring Ohio State’s bench in the game, 22-9. The Wolverines also won when it came to points in the paint, 46-34, a big reason for the victory.

A quick injury note

We didn’t see sophomore sharpshooting forward Sam Walters in this game. Dusty May said on the radio pregame show Walters was out with a sore back. This comes after Walters missed the last game for what Dusty May said was a family matter.

Tony Garcia with The Detroit Free Press reported Walters was out after missing practice to mourn the loss of his grandfather. Our thoughts are with the Walters family, and hopefully Sam can recover soon, as Michigan could use a boost from him off the bench.

Up Next

Michigan has a bit of a break before hosting the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans on Friday. That in-state battle with massive Big Ten implications — with the Wolverines and Spartans being No. 1 and No. 2 in the standings — is set to tip off at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.