Michigan expected to have its hands full with Ohio State’s backcourt, but not this way. The Wolverines figured it would be Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd, not a couple of freshmen just happy to be coming off the bench.
Brian Brown and Boban Savovic came into Friday night’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinal at the United Center looking to provide a defensive spark–maybe fill in when Redd or Penn needed a break. Instead, the dynamic second-string duo helped harass Michigan into 20 turnovers and a stretch of 12 minutes 42 seconds spanning two halves in which it didn’t hit a field goal.
The starting all-conference guards finished with their usual points: Penn with 14 and Redd with 19, but they came in the waning moments, long after Ohio State already had laid the foundation of its 87-69 pounding of Michigan.
“I’ve been telling these guys all year,” OSU coach Jim O’Brien said, “it’s tougher to defend all of us if we get contributions off the bench.”
Savovic produced eight points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists in 15 minutes on the court, most of which came during a pivotal 18-6 run to end the first half. Michigan led 25-16 early in the game, but trailed 34-31 at the half.
The majority of Brown’s 10 points and four assists came in the second half to help the Buckeyes (23-7) march toward Saturday’s semifinal against Illinois.
Redd said his team came out rusty from not playing in almost a week, and the Buckeyes really needed their bench.
“They came off the bench with a lot of energy,” Redd said. “That was exactly what we needed from them.”
Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said his team was too tired to recover from Ohio State’s run. Brown, however, said it’s tough for any team to beat the Buckeyes when Redd and Penn aren’t the only options.
“We just try to play defense first, and that helps to run our offense,” Brown said. “When we score it makes things that much easier for the starters and gives us a huge advantage.”
Savovic, who has been battling tendinitis in his Achilles’ tendon, said the tide-turning play from the bench was long overdue. Coming into Friday night’s game, he and Brown were averaging a combined 5.9 points and three rebounds.
“Coach has been saying all season long, `Somebody has to step up,’ ” Savovic said. “Today I guess a lot of guys did it.”
Ohio State split games with Michigan during the regular season. For part of the first half, it looked like the Wolverines would take the rubber game as Robbie Reid hit some early three-pointers, but they quickly tired.
“I just think that overtime game the night before (against Purdue) took a lot out of us,” Ellerbe said.
