Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from a jubilant win at Ohio State

Ohio State got off to a sweltering shooting start with five triples ahead of the under 12 minute timeout. Vlad Goldin and Nimari Burnett notched the first 14 points of the day for the maize and blue. Danny Wolf and Tre Donaldson got in foul trouble, but only Aaron Bradshaw fouled out for the Bucks. The slugfest came down to the final seconds when Bruce Thornton missed a floater and Rubin Jones basically dribbled out the clock.

Here’s three of the takeaways from another joyous win for Michigan basketball over the Buckeyes.

1. Michigan basketball boasts the second best winning percentage in quad one games

The Wolverines improved to 7-2 in quad-1 games on Sunday afternoon. Most of those wins have come by two possessions or less. Winning these battles may be the deciding factor in the Big Ten championship race. Speaking of that, Michigan basketball can all but wrap up the regular season title with a win on Friday against the one school that is seemingly always in their way. A two-game lead with five to go would be a big hump to overcome.

At the rate it is going, 16 wins may be the magic number to capture the conference crown. Michigan’s only got two more on the road and if they win on Friday night, they’ll be 3-0 in the schedule’s most rigid stretch. The second meeting in East Lansing next month could be for all the marbles if Dusty May’s bunch blows its perfect record at home this coming week.

2. Ohio State had no one to detain Area 50-1

Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf shredded the Buckeyes defense in Value City Arena. They both recorded a double-double and were the main reason Michigan basketball owned the paint and the glass on Sunday. It was Goldin’s first double-double first since the Oklahoma loss. For Wolf, it was just another day at the office. Both were above 50% from the floor.

As mentioned, Aaron Bradshaw went to the bench at the midway point in the second 20 minutes. The Buckeyes called on Sean Stewart and Wolf instantly took over by scoring six of eight. Goldin put the Wolverines up by two with less than a minute because of how he and Wolf kept the possession alive with offensive rebounds.

Michigan’s offense had its highest output since the Washington victory last month. Just about everybody had a hand in the cookie jar in some capacity. Roddy Gayle’s homecoming was bittersweet, despite the sarcastic warm welcome from the home crowd. Rubin Jones has put in two strong performances for the first time all season.

3. Sunday was my first experience at the Schottenstein Center

I know this isn’t a typical takeaway from the game that I write about, but I’m going to do something a little different for this one. At 8am on Sunday morning I decided to take the three hour trip to drive down to Columbus and I immediatley regretted it. Mother nature decided to intervene with the blizzard of 2025 making the conditions undrivable.

Luckily I left early enough and avoided major disasters to arrive on campus about 90 minutes before tip. Once I started my trek towards the arena I was greeted by a Buckeye fan who surprisingly didn’t say anything derogatory to me. He graciously welcomed me to the Schott. And believe it or not it was like that for the rest of the afternoon. Of course I wasn’t the only Wolverine enthusiast in attendance, but it couldn’t have been any more hospitable of an experience.

No fights were reported as of this moment, but most would say that football is by far the more bitter rivalry between these two borderline neighbors. The Spartans are the more intense basketball feud. For those who partake in twitter, take a gander at how the message board chatter will be all week leading up to and after the fight on social media.