Ohio State 61, Michigan 58
I hate writing up games like this.
It's not the loss. I've been writing up football games since 2012, after all. If you told me heading into tonight that Michigan would lose a close game, I wouldn't have dreaded writing this, even though I would've planned to skip the comments section.
I hate when the refs force me to choose between summarizing the game like an "objective" blind person or being a "homer" for saying that, yes, bad officiating sometimes has a direct outcome on the result.
So let's start here: the officials—Terry Wymer, DJ Carstensen, and Paul Szelc—were awful all around tonight. What started as a typically physical Big Ten game became a wrestling match by the second half with all sorts of contact going uncalled on both ends. This was a game for brutes. Kaleb Wesson was responsible for half of Ohio State's offense. Austin Davis was Michigan's second-leading scorer.
Big Country's 11-point, 4-for-4 performance wasn't enough for a win. [Campredon]
While cold shooting accounted for a lot of the poor offense in the first half, I don't know how anybody could be expected to finish a contested shot in the paint with the way the game was called. Players bumped ballhandlers out of bounds, grabbed whatever limbs they could while chasing rebounds, and brought their arms crashing down on shooters. The Buckeyes made under 44% of their two-pointers; Michigan connected on only 34% of theirs. There's letting the kids play, but you have to let them play basketball.
Fitting such a contest, both teams fought hard. The lead changed hands 19 times. The game was tied for nearly ten full minutes of action. The margin never reached more than four points for the duration of the second half. Wesson played a tremendous game, leading all scorers with 23 points on 15 shot equivalents, pulling down 12 rebounds, and dishing out three assists against zero turnovers, including a feed to Duane Washington Jr. for a three that put OSU up one point with 54 seconds to play.
Then the officials decided the game. I don't know another honest way to put it. Zavier Simpson drove to the basket after getting switched onto big man Kyle Young, crossed over to his left hand, and drew an obvious shooting foul on Young with 33 seconds left. While parallel to the ground, after getting fouled, Simpson grabbed Young's jersey to break his fall; this tore Young's uniform, though it wasn't enough to even bring him to the ground.
Kaleb Wesson decisively won the battle of the bigs, outscoring Jon Teske 23-3. [Campredon]
Despite not calling anything on Simpson initially, the officials hit him with a flagrant foul after a review. Simpson still received, and made, his two free throws attempts, but Young was able to cancel them out with two free throws of his own and OSU got the next possession. Michigan had no choice but to foul, CJ Walker made both free throws, and a well-designed play for Eli Brooks resulted in a missed corner three with 0.5 seconds to play.
Michigan went from having a chance to get a stop to force the Buckeyes into desperation foul mode to being in desperation foul mode themselves because of an atrocious call that wasn't made in real time. Yes, it also matters that the Wolverines couldn't slow down Wesson. Yes, it also matters that they made only 10-of-31 three-pointers. As with any close basketball game, you can point to a huge number of moments that could've turned the results of the game.
But the moment that swung the win probability more than any other was a review that resulted in a mindblowingly bad flagrant foul. That stinks now, it'll stink when we see these same guys blow calls the rest of the season with seemingly no consequence, and it'll really stink if Michigan comes up short on Selection Sunday. At 13-9 overall and 4-7 in the Big Ten, they're running out of margin for error and Michigan State comes to town on Saturday.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
February 4th, 2020 at 10:15 PM ^
The officiating in this game was woof. I know some people were saying the calls were consistent, but they weren't playing basketball out there. Basketball is a game that shines brightest when skills are at the forefront. This game didn't really allow for that. You shouldn't be able to bump cutters. You chase and trail and maybe put a hand on the hip. You need to slide your feet to play defense. I kind of hated watching the game because it was so poorly officiated. Basketball is way more fun when it's played like peak Beilein teams or like Villanova had a couple years back.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:27 AM ^
Sorry, but I personally like a tough basketball game. You are not a true basketball fan if you think this game was blown by the refs. Michigan players cannot shoot. Plain and simple. This team is not good, and has no chance in the tourney. And, I love how some people say "if only we had Livers!" like he is Kobe Bryant or something. Fact is, Beilein left because he knew this wasn't going to be a good team, and his stock was at the highest. I am looking forward to Howard bringing in some of his recruits, because these guys just stink.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:16 PM ^
I always thought that baseball had it right. All coaches - football and basketball too - should wear the uniform like baseball. Would lighten the mood a bit.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:40 AM ^
That would certainly make Izzo look much more like a small child who should be put in time-out
February 4th, 2020 at 10:17 PM ^
Same problem as with football without the annual coaching stupidity to go along with it.
