Instant Recap: No. 10 Michigan Basketball Destroys No. 16 Minnesota, 82-57
No. 10 Michigan Wolverines basketball blew out No. 16 Minnesota, 82-57, behind a great night on both ends of the floor.
Below is a recap of how the game went at Crisler Center Wednesday night.
First Half
Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson got the game started with a second-chance layup off the glass over Minnesota junior center Liam Robbins to make it 2-0 Maize and Blue. Robbins answered on the other end with a layup of his own and, two possessions later, connected on a three ball to give Minnesota a 5-2 lead, before Michigan junior forward Isaiah Livers nailed a three of his own to tie things back up at 5-5 with just under 17 minutes to go in the half.
That remained the score at the under-16 media timeout, with both teams starting off cold shooting the ball — Minnesota was 2-of-7 at that point and Michigan was 2-of-6 with two turnovers.
Michigan came out of the timeout hitting its next two shots and taking a 9-5 lead, while playing stellar defense on the other end and forcing two turnovers.
At the 11:10 mark, Michigan held a 13-9 lead, with fifth-year senior guard Mike Smith finishing a beautiful finger roll to give the Wolverines that four-point edge. Michigan was shooting 6-of-13 (46 percent) at that point, while holding the Gophers to 31 percent from the field.
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard called timeout at the 8:18 mark, after Minnesota cut it within two points (15-13) behind a nifty drive and layup by redshirt junior guard Marcus Carr, who finished over Wolverines' junior forward Brandon Johns. The Maize and Blue were on a 2:46 scoring drought at this point.
Livers got a steal with just under seven minutes to play and finished with an emphatic one-handed dunk to make it 21-15 Michigan, at which point Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino burned a timeout. After a shot clock violation by Minnesota, Michigan sophomore wing Franz Wagner nailed a deep three from the top of the key to give the Wolverines a 24-15 edge. That marked a 7-0 run for the Maize and Blue.
Livers stole it again with four and a half to play, and he threw down another monster dunk on the run out to give Michigan its largest lead of the night at 28-18. Another stop on the other end was had by the Wolverines, before Dickinson ended up with two at the rim to give Michigan a 12-point edge with three and a half to go.
Michigan was on a 13-3 run over the last 4:45 (after Howard's timeout) when it was time for the under-four media timeout (at the 2:37 mark). Minnesota was 8-of-27 from the field with seven turnovers at that point, proving the Wolverines' defense was outstanding early on.
Carr heated up at that point, hitting two three-pointers in the next minute out of the timeout, while Dickinson had a nice finish over his right shoulder sandwiched in between the two Gopher triples. It was Michigan 32, Minnesota 24 with 45 seconds to go, at which point Carr was fouled shooting a layup, made two free throws and made it a six-point deficit (32-26). That was the score at the half.
At the break, Michigan was shooting 52 percent from the field and 29 percent from beyond the arc, while the Gophers were hitting on just 33 percent of their overall attempts and 29 percent of their looks from deep.
Carr led the Gophers with 10 points at half, while Dickinson poured in 14 points (7-of-9 shooting) for the Wolverines.
Second Half
Michigan made a concerted effort to get the ball down low to start with half, with Dickinson being the beneficiary. He finished on two layups on the team's first two offensive possession ... add in a few stops and a Livers layup in transition, and Michigan held a 38-26 lead just two minutes in.
Michigan then took its largest lead of the night to that point, 40-26, after Wagner got fouled going up on a dunk and knocked down two free throws.
Livers drove and broke down the defense, before finding Smith for a triple from the right wing, which gave Michigan a 15-point advantage (45-30) at 15:56. As the Wolverines notched a stop and were running for the loose ball, senior guard Eli Brooks took an incidental shot to the face and had to come off the floor at the under-16 media timeout.
Two straight Wagner layups gave Michigan a 49-30 lead at the 14:32 mark. Michigan was extremely hot at that point, making 7 of 8 attempts to start the half.
Michigan held a 51-32 lead at the 12:56 mark. Dickinson had 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting at that point.
The Wolverines began the half outscoring Minnesota 26-8 at the 11:20 mark, holding a 58-34 edge. Dickinson's eight and Wagner's six points led the way in the stanza, with the Wolverines also locking down defensively — Minnesota only made three of its 13 second-half attempts to that point.
The Wolverines then surged ahead to a 35-point lead at the 7:56 mark, going on a 20-0 run. Michigan had 38 points in the half to that point, while the Gophers just had 34 on the entire night. Michigan led 71-34 and had the victory in the bag.
Howard emptied the bench at the 3:47 mark, with the Wolverines holding a 77-45 edge. Dickinson's day was done with 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds. Livers posted 14 points and seven boards in the game, while Wagner had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Freshman forward Terrance Williams dribbled the ball out as time expired, and the Wolverines ended up with a 82-57 win over No. 16 Minnesota.
For the game, Michigan shot 57 percent from the field and 31 percent from long range, while holding Minnesota to 33 percent overall and 25 percent from beyond the arc.
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