Michigan Basketball Instant Recap: Wolverines Lose Road Opener At Illinois
Michigan started fast offensively, but Illinois matched the Wolverines and pulled away in the second half for a 71-62 win Wednesday night in Champaign.
The Wolverines fell to 8-2 overall, 1-1 in Big Ten play heading into a Saturday game with Oregon.
Illinois got off to a quick start and led 4-0, taking the ball to the rim and scoring inside for much of the first half. The Illini forced the Wolverines to play within the paint, face-guarding the three-point shooters … the looks U-M got didn’t fall, forcing them to play from behind most of the night.
Senior center Jon Teske’s triple at 15:35 gave Michigan its first lead, 9-8, and his free throw line jumper and a runner by junior guard Eli Brooks gave U-M an 11-8 edge at the first TV timeout, one that didn’t come until 13:58 due to the crazy pace.
It would slow. The Wolverines went almost three minutes without scoring, turning it over twice before senior point guard Zavier Simpson ended the drought with a lefty finish in traffic.
Illinois went on a run to take a 22-17 lead, but Michigan junior forward Isaiah Livers scored five straight to bring Michigan back to tie. Illinois took a 30-28 lead into the break, continuing to work inside.
The Wolverines, meanwhile, made only two of 12 triples and shot 41.4 percent (12-29) in the first half. Teske scored nine and Livers added five to lead U-M scorers.
Illinois notched eight offensive rebounds and scored 26 of their 30 points in the paint.
SECOND HALF
Michigan scored four points after frosh center Kofi Cockburn opened the scoring, tying the game, but the Illini continue to attack inside. They scored twice more inside in the first four minutes to grab a six-point lead, again to push it to eight before Livers finally answered with his first triple, a three from the right corner.
Illinois’ first triple in nine attempts pushed it back to 45-37 a the 14-inute mark, but senior point guard Zavier Simpson answered with a runner.
U-M’s troubles weren’t limited to poor shooting. The Wolverines picked up seven fouls in the first 7:22 to put the Illini in the bonus after only picking up one foul in the first. Illinois was in the double bonus halfway through the second half and took a 10-point lead on two Cockburn free throws that made it 54-44 at 9:07.
Buckets by Livers and Brooks cut the deficit to six at the third TV timeout, but it was 66-54 with only 3:13 remaining after an Illini run.
Michigan had more one run in them. The Wolverines scored eight straight to cut it to four, five from Teske and a three-point play by sophomore guard David DeJulius, and had a chance to cut it to one possession with 1:51 remaining.
DeJulius missed a long triple and Illinois answered with a 5-0 run to end the game.
The Wolverines finished 3-for-18 from long range and allowed 15 offensive rebounds in the loss. Teske led the way with 16 points while Livers and Brooks added 12 each.
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