Not enough talent to overcome injuries and poor officiating.
Team was 2/10 (or was it 11?) from 3 at one point. Bilas even mentioned 90% of them were wide open. Franz and Teske missed how many layups? How do you coach that outside of telling them to man the fuck up? X and Brooks stepping out of bounds with the defender out of position. Then it also appeared, until about 2 minutes left, that every. Fucking. 50/50. Ball. Was going OSU’s way. Can’t make this shit up.
Even WITH ALL THAT SAID, the team could have tied it at the buzzer with Howard drawing up a great open shot to tie the game and Eli misses.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:46 PM ^
I don't know how much of that final play was Howard
Looked like the plan was to screen Franz open at the top of the key, but that was covered
I thought it was Simpson improvising and being smart enough to know he couldn't take the wide open layup
February 5th, 2020 at 6:38 AM ^
Simpson only stepped out of bounds after Wesson fouled him. An obvious blocking foul. Wesson also shoved Davis out of bounds in the exact same spot with no call.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:03 AM ^
At one point, Wesson had three straight fouls in the first half that could've been called but weren't. Two on Defense and one on Offense.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:27 AM ^
Sorry, but I personally like a tough basketball game. You are not a true basketball fan if you think this game was blown by the refs. Michigan players cannot shoot. Plain and simple. This team is not good, and has no chance in the tourney. And, I love how some people say "if only we had Livers!" like he is Kobe Bryant or something. Fact is, Beilein left because he knew this wasn't going to be a good team, and his stock was at the highest. I am looking forward to Howard bringing in some of his recruits, because these guys just stink.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:18 PM ^
I think I saw Bill Murray and the groundhog in the lower bowl.
Have certainly witnessed this before.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:20 PM ^
Seeing students urge on the tea drinking senior citizens to cheer on the other end of the bowl was rage inducing.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:16 PM ^
Crisler is by far the worst atmosphere in the big ten considering the teams decade-long success. It's embarrassing. Poor attendance, little spirit.
February 5th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
Poor attendance? How many games have you been to? How many games have you attended at the other 13 BT venues?
February 4th, 2020 at 11:32 PM ^
Seeing you show up to spread ignorance and insult anyone who doesn't agree with your Hot Take of Blinding Rage is equally frustrating.
February 5th, 2020 at 12:19 AM ^
Remember when J thought everyone on this board didn’t understand statistics when it was blatantly obvious the shooting from the Bahamas was an outlier on this season?
I remember.
Glad to have you back after your embarrassing exposure from the last couple of weeks, J.
February 5th, 2020 at 3:30 AM ^
I'm quite certain that you don't understand statistics.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:19 PM ^
Honestly, I’m not on the Warde sucks bandwagon but he needs to say something publicly after this.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:37 PM ^
Narrator: "He wont"
Hey if he does anything Warde will probably issue a public apology on behalf of Michigan athletics for the torn jersey and will offer to reimburse OSU for the repair expenses (as long as they have a receipt)
The day Warde makes a public stand on our behalf (you know-kinda like Gene Smith does on the regular for Ohio State) I'll prolly already be MgoDeadandgone.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:24 PM ^
Posted this on Carstensen thread on the Board. Forgot about Szelc, who had a major hand in the FT disparity in the MSU games last year.
___________________________________
I've been saying it for a long time. Terry Wymer is a crook. Inducted into the State of Ohio Hall of Fame.
And the head of B10 basketball officiating, Rick Boyages was a former assistant coach for Ohio State.
In huge games that matter, Terry Wymer always shows up. Screwed us against Houston in the NCAA's but we overcame on the Poole buzzer beater. Screwed us at the end of the 1st Half against Villanova in the NC that year and we couldn't overcome. Him and Carstensen and Lewis Garrison and several others all regularly officiate games where Michigan gets screwed. Remember the huge FT differential against MSU last year in all 3 games.
That F1 decided the game tonight. In my decades of watching basketball, I've never seen that call before. In other words, they set a precedent with that call. That an offensive player, while in the act of shooting gets fouled, can somehow still commit an F1 while falling to the ground. That is unheard of... unthinkable.. impossible until tonight. Which should tell anyone watching this play, what a joke B10 officiating is when it comes to our games. Everyone should write [email protected] (and cc: WardeManuelAD@umich. edu) and tell Boyages to go f* himself. Obviously Warde ain't gonna do shit but if enough fans show the B10 office they're paying attention, maybe something will change. It cannot get worse.
