12/6/2020 basketball Edit

Michigan Annihilates Central Florida In Impressive Fashion, 80-58

Austin Fox • Maize&BlueReview

Staff Writer

The Michigan Wolverines' basketball team put on a clinic this evening at Crisler Center, destroying a quality Central Florida squad, 80-58. The Maize and Blue dug themselves out of an early 12-point deficit to run the Knights out of the gym from that point on.

Miss any of the impressive victory? We've got you covered with a complete recap of how everything unfolded below.

First Half

It was a rough start tonight for Michigan at Crisler Center, with UCF jumping out to early leads of 6-2 and then 10-7 at the under-16 timeout. A midrange jumper from senior guard Chaundee Brown trimmed the Knights' lead to just 14-13 at the 13:13 mark, before things got a bit dicey.

UCF then went on an 11-0 run to increase its lead to 25-13 at the 9:29 mark, with things not looking too promising at Crisler Center at that point. The Maize and Blue quickly kicked it into gear moving forward though.

A layup from Brown at 8:05 made it 28-20, before the senior continued his momentous play with a triple at 6:49 to cut the deficit to just five (28-23). Michigan's bench carried the team throughout its biggest runs tonight, with junior forward Brandon Johns joining the party with a layup with 4:59 remaining in the half to trim UCF's once-12-point lead to just one, at 28-27.

U-M finally went on top with a layup from senior guard Eli Brooks at the 4:18 mark to make the score 29-28, and the Wolverines were feeling good about themselves at that point.

They would never relinquish the lead again. Freshman center Hunter Dickinson was one of the biggest sparks off the bench as well, increasing U-M's edge to 35-30 with a layup — assisted by Johns — with 2:33 to go.

A triple from yet another bench player in freshman forward Terrance Williams put Michigan up 38-32 with 1:36 remaining, before UCF's Darin Green knocked down two free throws at 1:16 to make the score 38-34.

That's where things stood at the end of the first half, with Michigan finishing the stanza on a 25-9 run after having originally trailed 25-13.

Second Half

U-M picked up the second half right where it left off, continuing its momentous play in a big way. Sophomore guard Franz Wagner — who sat most of the first half with two fouls — gave the Wolverines their first points of the second frame, connecting on a layup at 19:45 to increase Michigan's edge to 40-34.

The lead was stretched to 10 (47-37) on a Brooks midrange jumper at the 16:46 mark, and the Knights were forced to call a timeout. That's where things stood at the under-16 media break.

A triple from Brown (his second of the day) lengthened Michigan's advantage to 52-41 at 12:38, and the Wolverines were starting to flex their muscles at that point. Little did anyone know things were about to explode for the Maize and Blue.

Brown came back with a second consecutive three-pointer on U-M's ensuing possession to put the team up 55-41, before a layup from Wagner and two free throws from Dickinson pushed the margin to 59-41 with 10:44 remaining.

The rout was on at that juncture. The three-point barrage from Brown continued at 9:07 to make the score 64-41, before Johns joined the party with a triple of his own at 7:44 to put U-M up 67-41.

The aforementioned players were all part of a 20-0 run from Michigan. Senior forward Isaiah Livers had a quiet night (just five points), but nailed a triple with 4:44 to go to put U-M up 74-43, its biggest lead at the time.

The lead sat at 32 (78-46) following two Williams free throws with just 3:41 to play. Head coach Juwan Howard then emptied his bench at the under-4 timeout, and UCF went on a quick 12-2 run to close out the game as a result.

Michigan's only points in the final 3:40 of the game came on a layup from junior guard Adrien Nunez with 14 seconds remaining, making the final score look a bit more respectable for UCF than it otherwise would have.

Make no mistake though — this was an absolute destruction by the Wolverines, against a quality Knights squad who took down Auburn by eight (63-55) in their only game of the year prior to this weekend.

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