ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s time for the latest edition of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.
The Buckeyes have been vocal about their intentions, from Bruce Thornton’s preseason prediction of two wins over the Wolverines to Colin White saying they are “out for blood” after a Jan. 20 win against Minnesota. They bring an edge with them to face a Michigan team that is 17-1 overall and atop the major analytic websites like KenPom.com.
“This game means more,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said after the Minnesota game.
Ohio State is tied for seventh in the Big Ten standings at 5-3, while Michigan is tied for second at 7-1.
Follow along with all the action at our Dispatch live game blog below.
Three fouls on Bruce Thornton
The Buckeyes lead 40-38 with 16:24 left, but senior guard Bruce Thornton just picked up a third foul and is headed to the bench. It’s the first time he’s had three fouls since the West Virginia game more than a month ago.
Hot-shooting Ohio State reclaims lead
The Wolverines have taken a timeout with 17:31 to play as Ohio State is on a 10-1 run to open the second half. The Buckeyes have opened up a 40-34 lead while scoring on four straight possessions capped by a Christoph Tilly 3-pointer.
That’s only Tilly’s sixth 3-pionter of the season.
Trey Burke has jersey raised to rafters
The Northland grad who played two seasons at Michigan had his No. 3 jersey memorialized during the break.
“I would like to thank the city of Columbus that I was born and raised in,” he said. “But Ann Arbor, you allowed me an opportunity to showcase my skillset to the world.”
Watch as Puff Johnson makes his Ohio State debut
Ohio State needs to get rest of ‘Big Three’ going in second half
At the break, sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. leads all scorers with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Ohio State’s other two leading scorers, Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal, are both still to get untracked.
Thornton has 4 points on 2-of-7 shooting but has grabbed a game-high six rebounds, while Royal has 4 points and just one rebound. For Ohio State to have any chance of pulling off the comeback, both will have to get back to form in the second half.
Michigan holds slim halftime lead against Ohio State
It was a brutal final 1:35 for the Buckeyes. Tied at 30, Ivan Njegovan blocked an Aday Mara shot near the basket, giving the Buckeyes the ball and a chance at the lead only for Bruce Thornton to be called for an off-ball foul to give possession back to Michigan.
Amare Bynum fouled Mara with 45 seconds left, and after he hit the first but missed the second the Buckeyes allowed the Wolverines to grab the offensive rebound. L.J. Cason’s drive was then called for a goaltending on Ohio State for a three-point possession.
The Buckeyes turned it over on their final possession and survived two Yaxel Lendeborg misses to head into the break down 33-30.
Michigan reclaims lead as Ohio State goes cold
The Buckeyes have scored on just one of their last seven possessions and Michigan is on an 6-0 run to take a 28-26 lead. John Mobley Jr. has 14 points for the Buckeyes but nobody else is doing much offensively. Christoph Tilly has 6, but he’s 2 for 7 from the floor and has had two shots blocked while playing with two fouls.
John Mobley Jr. 3s give Ohio State lead at Michigan
The sophomore guard hit back-to-back 3s to give the Buckeyes a 20-14 lead, and the latter one was noteworthy. With 2.9 seconds left on the shot clock and the ball pinned in the corner, Ohio State had to heave a desperation pass just to get in inbounds.
The ball got to Mobley, who let off a leaning, double-clutch shot from the right wing that sunk through the net for the 20-14 lead. It’s 20-16 with 7:54 left as the Buckeyes are keeping this high-powered Michigan offense from getting fully going so far.
Michigan fans taking note of Colin White
Ohio State’s sophomore wing said the Buckeyes would be “out for blood” after beating Minnesota last time out, and every time he checks in the Wolverines fans are booing with gusto.
Ohio State takes lead thanks to early Michigan turnovers
The Wolverines average 10.9 turnovers in Big Ten play, but the Buckeyes have forced them into five through the first 8:23 and hold a 14-13 lead at the under-12 media timeout.
Christoph Tilly continues to find room to work with around the basket, and he’s got six early points for the Buckeyes. Bruce Thornton just missed a contested floater in the paint, but he outhustled two Michigan players for the offensive rebound to maintain possession for the visitors.
Roddy Gayle matches up with Bruce Thornton
Former Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle Jr., who came to the Buckeyes in the same class as Bruce Thornton, checked into the game as Michigan’s first sub at the 17:36 mark of the half. He immediately matched up with Bruce Thornton, guarding him up the length of the court.
Michigan leads 9-7 at the first media timeout. Christoph Tilly has four early points for the Buckeyes.
Watch as Ohio State takes the floor at Michigan
Starters announced for Ohio State-Michigan
Here are tonight’s starters:
Ohio State: Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr, Devin Royal, Amare Bynum, Christoph Tilly
Michigan: Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara
Video: Ohio State at Michigan pregame thoughts
Here’s your pregame video report from the Crisler Center.
Michigan honoring Columbus native Trey Burke
The Wolverines will put Northland grad Trey Burke’s No. 3 jersey in the rafters at halftime of tonight’s game. Burke starred for Michigan and was the 2013 national player of the year.
Burke talked about the honor during the summer while playing in the Kingdom Summer League.
Puff Johnson available for Ohio State at Michigan
The Buckeyes will have newly added transfer Puff Johnson available on their bench for the game against the Wolverines. Johnson joined the team one week ago when a Franklin County judge approved a temporary restraining order granting him immediate eligibility.
Otherwise, the Buckeyes are without their usual players: Brandon Noel (foot), Josh Ojianwuna (knee) and Myles Herro (redshirt).
Michigan is without freshman Winters Grady, who has not played since Jan. 2.
Ohio State vs Michigan score updates
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Ohio State vs. Michigan time today
The Ohio State vs Michigan game starts at 8 p.m. from the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
What channel is Ohio State vs. Michigan on today?
The Buckeyes’ 19th game of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season will air nationally on Fox. Gus Johnson and former Ohio State all-American Jim Jackson will call the game from the Crisler Center. Streaming options for the game include Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
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Ohio State vs Michigan history
Ohio State vs Minnesota predictions, picks, odds
As of 8 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, BetMGM had not published odds for the Ohio State game at Michigan. The following lines are from DraftKings.
Spread: Ohio State +15.5
Over/under: 162.5
Moneyline: Ohio State (+980) | Michigan (-2400)
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Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State, Michigan in neck-and-neck battle as second half opens: Live
Reporting by Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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