Published Nov 29, 2018
The Most Significant Stats From Michigan's 84-67 Drubbing Of North Carolina
Austin Fox  •  Maize&BlueReview
Staff Writer

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Plenty has been made about the Wolverines' stifling defense so far this season, and that defensive prowess was on display once again in last night's 84-67 pounding of North Carolina.

Michigan played incredibly well in just about every facet of the game, though, en route to yet another quality win.

With victories over Villanova, Providence and now UNC, the Wolverines have arguably the best resume in the country, and will have have another chance to grab a signature triumph on Saturday when Purdue comes to town.

Here is a complete breakdown of not only the most fascinating statistics from last night's win, but a closer look at the roll the Wolverines have been on over the last year-plus.

Offensive Statistics

• After struggling offensively in its first two games of the year (36.7 shooting percentage against Norfolk State and 36 percent against Holy Cross), Michigan has now connected on at least 44.2 percent of its shots in every contest since, including a season-best 57.4 shooting percentage last night against UNC (the Tar Heel defense had only allowed one opponent, Texas, to shoot better than 44.1 percent all year).

• Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis' 24 points were a career-high, while redshirt junior guard Charles Matthews and sophomore guard Jordan Poole each turned in their second best scoring performances of the year, with 21 and 18 points, respectively.

• Michigan got off to a slow start from the floor on Wednesday night, only making five of its first 12 attempts (41.6 percent). After that, however, the Maize and Blue ended the game by nailing 26 of their next 42 buckets (61.9 percent).

• U-M made 11 of its 22 three-point attempts, marking the second time this season it has shot exactly 50 percent from long range (hit 15 of 30 against George Washington).

• Poole only made five threes in a single game once all of last year (went 5-of-10 in a Dec. 2 win over Indiana), but has already done so twice this season. He connected on five of his eight attempts last night, and also went an identical 5-of-8 against George Washington on Nov. 17.

Defensive Statistics

• North Carolina entered Wednesday night's contest averaging 96.6 points per game, while the U-M defense was ironically allowing exactly half that (48.3). Michigan held the Tar Heels 29.6 points below their season average, while also limiting them to a season-worst 39.4 field goal percentage — UNC's previous worst shooting performance this year had been 44.3 percent, and they had hit at least 48.4 percent of their buckets in five of six contests.

Michigan has now held all seven of its opponents below 40 percent shooting and under 70 points (the 67 points by North Carolina were a season-high against the U-M defense, with the previous high being 61 from George Washington).

The Wolverines' scoring defense is now giving up 51 points per game (which is tied with Texas Tech for the fewest in the country), and leads the nation in field goal percentage defense at 32.9 percent.

To put in perspective how stifling those numbers are, consider this: only one other team in the entire country is even below 34.5 percent (Texas Tech at 33.6), and only four others are below 35.5 percent.

• After North Carolina center Luke Maye torched the Maize and Blue for 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting in last year's matchup, the Wolverines completely shut him down this time around. Maye was held to 11 points on just 4-of-12 from the floor, and head coach John Beilein admitted during the week he had been the focal point of the team's defensive scouting report.

• The Tar Heels' second leading scorer, fifth-year senior guard Cameron Johnson, entered the affair averaging 16.4 points. He was limited to five points on 2-of-7 shooting, however, and saw his season average dip to 15. The Wolverines also shut down freshman forward Nassir Little, holding him to just four points (7.8 points below his season average of 11.8).

• UNC got off to a blazing start last night, connecting on nine of its first 13 shots (69 percent). From that point on, though, the Tar Heels hit just 17 of their next 53 attempts (32 percent).

• According to ESPN's Stats and Information tracking, U-M contested 58 of North Carolina's 66 shots.

• Junior forward Jon Teske had never had more than three blocks in a single game entering this season, but racked up five last night. It was the second time this year he had tallied five in a game (also had five against Holy Cross), while also registering four against Norfolk State.

Miscellaneous

• The Wolverines' 17-point victory was actually the closest game they had all played all season. Their narrowest wins prior to last night were 19-point triumphs over Norfolk State, Holy Cross and Providence.

In addition, Michigan has won its seven contests by an average of 21.7 points, with its two largest margins of victory being the 28-point win over Chattanooga and the 27-point triumph over Villanova.

• With the win, U-M improved to 7-0 for just the second time under Beilein (since 2007-08). The other occurrence was the 2012-13 campaign, when the team got off to a program-best 16-0 start, and didn't drop its first game until Jan. 13. The Wolverines advanced all the way to the national title that season, where they fell to Louisville.

• Michigan is now 5-1 in its last five home games against ranked opponents dating back to the 2016-17 season, with the lone loss coming by one point last year to No. 5 Purdue. The program also holds an impressive 22-1 record in last 23 games at Crisler Center, also dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.

• Michigan has now won 21 of its past 22 contests, with the lone loss coming in last season's national championship game to Villanova. Of the 21 victories, 16 have come by double figures.

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