Michigan Falls At Louisville, 58-43
The Michigan Wolverines' basketball team fell tonight at Louisville, 58-43, while struggling to hit shots all night (shot just 26 percent for the game).
Here's how the entire contest unfolded at the KFC Yum! Center:
First Half
It took Michigan's offense three minutes to get on the board tonight, with senior center Jon Teske hitting a short jump hook to make it 2-2 at 17:02, after the Wolverines had missed their first five shots of the game.
The Cardinals were just as cold from the floor, however, and only held a 4-2 lead at the under-16 timeout.
Another short jump hook from Teske made it 6-4 Louisville at the 13:20 juncture, with his basket following a 1-for-10 start from the floor for Michigan and a 3-of-13 start for the Cardinals.
UL maintained a 7-4 advantage at the under-12 timeout, but the two teams were a combined 5-of-26 at that point.
Louisville's lead stood at 13-5 with 9:06 left in the half, but the offensive display from both clubs hadn't improved much, as they were a combined 7-of-33.
A 6-0 run gave UL an 18-5 edge at the under-8 timeout, and two free throws from sophomore guard David DeJulius made the score 22-9 with 5:04 to go in the half.
A three-pointer from junior forward Isaiah Livers made it 24-12 at 3:36, and that's where things stood at the under-4 break.
The Wolverines' offense was just 4-of-26 from the floor at the timeout.
Two free throws from junior guard Eli Brooks trimmed the deficit to 10 (28-18) with seven seconds left in the half, and Cardinal guard Ryan McMahon missed a deep two as time expired.
The Maize and Blue only shot 20 percent before the break (6-of-20), but saw Louisville connect on just 32 percent of its shots (10-of-31).
Second Half
Teske scored Michigan's first points of the second half with a deep two to make it 30-22 at 18:11, giving him 10 points at that juncture.
Freshman guard Franz Wagner then hit a deep two along the baseline to make it 30-24 at 17:49, and the Wolverines had all the momentum.
Louisville's edge was cut to just four with (30-26) with two Teske free throws at 16:59, marking an 8-0 Maize and Blue run.
UL quickly stretched it back to 34-26 at the under-16 timeout though, and finished off a 10-0 run by making it 40-26 with 12:50 left in the game.
The Cardinals were up 43-30 at the under-12 timeout, and the Wolverines were shooting 36 percent for the second half at that point.
Two Teske free throws trimmed the margin to 11 (45-34) at 8:23, but the Cardinals stretched the lead back to 13 (47-34) at the under-8 timeout.
The senior center connected on a crucial triple to make it 47-37 with 5:59 to go, but an and-1 from UL forward Jordan Nwora increased Louisville's lead to 50-37 with 3:35 left in the contest.
Senior guard Zavier Simpson could have converted an and-1 of his own after a made layup with 1:53 left, but missed the free throw and UL's lead sat at 53-40.
Wagner nailed a corner three with 1:08 remaining in the game to make it 56-43, but it was too little, too late.
Louisville went on to win, 58-43, and held U-M to just 26 percent shooting overall and 16 percent from behind the three-point arc.
The Maize and Blue next return home to take on Iowa for a 6:30 PM tip off on Friday night.
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