Ohio State senior forward Kyle Young (25) guards and watches Purdue players during the Ohio State-Purdue game on Jan. 19. Ohio State lost 67-65. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
In more ways than one, Sunday’s meeting between the Buckeyes and Wolverines will be unlike any other before.
Inside a mostly empty Schottenstein Center, the first ever top-4 meeting in the history of the basketball rivalry will take place as No. 4 Ohio State (18-4, 12-4) hosts No. 3 Michigan (15-1, 10-1).
Battling for Big Ten supremacy and a No. 1 seed in March, head coach Chris Holtmann said his Buckeyes — who are on a seven-game win streak — will face an elevated challenge Sunday.
“They’ve just been really impressive, so right now, obviously, you look at them and I believe what I said, they’re a legitimate national title contender,” Holtmann said. “It’s a great challenge for us to see where we’re both at.”
The Wolverines enter Sunday’s rivalry bout two games removed from a three-week pause in team activities due to the presence of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 strain in the Michigan athletic department.
However the stoppage did not slow the Wolverine’s momentum as Michigan dispatched No. 21 Wisconsin and a solid Rutgers team.
As the Wolverines notched back-to-back wins since their return to play, Holtmann said Michigan is still chugging along despite the long pause.
“You have not seen a tremendous drop off,” Holtmann said. “They appear to have not skipped a beat from how good they were playing before.”
Prior to their pause, the Wolverines also earned back-to-back wins following their lone loss to Minnesota Jan. 16 — an eerily similar loss to Ohio State’s Jan. 3 77-60 loss to the Golden Gophers.
Citing a similar experience in Minneapolis, Holtmann pointed to Minnesota’s play as the reason for its triumph over Michigan. However, he added that the Buckeye coaching staff is looking into the game for tips from the Golden Gophers.
“I thought Minnesota was really good that night and we know what that feels like, we’ve been through that,” Holtmann said. “You always look at games like that. They haven’t lost much so you’re always looking at that game and trying to see what you can figure out.”
Despite his youth, freshman center Hunter Dickinson headlines the Wolverines’ attack — pouring in an average of 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Dickinson also is the leader of a Michigan defense that averages a conference best 5.3 blocks per game in Big Ten play.
Paired with their ability to disrupt an opponent’s shot, the Wolverines hold opponents to 37.7 percent shooting on the year — the third lowest mark in the country.
“They’re an elite defensive team,” Holtmann said. “They are phenomenal, just phenomenal on that end. They’re big, they’re long, they’re physical.”
Along with 7-foot-1 Dickinson, the Wolverines add to their size with senior forward Isaiah Livers and sophomore guard Franz Wagner who both average more than 12.5 points and 6 rebounds per game.
Despite the challenge that awaits, redshirt senior CJ Walker said the team has had this game circled for quite some time.
“That’s a big game for not just me as a player but Ohio State as a program — that’s a really big game for us,” Walker said Thursday. “We’re going to go out there and play as hard as we can and try to win and play against the best and beat the best. We want to play them at their best and we’re going to give our best, and the best is going to win at the end of the night and I feel like our team is capable of doing that.”
Last season, Ohio State largely got the better of their rival, besting the Wolverines in both of their matchups. The season sweep led to a new tradition in the Ohio State men’s basketball program — one that follows the mold of the football program’s “gold pants.”
Holtmann gave members of the 2019-20 team gold jersey trinkets to commemorate the season sweep. As the tradition continues, players will only be given a trinket if the Buckeyes complete a season sweep of their rival.
As Holtmann has expanded the lore of the basketball rivalry between the two programs, he recognized the animosity between the two schools across all sports.
“I recognize being here my fourth year what this rivalry, it really is a rivalry across every sport here, but I recognize what it is and what it means,” Holtmann said. “I think the best way to honor the rivalry is to respect it for what it is and to try to bring your best competitive stuff to it.”
Although the rivalry is hitting a new high mark Sunday, Holtmann said the recruiting outlooks of both programs hint at future high-stake matchups.
“I do really like where we’re recruiting. I like where we’re at with that. I know they’re recruiting at an exceptional level as well,” Holtmann said. “It’s our job as coaches to make sure that we’re working every day to provide meaningful games for our players, for our fans and everybody in February and March.”
