Michigan Basketball: 3 key takeaways from massive win at Ohio State

Hunter Dickinson canceled out Liddell

Liddell was the talk of the game and he scored 23 points for Ohio State, causing Michigan problems. Yet, Juwan stuck with Dickinson on him for most of the game and it worked.

Isaiah Livers helped some too and when the game was over, Liddell went just 7-for-15. He did score 23 points by getting to the line but his shooting cooled considerably.

On the other end, Dickinson was good enough offensively, he more than justified Howard sticking with him on Liddell.

While Dickinson struggled at times to guard Liddell, it was also clear that Liddell didn’t stand much chance of guarding Dickinson, who also created a number of open 3-pointers for others.

His final line was 22 points, nine rebounds (five offensive), two assists and two steals. Liddell scored 23, grabbed 10 boards and three assists, but Dickinson matched his impact and probably exceeded it with his ability to force Ohio State to double down on him.

In my mind, there’s no doubt that Dickinson should tie Trey Burke this week with his seventh Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award. He was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and without his contributions, U-M wouldn’t have won the last two games at Wisconsin and Ohio State, period.