Michigan Basketball: How to watch and stream Wolverines and Ohio State

Michigan basketball will host Ohio State tonight in a crucial Big Ten battle and here is all the key info you need including how to watch and stream.

Michigan basketball takes on one of its biggest rivals Tuesday night as the Wolverines will host the Ohio State Buckeyes in the only regular-season meeting between the two teams in 2019.

Of course, everyone is familiar with the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry on the football field, but on the basketball court, it’s very intense too. The two teams have put together some classic battles over the years and tonight, both teams will be hungry for a win.

When it comes to Michigan basketball, the Wolverines have a golden opportunity to pull even with Michigan State in the Big Ten standings at 9-1. The Spartans lost Sunday at Purdue and if UM beats Ohio State, it will be tied atop the league standings again. It will also give the Wolverines their seventh win over a team currently projected to make the NCAA tournament.

For Ohio State, the NCAA tournament is the focus. The Buckeyes, who are 3-5 in the Big Ten, need more quality wins to reach the Big Dance and maybe even a .500 record in conference play. Beating Michigan would help advance both of those goals.

There will be more of a breakdown below, but before that, here is a look at all the key info including how to watch and stream Michigan basketball vs Ohio State:

Game Info:

Game 21: Michigan vs Ohio State

When: 9:00 PM EST

Where: Crisler Center

TV: ESPN2

Stream: ESPN App

Radio: Michigan IMG Network or Radio: WWJ (950 AM) in Detroit

Getting to know the Buckeyes

If you haven’t followed Ohio State closely this season, it’s been an up-and-down year for Chris Holtmann’s club, which comes into Ann Arbor sporting a 13-6 record. The Buckeyes are 3-5 in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes won their first two league games over Minnesota and Illinois, while also beating Creighton and Cincinnati during non-conference play. However, after knocking off the Fighting Illini, Ohio State lost five straight games to Michigan State, Rutgers, Iowa, Purdue and Maryland, with losses to Maryland, Purdue and Iowa all coming by double digits.

Then, Ohio State went on the road Saturday to Nebraska and knocked off a fellow tournament contender in the Huskers 70-60. The Buckeyes defense held Nebraska 36 percent shooting and outrebounded the Huskers 42-29.

That victory put the Buckeyes right back in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten and also pushed them into the top-40 of the NET rankings, as well as up to No. 31 in the Kenpom rankings.

Keys to victory

For Michigan basketball, the key is going to be dominating on the defensive end. The Wolverines bring in the nation’s No. 1 defense according to Kenpom. UM also allows just 56.5 points per game which ranks second in the country.

On top of that, Ohio State, led by Kaleb Wesson, C.J. Jackson, Andre Wesson and Luther Muhammad are a mediocre offensive team that doesn’t rank in the top 100 in any offensive stat outside of fewest turnovers, where its ranked 66th.

Kaleb Wesson is Ohio State’s 6-foot-9 big man and leading scorer. If the Buckeyes are going to win, he will need to have a big game inside and that could be difficult going up against Jon Teske. Ignas Brazdeikis will also help check Andre Wesson, along with possibly Charles Matthews, while Jordan Poole should be on Muhammad. Zavier Simpson obviously will cover Jackson.

On the other end, Michigan has been struggling offensively of late, but the breakout game by Iggy at Indiana was huge. Both Matthews and Poole also scored in double figures at Assembly Hall, as did Teske, who has scored at least 10 points in five straight games.

As long as Michigan can contain Wesson inside and limit Ohio State’s 3-point makes, while winning the turnover battle and remaining about even on the boards, UM should win easily.

However, if the Buckeyes can win at the 3-point line, in the turnover battle and crash of the offensive boards, they might be able to steal a win away from the fifth-ranked Wolverines.