Michigan basketball score: Nimari Burnett scored a career-best 31 as the Wolverines led by 32 at the half.
When Michigan basketball is hitting from beyond the arc, it can make for a long game for an opponent. And when U-M is also vacuuming up rebounds, it can make it even longer. And when the Wolverines are also producing points in the paint?
That actually makes for a pretty short game, as it did Thursday, Feb. 5, when U-M dominated Penn State so thoroughly in just the first half that you almost expected half the Wolverines roster to switch sides at the break just to make it competitive. After leading by 32 points at halftime, U-M finished off Penn State, 110-69, at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, gaining a measure of revenge for a mere two-point Wolverines victory in Happy Valley in early January.
In taming the Nittany Lions over the first 20 minutes, the Wolverines hit seven of 13 (53.8%) 3-pointers, even as Penn State missed all 10 tries from outside. U-M also outrebounded PSU, 24-4, before the half, and dominated inside, with a 28-12 edge in scoring in the paint.
Actually, though, the game was even shorter that, with an Elliot Cadeau 3 with 11:10 remaining gave the Wolverines a seemingly insurmountable 21-8 lead. Following a layup by Penn State’s Justin Houser, U-M followed with a 20-6 run to make it 41-16 with 4:21 left in the first half.
The win moved the Wolverines to 21-1 overall, the best 22-game start in program history. Thursday's 41-point victory tied for U-M's third-largest in Big Ten play, trailing only a 44-pointer over Wisconsin on Feb. 22, 1968, and a 48-pointer over Indiana on Feb. 22, 1998.
Michigan basketball Big Ten picture
With the win, Michigan tied idle Illinois atop the Big Ten, 1½ games up on Nebraska and two up on Michigan State, with tiebreakers in hand against each. The No. 2 Wolverines and No. 6 Illini have just one meeting this season, in Champaign, Illinois, on Feb. 27 (8 p.m., Fox).
First-half Michigan standouts
The Wolverines produced a balanced attack in the first half in which five players scored at least five points as the team shot 65.6% from the field. Nimari Burnett stood out with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting (including 3-for-4 on 3s), wile Morez Johnson Jr. added 10 points (on 4-for-5 shooting) and seven rebounds and freshman Trey McKenney picked up nine points and three rebounds. Yaxel Lendeborg actually had more assists (five) than points (four), the inverse of Cadeau, who had five points and four helpers heading into the second half.
Next up for the Wolverines
Michigan now heads south to Columbus, Ohio, for a reunion with Ohio State on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS). U-M and OSU played a mostly tight game last month in Ann Arbor before the Wolverines pulled away behind a big game from Cadeau – wearing No. 3 – on the night U-M raised Trey Burke’s No. 3 to the Crisler rafters. The Buckeyes entered Thursday’s late game against Maryland looking to rediscover their winning ways after falling to Wisconsin on Saturday to drop to 6-5 in league play, sitting ninth in the standings.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball reaches historic summit with rout of Penn State
Category: General Sports
