No. 3 Michigan beats No. 10 Ohio State 76-74 in OT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Tim Hardaway Jr. brought Michigan back with a relentless streak of 3-point shooting, then blocked a shot by Aaron Craft in the final seconds of overtime to give the third-ranked Wolverines a 76-74 victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Tuesday night.
Hardaway finished with 23 points, including five straight 3-pointers in the second half. The Wolverines (21-2, 8-2 Big Ten) led by two points when Craft rushed the ball into the frontcourt after a missed Michigan free throw. He got all the way to the basket, but Hardaway was there to smother his last-ditch attempt to tie it.
After scoring at will most of the second half, Ohio State (17-5, 7-3) managed only two points in overtime.
Trey Burke missed a 3-pointer at the end of regulation that would have won it for Michigan — the Wolverines' only miss in nine second-half attempts from beyond the arc. Burke's 3 at the start of overtime made it 75-72, and then neither team scored until Craft's driving layup with just under a minute to play.
Craft stole the ball from Burke, but the Michigan point guard hustled back to prevent an easy basket. The ball went out of bounds to Ohio State.
With the shot clock off, Craft drove past Burke, but Burke recovered to block Craft's shot from behind at the free throw line. Michigan's Glenn Robinson III was fouled and made one of two free throws with 7.6 seconds left.
Deshaun Thomas scored 17 points for the Buckeyes.
Michigan and Ohio State were meeting for the first time with both teams ranked in the top 10.
With a sold-out, early arriving crowd cheering them on, the Wolverines went on an early 12-0 run, and they led 18-8 after Burke scored off a nifty hesitation dribble. But the Buckeyes settled in, scoring the game's next seven points and eventually taking a 29-28 lead when Craft drove for a layup.
Ohio State was ahead 31-30 at halftime.
The Buckeyes led 48-40 after a 3-pointer by Lenzelle Smith Jr., but Hardaway and the Wolverines rallied. Hardaway's fourth 3-pointer of the half put the Wolverines up 55-54.
Amid all that, the Buckeyes stayed patient on offense. Smith's three-point play inside put Ohio State back ahead, and a 3-pointer by LaQuinton Ross made it 60-55.
Ohio State led 62-60 after another 3-pointer by Hardaway, and the Wolverines were finally able to stop the Buckeyes for a couple of possessions. Burke's breakaway layup followed by a 3-pointer from Nik Stauskas put Michigan back ahead 65-64.
Smith tied it at 72 with a shot from the left corner — his foot was on the 3-point line — and Ohio State held on to force overtime.