The No. 20 Michigan Wolverines (16-5, 6-2) look to take over sole control of first place in the Big Ten when they visit the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (18-3, 6-2) on Sunday afternoon at Value City Arena.
Both teams are locked atop the Big Ten along with Michigan State at 6-2 in conference play. The Buckeyes present plenty of problems having won their last three conference games in impressive fashion with a 25-point average margin of victory in the three wins.
Forward Jared Sullinger leads the Buckeyes with 17.3 points and 9.3 points per game but they really become dangerous when some combination of William Buford, Deshaun Thomas and Lenzelle Smith Jr. heat up. Buford averages 15.2 points per game while Thomas adds 14.7 points. Smith is streaky but caught fire to help Ohio State run away from Indiana, so keeping him in check is a must.
The Wolverines should provide a much stiffer challenge for Ohio State after bouncing back from a tough non-conference loss at Arkansas last weekend to gut out a 66-64 win at Purdue on Tuesday. Guards Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.2 ppg) and Trey Burke (14.1 ppg) will have to come up big for Michigan and not let Ohio State's Aaron Craft dictate the pace of the game.
The game is schedule to tip at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on CBS.
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