Michigan Basketball: Valiant comeback falls short vs Ohio State

Michigan basketball nearly completed a 13-point comeback late against Ohio State but still lost its first game without Isaiah Livers. 

You really have to love this Michigan basketball team, even in defeat, this team just endears itself to you.

The Wolverines were down by 13 points late in the second half and with the injury to Isaiah Livers and once Franz Wagner had fouled out, Michigan was down two of its best players.

Facing a double-digit deficit in the Big Ten tournament, Michigan could have folded and gone back to the drawing board. But it didn’t and that’s why you have to give this squad a puncher’s chance of making the Final Four even without Livers, who is out indefinitely.

While Michigan basketball put forth a valiant effort in defeat, the cold-shooting is what cost the Wolverines as they made just 6-of-19 3-point attempts compared to Ohio State, which made 12 triples and shot 54 percent as Duane Washington continued to be the Wolverine killer.

Washington knocked down five 3-pointers, one less than the entire Michigan team, and scored 24 points. Still, there was a lot to like about the closing stretch, especially the defense and just tenacity of one Hunter Dickinson.

It would have been nice to have Livers or Wagner take that final shot to win against Ohio State, in what ended up as a 68-67 loss, but those guys weren’t on the floor.

Mike Smith ended up taking the final shot and was 1-for-11 for the game, so it would have been nice to get Dickinson a touch, but that’s also easier said than done.

What it means going forward

Will this loss have any impact on the Wolverines NCAA tournament seed? It shouldn’t. The Wolverines did lose three of their last five games, but two of those were two top-five teams.

Maybe the committee will ding Michigan because Livers is going to be out, although there does seem to be some chance he comes back at some point, right now, we just don’t know.

It hurts to not have a chance to win the Big Ten tournament championship, however, this Michigan basketball team has already won the Big Ten regular-season title and should head into March Madness as a No. 1 seed.

Now, it’s time to figure out how to make this offense work without Isaiah Livers.