The Michigan Wolverines closed out their regular season in the proper fashion in enemy territory this afternoon, defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena by a 75-69 final score thanks to 21 points from DeVante’ Jones along with strong performances from Terrance Williams II and Moussa Diabate.
It was the third win in five tries as acting head coach for assistant Phil Martelli, who took the place of Juwan Howard thanks to his altercation with the Wisconsin Badgers staff on February 20.
After the game, Martelli thanked his players for allowing him to be a part of their late-season run.
“It’s not smoke. I managed it, they coached it, and we will go forward,” he said. “Tomorrow, there will be a change, so thank you for allowing me to be with you.”
Of course, Michigan had to take the court today without the services of Hunter Dickinson, who missed the game while dealing with a stomach bug. Martelli joked that because Dickinson is Williams’ teammate on the road, the former may have given the latter his scoring touch by osmosis.
“There is a storyline, because his roommate on the road is Terrance Williams,” Martelli said. “By osmosis, did he become a scorer? I’m just saying. Something to follow.”
Martelli was also sure to single out the character of both his players and the staff.
“I’m just in awe of the players character, I’m in awe of the support staff’s knowledge,” he noted. What we wanted to try and be was balanced. We didn’t want to be too high or low, or be too physical. We just wanted balance, and I thought we did that.”
Martelli would go on to note that not having Dickinson in the lineup earlier in the season would have had a far different effect on the team than what they showed this afternoon.
“Earlier in the year, maybe we should have shriveled ups and worried,” he said. “I just think that it was yesterday, there was a sense yesterday that we’re going there. And I gave them this before the game. It’s cool to say that we’re competitors, but if you and I were flipping coins, I want to win. We came here to win.”
– – Quotes via 247Sports Link – –
