Survival and promotion were the order of the day in March, but the Michigan Wolverines weren’t entirely satisfied with their 71-67 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.
Despite the victory, the Wolverines didn’t play to their potential for much of the game and will have to play better against the Wisconsin Badgers in Saturday’s semifinals.
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“Just playing harder than we did (Friday),” guard Elliott Cardo said. “We have to have a different mentality in the next game and play harder. If we play like we did today, I don’t think we will win tomorrow.”
Michigan State played very well at times against Ohio State, but a few turnovers and scoring droughts kept the Buckeyes within striking distance. There was no way that was going to happen against a more dangerous Wisconsin team.
The Wolverines, who lost 91-88 to the Badgers in January, Michigan’s only loss in the Big Ten this year, are fully aware of the challenges Wisconsin poses, especially the backcourt tandem of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell.
Boyd and Blackwell form one of the best backfields in the country, so Caddo and company will aim to limit them as much as possible. In the win over Michigan, Blackwell and Boyd combined for 48 points and nine assists.
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To get revenge on Wisconsin and advance to the Big Ten Conference Championship Game, the Wolverines will not only need to play with more intensity and slow down Blackwell and Boyd, but also need a more impactful performance from Axel Lundborg. He had a poor performance against Ohio State, scoring 6 points on 1-of-4 shooting, plus 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
“Axel had a bad night,” head coach Dusty May said. “Every night, we have to figure out what’s the best way for us to win that night and then go with it. Luckily, we have a locker room full of great players that embrace that.”
There’s no doubt that Michigan State will be motivated to win the rematch with Wisconsin and make up for its previous loss. With that said, the Wolverines must take possession one possession at a time and continue to focus on executing the game plan.
“We just want to play the next round and figure out what we need to do to win the round and find a solution,” May said. “We’re ready to take on the challenge and figure out how to win.”