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Michigan basketball vs. Ohio State prediction: Can U-M make it 6 straight wins?
Danny Wolf leading the Michigan basketball turnaround
Tony and Andrew analyze reasons why Michigan basketball is succeeding and the impact of star forward Danny Wolf. Full “Hail Yes!” podcast out now.
It’s getting toward crunch time in the men’s basketball regular season and the Wolverines remain in the thick of it.
To get more specific, No. 17 Michigan (19-5, 11-2 Big Ten) isn’t just in the fight, but has the upper-hand, currently sitting alone atop the Big Ten standings by a half game over Purdue, which U-M just beat 75-73 at home on Tuesday.
That said, U-M may be winners of five in a row, however there’s no rest for the weary, as the Wolverines schedule remains loaded. Up next, rival Ohio State (15-10, 7-7) on the road at Schottenstein Center in Columbus. While the game is one that’s always circled on the calendar, this year it has additional meaning as shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr. transferred from OSU to Michigan last April.
He spoke at length with the Free Press earlier this week about his expected return and all of the emotions that come along with it. Friday afternoon, he met with the rest of the media, and doubled-down on what he’d told the Freep just days prior.
“For me, it’s more about bragging rights,” Gayle said of the importance of the contest individually. “To be able to play against some of my best friends. Hopefully, we can get a W.”
‘Be prepared for it’
Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter tried to tell most of the new comers about the physicality of the Big Ten, but it didn’t quite work. U-M had to get punched in the mouth by Purdue on the road before the message truly took hold.
This time around, Burnett believes his teammates are heeding some of the warnings he’s given about going to OSU.
“Nothing that I remember verbatim,” Burnett said Friday at Crisler Center. “I do remember it warranted a reaction. One time, against Ohio State, I don’t remember what was exactly said but I think it was along the line of family members. And that was like ‘alright bro, you crossin’ the line’ … but yeah, I told the guys to be prepared for it.”
As for the Buckeyes as a group, it’s an underrated team whose record doesn’t tell the full story. Jake Diebler’s squad, while just 7-7 in the league, has a road win at Purdue as well as a 20-point spanking of Kentucky earlier this year. Unlike Michigan, OSU has been on the wrong end of tight games in the league, with three losses by two points or less in the Big Ten just since the turn of the calendar.
Though Michigan enters play at No. 22 according to KenPom and though its record is a full four games better than Ohio State, the Buckeyes aren’t far behind at No. 29 overall according to KenPom, ranked in the top 30 both in offensive efficiency (No. 29) and defensive efficiency (No. 30).
Bruce Thorton, Gayle Jr.’s former roommate, is the “head of the snake” according to assistant coach Justin Joyner, he leads the team at 17.3 points per game. But Devin Royal, a big man averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, is also a problem, as is the backcourt duo of John Mobley Jr. (13.4 points) and San Diego State transfer Micah Parrish (12.5 points).
“They’re a really good team with really good personnel,” Joyner said Friday. “They’ve got really good guard play, obviously. Bruce Thorton is a special player … (Mobley) is a gamer and then Micah Parrish … winning DNA, an elite shooter … so their back court provides a lot of potential problem and their front court knows who they are.”
Keeping the focus
As for Gayle, there is absolutely no question about the reception he’s going to get on Sunday.
He said he received death threats as well as many nasty DMs, but his former head coach hopes that doesn’t happen this weekend − he feels there are too many things for his team and fanbase still to focus on.
“I trust that we’ll operate with class because Roddy gave his all when he was here,” Diebler recently said. “Ohio State was important to him. I think the game needs to be about the rivalry and the game. It doesn’t need to be about Roddy Gayle.”
That said, people are people, so naturally, this game will be about Gayle Jr. Even when Andrew Dakich, son of former IU player and long time color commentator Dan Dakich, transferred from U-M to OSU back in 2017 as a rather irrelevant reserve guard, he still received vitriol.
Gayle, on the other hand, led OSU in scoring last year. Now, he’s struggling in Ann Arbor with his shooting − just 1 of 20 on 3-pointers the past 10 games − and there’s little question the fans are going to remind him of that.
“Not as much as it’s about to be,” Gayle laughed when asked if he himself has ever specifically been boo’d in an away arena before. “But I mean, normally I’m pretty good at tuning it out. … Just try to do as much as I can to help my team win.”
Prediction
Michigan has toughened up since its trip to West Lafayette, increasing its physicality and finding a slightly tweaked rotation that’s paid dividends early. That said, the Wolverines have still been in five straight games that have been decided in the final two minutes of play, and no team on earth, no matter how talented, can win those every single time. U-M had the juice of the crowd behind it on Tuesday, but a rivalry game against a team that could use a signature win to solidify its NCAA Tournament seeding, well unfortunately for U-M, there will be no chance to troll with “just like football.” The pick: Ohio State 74, Michigan 71
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
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