Michigan Basketball vs Ohio State: 3 takeaways from the Wolverines win

Michigan basketball beat Ohio State Sunday on Senior Day and here are three takeaways from the Wolverines 74-62 win.

Before taking on Ohio State Sunday, the Michigan basketball team had a pretty good NCAA Tournament resume. Now, however, after the 74-62 win, the Wolverines resume is complete.

Of course, it could always be improved, especially when it comes to seeding in the NCAA Tournament. But the win over the Buckeyes will end any doubt about Michigan basketball making a return trip to March Madness.

Certainly, with it being senior day, the win also had other meaning. Michigan State is probably the Wolverines chief rival in basketball, but Ohio State is close. If I had a gun to my head, I would likely call it a tie. So it doesn’t get much better than getting a win over Ohio State, the No. 8 team in the country, when its in the middle of a race for the Big Ten regular season championship.

The Buckeyes are now a game behind Michigan State. Michigan, on the other hand, is 11-5 in the Big Ten, one game behind Nebraska for fourth. Yet, the Huskers have the tiebreaker, so they would need to lose two of their last three and UM would need to win out.

In the first half, Ohio State built a 14-10 lead before Jordan Poole came off the bench and hit a three. He added eight more points in the first half and at the break, Michigan led 33-28. In the second half, the Wolverines led by as many as eight early and nine midway through the half.

Ohio State got within three when Zavier Simpson scored on a layup. Then Poole hit his fourth trey of the game. Michigan went up eight and never looked back. Moe Wagner scored late to put the icing on the win and the Wolverines improved to 22-7 with the 12-point win.

Here are three takeaways from beating Ohio State.