If you don't think you can make a difference, remember when John O'Neill's crew called that incredibly awful DPI on Michigan in the ND football game last Fall and the entire stadium went nuts? Fans booing and throwing shit at the officials? Michigan fans knew that was the critical moment that their team has been regularly screwed by the officials in all sports over the years. That pivotal moment which turns the momentum back to the opposition in a game Michigan had been dominating. With the spotlight shining brightly on the crooks in zebra stripes, Michigan used that moment to turn things in their favor. They dominated ND after that.
The booing needs to become so great that the officials cannot hide and continue their B.S. antics. A few of you may remember the 1988 Class B Basketball state championship where the the state's Mr. Basketball, Matt Steigenga of GR's South Christian High School was whistled for 4 personal fouls in the first half of the state championship game. Most of the calls were bullshit. The boos rained down on the refs as they left the court at the end of the half because people had come to watch Steigenga and he and his team were getting screwed. The refs swallowed their whistle in the second half and Steigenga carried them to the championship. The fans made a difference.
Boo the f* out of Wymer, Carstensen, Garrison and all the assholes that keep screwing us. It can change. Don't let the BPONE convince you otherwise.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:34 PM ^
Who was the ref that kicked out Belien at Happt Valley?
February 4th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
THAT'S where I remember Szelc's name from. Pretty sure it was him. He definitely worked that game.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:01 AM ^
God I wish Warde had the stones to politely, and quietly, tell the league head of officials that if they assaign Szelc to one more Michigan game we will simply refuse to take the floor until he is removed. And, when the media asks why we are doing that, we will be happy to list ALL the obvious, blatant and clearly biased he has made through the years against Michigan.
Clearly this dude has an issue with our school. Did his kid not get int? Did his brother-in-law go to OSU? Or did his assistant manager at Target go the Michigan and maybe yell at him when he didnt fold the clothes right? I dont know what his problem is but he clearly has one and no way should Michigan have to play any game with him officiating it.
Officiating is the only profession I know of where you can be both incompetent and biased and face zero consequences for your actions. Anywhere else you simply get fired.
February 5th, 2020 at 8:05 AM ^
I agree with this take. Home court advantage means riding the refs when shit calls happen. No ref wants to hear it rain boos. Crisler crowd is too polite. Need to get the students down on the court. Need to change the acoustics of the venue ... the ceiling design eats noise and decreases the home court advantage. We have smart engineers that could change that.
This is three home games in a row where Michigan gets shit officiating. I thought Jay was right in calling it out. That wasn't basketball and someone in the B1G has told the refs to call games like that. Just ugly and embarrassing when the announcers are like calling it out as shit play. Hey but the WWE would be proud of it.
February 5th, 2020 at 8:41 AM ^
How in the world did you remember that 1988 game?! I was there and remember that. I was 12 years old. It really seemed like Bishop Borgess was somehow predetermined by the MHSAA to win that one. Unbelievable comeback and win for GRSCHS.
February 5th, 2020 at 12:16 PM ^
Hahaha blast from the past. I was 12 as well and grew up about 5 minutes from GR Christian. The pronunciation of "SteiGINGa" is still etched in my memory.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^
I'm done watching any games done by Big Ten officials this year, made the decision to not watch road games earlier in the year, going to have to expand that now. That was a complete embarrassment, they allowed a football game to break out and then decide the game with nonsense at the end to top it off. Also funny how UM doesn't get the homecooking officiating that they have had to deal with all year on the road
February 4th, 2020 at 10:29 PM ^
That star for Teske has to go away.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:27 PM ^
Remember when we all thought Howard would be a big man whisperer? Teske is a shell of his former self. When he and Davis were in at the end, I wanted Johns to come in and it almost seemed like he should have come in for Teske instead of Davis. TO rate has doubled compared to last year. Shouldn't be shooting threes. I kind of feel bad for him because the staff isn't pushing the right buttons with him.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:31 PM ^
OTOH, Davis's post moves are light years better than they were last year.
Teske is an enigma. At times this year he'll show off strong post moves that he didn't have under Beilein, but he can't seem to put complete games together anymore.
February 5th, 2020 at 6:42 AM ^
Teske was off, way off from the opening tip. I don't know if he is sick or what, but that was by far his worst game at Michigan.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:29 AM ^
Teske's bad game was the difference yesterday. He was passive and not active enough all night. I don't get what's going on with him. But 3 points in 35 minutes, despite his experience and size is a big failure for Michigan. Either keep him down low most of the time or put someone else in who can score in the paint. But Teske drifting around the 3 point line all the time, when he's likely to miss them anyway, is just stupid.
