It’s rivalry week for Michigan basketball.
The No. 2 Wolverines (17-1, 7-1 Big Ten) will play their two biggest rivals exactly one week apart over the final days of January. Up first is Ohio State (13-5, 5-3) on Jan. 23 at Crisler Center, followed by MSU a week later.
U-M and OSU met just once last season in Dusty May’s first year at the helm in a game marked by Roddy Gayle Jr.’s return to Columbus after transferring to Michigan. The Michigan guard hit the go-ahead layup in the final two minutes to propel U-M to an 86-83 victory in Columbus at Schottenstein Center.
May said after the game he and OSU coach Jake Diebler discussed making the game, one of the most storied rivalries in football, a protected rivalry in hoops, too, with two games every year instead of one. It became reality with the release of the Big Ten schedule and from here on out, the two sides will play in Columbus and Ann Arbor every season.
Though it doesn’t match the fervor of the football matchup, this remains one of the most important games of the season for Michigan. The 72 hours between Michigan’s 86-72 win over Indiana and the start of the OSU game will serve as a crash course for those getting a taste of the rivalry for the first time – which includes four of the five Michigan starters.
“My only rivalry game has been against Memphis, and it was kind of like one of those rivalries where they’re up, like by 100 wins, but we just hate each other, you know?” said Yaxel Lendeborg, who transferred to Ann Arbor from UAB in the offseason. “But Ohio State, I talked to Roddy a lot about it, you know, that’s his old school. So he explained to me the like, the atmosphere and what it brought last year.
“I’m super excited to go out there see what we can do.”
Lendeborg is the only transfer who came to Ann Arbor this year without the experience of high major basketball. Morez Johnson Jr. came from Illinois. Aday Mara from UCLA. Elliott Cadeau from North Carolina, where the game against Duke dominates all.
North Carolina lost all three of its matchups to the eventual one-seed Blue Devils last year, but Cadeau had one of his better games in their meeting in the ACC tournament semifinal with 15 points and five assists. In his freshman year, however, the Tar Heels beat Duke twice. He played more than 20 minutes and had seven points in each game, getting his first taste of those deafening environments.
“I was a part of a really big rivalry, so I know how it feels to have people that you don’t like,” Cadeau said. “I know how serious it is for everybody. I know that [our] crowd is gonna be crazy.”
OSU doesn’t appear to be in true contention for the league title, but Diebler’s team has been a tough out for everybody the entire season. All five of Ohio State’s losses have come by single digits, including one-point losses to Pittsburgh and North Carolina as well as a three-point loss to undefeated Nebraska.
The Buckeyes are paced by point guard Bruce Thornton (20.7 points per game), who is shooting 56.5% from the field and 41.4% on 3-pointers. John Mobley Jr. is next at 15.3 points while Devin Royal averages 14.5 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds.
The Buckeyes are No. 35 overall in KenPom, the No. 6 ranked free throw shooting team (78.8%), No. 11 on 2s (60.3%) and No. 24 in effective field goal shooting (56.6). OSU is also No. 47 in effective field goal defense (47.8%) and limits opponents to just 29.8% shooting on 3s.
To add to the environment, former National Player of the Year Trey Burke and a number of his former teammates, as well as his coach John Beilein, will be on hand to raise his No. 3 jersey to the rafters.
Burke, a Columbus native, wanted to play for Ohio State growing up, but never was prioritized by his home school. Instead, he committed to Penn State and then flipped to Michigan, where he elevate the program back to national prominence.
“He’s one of the best players to come out of this college, and I have so much respect for him,” Cadeau, who wears the same number, said. “He’s like an elite, elite player that I look up to.”
Michigan vs Ohio State prediction
OSU had gone 5-5 in 10 games prior to picking up consecutive league wins. Diebler’s team has rebounded on the offensive end well in conference play (No. 3, 34.9%) but ranks in the bottom half of the league in turnover rate on both sides of the ball. Ohio State also doesn’t shoot it well from long range (33.7% in league play) so if U-M is able to hold its own on the glass, the only recipe for a Buckeyes upset seems to be an outstanding effort from Thornton or Royal. Gayle gets another win against his former team and scores 12 points in the process. The pick: Michigan 82, Ohio State 73.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball newcomers ready for first OSU rivalry experience
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
