Ahead of their regular season finale against arch-rival Ohio State, the Michigan Wolverines found out that their best player, center Hunter Dickinson, is not playing in Columbus.
Michigan announced a short while ago that Dickinson has been ruled out of the game with a stomach ailment. It’s only the second game that Dickinson has missed the entire season.
Dickinson has been nothing short of superb for Michigan this season. He leads the team with 18.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and has posted a double-double in three of the last four games.
So it should be no surprise that Michigan fans are nothing short of despondent after this news. It also shouldn’t be a shock that Ohio State fans are rubbing it in their faces:
This has to be a joke https://t.co/DUwdOuYxFD
— Logan Kwiatkowski (@LoganK86) March 6, 2022
😂 NIT!
— FQ Ohio State (@FQOhioState) March 6, 2022
Well that’s not ideal https://t.co/FXWBZQbyN1
— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 6, 2022
Sources say he should be back in time for the NIT https://t.co/to6ZlmrBfN
— Luke (@LukeDionise) March 6, 2022
Well looks like we’re gonna need a few big ten tournament wins https://t.co/ZvTqLaQVV9
— antonio❄️ (@PistonsAntonio) March 6, 2022
Michigan is just 16-13 this year and widely considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. But when Hunter Dickinson is dominating, they’re tough to handle.
The Wolverines are 11-5 when he has at least nine rebounds and are 7-3 when he has at least 22 points. Suffice it to say, the odds on Michigan are certainly not going to be on their side for this game.
As for the implications, a loss would almost certainly ensure that the Wolverines get the 8th seed in the Big Ten Tournament. That will put them on a collision course with Indiana this Thursday.
A win could get them to the 7th seed if Michigan State lose to Maryland this afternoon. That would set the Wolverines up with either Penn State or Maryland on Thursday.
Can Michigan beat Ohio State without Hunter Dickinson?
The post Hunter Dickinson Not Playing Today: College Basketball World Reacts appeared first on The Spun.