February 5th, 2020 at 10:47 AM ^
Teske is soft, like butter. There's a reason Howard didn't like his nickname "Big Sleep." In last night's game where the officiating was ridiculous- at 7'1 and 260 lb, Teske should have dominated.
February 5th, 2020 at 10:57 AM ^
Teske is a fantastic complementary player. He fit beautifully with the personnel last year and excelled in JB's pick and roll actions. He's an excellent passer and is mobile enough to set screens everywhere on the floor. But he's not equipped to carry a team offensively on his shoulders for long stretches.
He had a tough game last night, but let's not blame him alone. Plenty of others missed easy layups, wide open 3 pointers, and committed careless unforced turnovers. And the officiating was abominable. Another game when everything was aligned against us - and we still could have won.
February 5th, 2020 at 2:10 PM ^
What you say is fair, and of course he is not the sole reason we lost but I had not heard anyone say that he was. But he has been abused all year defensively, he has not finished with any authority on offense and continues to shoot 3s, even though he is shooting them at well under 30 percent.
Maybe it is the change in personnel or system but is clearly worse this year than last.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:31 PM ^
Putting the refs aside - this team was always going to live or die based on Livers coming back. Against Rutgers he was in a full suit - tonight he was in Athletic sweats. So I’m going to say... he may be closer?
This team needs 6 wins, maybe 5 to get to the tournament. I see four more wins, that means they need to steal two of:
vs MSU
@osu
@purdue
Vs. wisc
@rutgers
@maryland
Certainly possible, but they’ll need Livers to make a run.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:37 PM ^
Also, the B1G mucking everyone up has to be good for M right? If everyone is a step or two above or below .500 in league play, M won’t stand out negatively.
February 4th, 2020 at 10:39 PM ^
I didn’t mind the call against Simpson. To me, it looked like he was reaching out and trying to imitate contact, which is something that he’s known to do. (It’s the drivers’ equivalent of the flop).
What drove me nuts were the no-calls on people getting bumped out of bounds, “discarded” on rebounds, and the awful, awful “charge” call that DDJ took that wiped off a basket.
Sure, Kaleb Wesson scored quite a few points for OSU. But, if he’d been glued to the bench with foul trouble, where he belonged, it wouldn’t have been a one-possession game at the end.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:04 PM ^
Contact comes from mid to lower body when Z is getting fouled, not the arms. The call against Simpson was not for grabbing him, it was for pulling him to the ground ( even though he didn’t), you could hear that clear as day on the broadcast.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:29 PM ^
Whether or not he was able to regain his balance shouldn't be the difference between a flagrant 1 and no call. That's just a way to get people to flop more -- that's the last thing we need.
I wasn't saying Simpson didn't get fouled; I was saying, he has a reputation for embellishment, which I think hurt him here. Whether it was true or not, I think they ascribed intent to his action -- "I'll pull him down on top of me in order to draw a foul call." Hence, the language he used on the broadcast.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:33 PM ^
So you're OK with them not calling anything on him, then looking at the replay and deciding all of a sudden that he needed to be hit with a flagrant 1?
Imagine if we went to the replay everytime a guy did anything with his off arm. Luka Garza would be ejected on a nightly basis.
Let's be clear, the review happened because the OSU guy's jersey ripped.
February 5th, 2020 at 12:52 AM ^
I took you saying "I didn’t mind the call against Simpson. To me, it looked like he was reaching out and trying to imitate contact, which is something that he’s known to do. (It’s the drivers’ equivalent of the flop)" as implying he wasn't fouled. So, if you're saying that's not your intent, okay. I generally agree it's definitely driver-initiated contact, but as long as there's some lower or upper contact this is an almost universal call.
I understand what you're saying about Simpson and pulling him down, but I just don't think it's right, and the evidence doesn't support that. This is what the ref comes over to the scorer's table and says:
Ref: "We have a common follow on red 25, we have an F1 on gold, grabbing the jersey and bringing him all the way down to the ground"
Bilas: "Is that a non- is that a con-contact,technical or-?"
Ref: "yeah well, it's a flagrant 1"
It's 1:53:30 in my broadcast on YouTubeTV.
There is a foul that is trying to "fake" a foul - essentially what you're saying Simpson was called for. But it's a technical (NOT a flagrant, other technicals (f-k are)):
Rule 10, Section 3, Art. 1
[...]
d. Faking being fouled by an opponent when confirmed by instant replay during a review for a flagrant foul, contact dead ball technical foul or flagrant 2 contact technical foul. (See Rule 11-2.1.d.6.)
