Michigan ran out to a quick 5-0 lead at Penn State and led for most of the first half on the way to a key, 72-63 win at Penn State.
Junior Moritz Wagner picked up his first foul two minutes in and went to the bench. The Wolverines had three turnovers early and five in the first five minutes … they’d finish with seven in the first half, three by redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews (zero first half points).
PSU responded with a 7-0 run to take its only lead of the half, 7-5. A Duncan Robinson three ended the run, followed by a drive and flush in transition by senior shooting guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman that made it 10-7.
Freshman Eli Brooks even got into the act, driving and finishing to give the Wolverines a 16-11 lead at 11:15.
With PSU big man Mike Watkins on the bench with a knee injury suffered early, Michigan got great defense by sophomore big man Jon Teske inside and from sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson on the perimeter to grab control. Fifth-year senior Robinson continued to play well offensively with a drive and score … he scored nine of the Wolverines’ first 18 points.
PSU made only six of its first 19 shots, and U-M grabbed a 21-15 lead at 6:25 on a triple by Wagner. Freshman Jordan Poole’s triple from the corner at 4:52 opened a 24-17 lead and forced a Penn State timeout.
Poole’s dunk in transition, and one, gave the Wolverines a 10-point lead, and Robinson hit a triple on the move to open it up to 30-17. Michigan had 22 bench points when Poole finished in transition at 2:25 while PSU only had 20 total, and U-M was up 32-20.
Penn State made a run to end the half, but the Wolverines still led 34-26 at the break. Robinson had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting to lead U-M, while Poole added eight and Wagner six. Michigan shot 52 percent, 50 from three-point range, to PSU’s 39.3 and 28.6.
Simpson helped hold PSU’s outstanding sophomore Tony Carr to five points on 2-of-7 shooting.
SECOND HALF
Carr took the first possession right at Simpson and scored to cut U-M’s lead to six, and it was game on. The two teams traded buckets, but Carr’s triple from the corner cut the deficit to four.
The Nittany Lions came back all the way and took a 39-38 lead at 16:12 on Carr’s three-point play. They were on a 22-8 run at that point, and the crowd was back into the game.
Michigan was only one-of-its first five shot in the first half and PSU went up 41-38 on an alley-oop.
Wagner’s contested three from the corner was Michigan’s first hoop in five minutes at 13:35 and tied it. U-M was completely disjointed on offense at that point, but still took a 44-43 at 12 minutes on another Wagner triple.
Josh Reaves tied it at 46 with a three, but Abdur-Rahkman countered with a triple, only his fifth point.
The two teams continued to go back and forth. The Wolverines, after weathering the storm, went back up six in an extremely physical game and went up 54-48 at 7:08 on a Poole corner triple.
U-M led by eight after a Simpson runner, but PSU chipped away. It was down to five at the last TV timeout, and the two teams went the next few possessions without scoring before Simpson’s lay-up pushed the lead to seven.
Carr countered with a triple, but an Abdur-Rahkman finish and a dagger triple by Robinson at 1:26 made it a nine-point spread, and the Wolverines finished it from the line.
Robinson finished with 19, Wagner 18 and Poole, who played the majority of the second half in place of Matthews (zero points), notched 13 for U-M. The Wolverines are guaranteed either a four or five seed in the Big Ten Tournament and now stand 23-7, 12-5 in Big Ten play.
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