A traditional Big Ten rivalry whose greatest encounters have typically come on the gridiron will revive itself in Columbus on Tuesday when john Beilein’s Wolverines come to town.
Nik Stauskas and company enjoyed an 8-0 conference start before dropping two of their last three while the Buckeyes had lost four of five before winning three in a row including two critical road games at Wisconsin and Iowa.
That being said, these two clubs appear as if they are potentially headed in opposite directions. Michigan looks incapable of sustaining the success which had them atop the conference standings just a few short weeks ago. While they are still tied for first, their positioning is a much larger question mark and this trip to Columbus will be beyond meaningful.
Michigan features one of the best offenses nationally while Thad Matta and Co. counter with a ridiculous defense. The Wolverines get the vast majority of their scoring from the outside, yet OSU counters with a defensive unit predicated mostly on perimeter quickness.
OSU will hold a significant advantage at point guard where senior Aaron Craft faces off against Michigan freshman Derrick Walton. Craft is a defensive mastermind and big game player who can fire up his teammates and the home crowd on virtually any play. Walton is still learning how to play the position in a stacked conference, and i expect him to have continued growing pains in this one.
What makes this game appealing to me is that OSU features the exact sort of defense built to take on the Michigan attack. They can throw multiple bodies at Stauskas and they also will force Caris LeVert and/or Glenn Robinson to play more defense than they would prefer thanks to the presence of match-up nightmare LaQuinton Ross.
Few teams depend on the deep ball as much as Michigan and absolutely no one defends the there better than these Buckeyes. Michigan has also struggled to get to the foul line, and settling for jumpers in a game such as this one will result in either feast or famine.
Michigan has thoroughly enjoyed the role of road dog, having won outright on the road against favorites such as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan State. They have dropped their last two however and this one could mark their third loss in a row away from Ann Arbor.
While the Buckeyes are tempting, the way in which Michigan just lost is problematic in backing OSU here. The Wolverines got blasted up in Iowa and a team as good as they are will likely want to come off that game with a strong follow up performance. The line as it stands currently is just, but I would look to play OSU if a discounted number were offered during the game.