He clearly was not called for that, and we know that because Bilas actually asked exactly that and he said no, it's a flagrant 1.
Howard explains in the post game press conference that the ref said that he ripped the jersey and the ref conceded that Z grabbed him to brace his fall. (Link)
It's also clearly not called as a "deceptive" play like a hook and hold, which is clearly referred to as a "hook and hold" when calling it an F1:
- NCAA Rules explanation on hook and hold
- YouTube Clip "We upgraded to an F1 hook and hold"
- YouTube Clip "He didn't clamp him, so it wasn't a hook and hold, just a rebound foul"
This basically was called excessive or unnecessary contact, as best I can tell. The focus on pulling down to the ground is very bizarre to me, considering he clearly did not hit the ground and, GASP, his jersey as ripped (the humanity!).
And to be clear, I am not advocating for someone "maintaining their balance" as whether or not fouls should be called, I am merely stating what the ref said. The flagrant is questionable, but what the ref said was the reason for the flagrant didn't even actually happen.
February 5th, 2020 at 3:14 AM ^
Here's how I interpret it:
1 - Because the jersey was ripped, the referees took another look.
2 - Simpson has a reputation for embellishment
3 - His hand clearly grabbed the OSU player's chest
4 - The referees "split the baby" by allowing the original foul to stand -- which I think was the correct call -- and also calling a foul on Simpson.
When I watched the video, it looked to me like X was trying to pull the OSU player down on top of him. I interpreted that as trying to make sure the foul got called. (Perhaps he didn't hear the whistle, or perhaps he wasn't sure exactly what was being called). If the shoe were on the other foot, and an OSU player had done it, I think we'd be wondering where the foul call was.
If they had called it a hook and hold, that would have wiped out the initial foul call, so, yes, I agree that's not what was called.
Excessive contact is only one reason for a flagrant 1. You also get a flagrant 1 for a non-basketball play; the old 'intentional foul.' I think that's what they decided -- it was unwarranted, deliberate contact to an opposing player that was not part of a basketball play.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't think it was cut-and-dried; "he was just trying to brace himself" is a perfectly reasonable interpretation and could well be the truth. But at least I can come up with a plausible explanation for this one, which is more than I can say for allowing Michigan players to be pulled away from the ball while trying for a rebound, or being pushed out of bounds with no call.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:20 AM ^
Fair enough, I think we'll agree to disagree on this. I understand and mostly agree with 1-4 (except no foul on Simpson), we're just coming to different conclusions on why the ref made the call - which I think is telling that we can't even clearly determine why it was called and it feels like they felt like they had to call something.
If his jersey doesn't rip there's no way that this is even looked again. But the fact that the jersey ripped shouldn't immediately mean they have to call something either - which it seems like they felt like they had to. It's just baffling to me.
In conclusion: we should buy shitty back-of-the-truck jerseys for Saturday. MSU will be playing Izzo's son by 10 minutes into the 1st half.
February 5th, 2020 at 11:01 AM ^
By saying the referees "split the baby" you are already agreeing what they did was wrong . . .
February 5th, 2020 at 1:24 AM ^
It would not have made any sense for Z to be trying to draw a foul by pulling Young down since the foul had already been called and whistled before the pulling that was the cited reason for the call.
February 5th, 2020 at 10:34 AM ^
X made a split second decision to try and prevent his fall after he was already pushed, they shouldn't have called anything on him. But could they just have called a common foul on X right after the common foul on OSU? Then X would have had two free throws and OSU would have had a 1-and-1 since it was the 9th foul. Or was a flagrant 1 the only option if they wanted to call something on him?
February 4th, 2020 at 10:40 PM ^
Honestly the sequence that perfectly encapsulated the officiating tonight was the one play they threw it down to Davis in the post and he got hooked by the first guy, then shoved by him and then straight shoved out of bounds by Wesson as the help defense. Castleton also had his shoulder straight up grabbed going after a loose ball right after that. The charge call on Dejulius was also straight up wrong in the first half, you can't slide under a offensive player after they are already in the air, that was supposed to be a point of emphasis for player safety. I've seen big ten officials get that wrong numerous times this year.
February 4th, 2020 at 11:53 PM ^
Not only was the DDJ charge bullshit by its self, they waived off the made basket
I thought the basket counted regardless of the foul as long as it was shot before the foul occurred? It definitely was out of his hand by the time the OSU player slid under him
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