ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Riding high off an upset over No. 3 Purdue, Michigan had a shot to cap off a busy week with another win over a ranked opponent.
The problem: The Wolverines struggled to make many shots outside of the paint and anything further than 6 feet from the basket.
Michigan couldn't overcome another poor outside-shooting performance and a rough second half as it ended its three-game, five-day stretch with a 68-57 loss against No. 16 Ohio State on Saturday at Crisler Center.
Fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks had 17 points, sophomore center Hunter Dickinson added 14 points and grad transfer guard DeVante' Jones finished with eight points, eight assists and 10 rebounds for Michigan (13-10, 7-6 Big Ten).
The Wolverines shot 34.5% from the field (10 for 29) in the second half and shot 23.5% from 3-point range (4 for 17) for the game.
E.J. Liddell scored 28 and Cedric Russell 12 for Ohio State (15-6, 8-4), which shot 50% from the field (24 for 48) and finished 16 for 18 from the free-throw line.
Following a first half that featured little separation, Michigan got off to a slow start out of the break. The Wolverines struggled to make anything away from the basket — they missed six of their first seven shots and several open perimeter looks — and Liddell continued to cause problems as they fell behind 41-34 with 17:08 remaining.
As Michigan kept clanking outside shots and the shooting woes dragged on, Ohio State kept pushing. Russell drained a 3-pointer to put the Wolverines in a 46-36 hole at the 13:43 mark.
Michigan managed to slowly chip away at the deficit as Ohio State's offense started to misfire and scored two points over a seven-minute stretch. The Wolverines used three layups and a free throw from freshman forward Moussa Diabate to cut it to 48-43 with 6:44 to go.
That started a stretch where Liddell countered each time Michigan pulled within five and kept the Wolverines at bay. After knocking down a jumper in the paint, he followed a dunk by Diabate with two free throws. Then after Dickinson threw down a dunk, Liddell drained a corner 3-pointer to make it 55-47 at the 4:20 mark.
A 3-pointer from Brooks pulled Michigan within five once more a minute later, but the Wolverines couldn't cut it closer than that. Ohio State answered with two free throws and a jumper and Michigan came up empty on its next four possessions.
The Wolverines scored in the paint at a high rate during a back-and-forth first half. Michigan made its first four baskets at the rim — highlighted by back-to-back dunks by Diabate — and held Ohio State to one-shot possessions as it took an 8-4 lead with 14:47 left.
After the Buckeyes scored seven straight to take a three-point lead, Michigan continued to have success attacking the rim as it missed some open looks from deep. Grad transfer guard DeVante' Jones snapped Ohio State's run with a runner. Freshman guard Frankie Collins got downhill and scored a driving layup. Dickinson threw down a two-handed jam to put Michigan up, 14-11, at the 8:45 mark.
From there, the teams traded blows and the lead, with Ohio State hitting some tough shots and Michigan often countering at the rim. After Michigan made its first basket outside the paint on a baseline jumper by Dickinson at the 5:51 mark, Diabate followed with a layup to put the Wolverines up one.
Brooks hit a pair of 3-pointers to give Michigan a brief edge, but the Wolverines couldn't hold it as they couldn't get stops down the stretch. Ohio State scored on 10 of its final 12 possessions and made its final six shots of the half to take a 33-30 halftime lead.
