Ohio St. @ Michigan preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 29, 2019 ) Ohio St. 49, Michigan 65

Michigan and Ohio State bring two-game winning streaks into Tuesday night's Big Ten matchup in Ann Arbor at the start of an important week for both teams. The Wolverines and Buckeyes are trying to recover from January swoons that resulted in only two wins apiece.

The rivals have mirrored one another this season with strong starts in the first 1 1/2 months of the season followed by prolonged slumps. But after beating then-No. 25 Rutgers on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Michigan enters a stretch of winnable games that includes home dates with Ohio State and No. 14 Michigan State, a road game at last-place Northwestern and a home matchup with Indiana. Ohio State is trying to dig itself out of a hole created by a January tailspin that will be more challenging without freshman guard D.J. Carton, who announced last week that he's taking an indefinite leave from the team to deal with mental health issues. His absence will put more of a burden on senior point guard C.J. Walker, who answered the challenge Saturday with 14 points in 36 minutes of a 68-59 victory over Indiana.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT OHIO STATE (14-7, 4-6 Big Ten): Carton's absence not only puts increased pressure on Walker but on guards Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington Jr., who combined for nine points and 3-of-17 shooting from the field against Indiana. Lightly used Justin Ahrens proved to be a saving grace Saturday with 11 points on 3-of-5 accuracy from 3-point range in 13 minutes. Leading scorer and rebounder Kaleb Wesson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds versus Indiana but notably curbed a recent trend of carelessness with the ball and did not have a turnover in 31 minutes.

ABOUT MICHIGAN (13-8, 4-6): Coach Juwan Howard welcomes the return to the lineup of senior guard Zavier Simpson, who delivered nine points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals Saturday in the 69-63 victory over Rutgers after missing the previous game for a violation of team rules. Sophomore Brandon John Jr.'s career-high 20 points against Rutgers that included four 3-pointers and seven rebounds was also a positive sign for the Wolverines. Jon Teske leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game, rebounding with 7.6, steals with 24 and blocked shots with 41.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Michigan's Isaiah Livers missed his second straight game Saturday because of a groin injury and there's no indication when he'll return.

2. Michigan's Franz Wagner was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 14 points and seven rebounds in victories over Nebraska and Rutgers.

3. Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said on his radio show Monday that there are no further updates on when Carton might return.

PREDICTION: Michigan 72, Ohio State 67