Senior Night brought out the best in Michigan as they thoroughly routed Minnesota 83-55 on Tuesday. It was like the Wolverines had finally poked their way out of the shell that had been suffocating them all season. They were executing the offense with precision and they played with passion for the full 40 minutes. The Wolverines got rolling early and they never took their foot off the gas, not even in the last minute when Anthony Wright drew a charge with Michigan up by 28 points.
DeShawn Sims receives a pass from Darius Morris. Photo, Todd White/isportsweb
The first half was a basketball masterpiece. During one two minute stretch, late in the opening half, Michigan produced three straight highlight reel plays. Manny Harris started it by hooking up with DeShawn Sims on a perfectly executed alley-oop. Then Zack Novak threw a precision bounce pass to Manny Harris for a lay up. Finally Darius Morris found Sims under the basket and Sims one-timed the ball to Zack Novak on the wing, who drained a wide-open triple. Michigan ended the first half with 14 assists on 16 field goals and they only turned the ball over 3 times.
Sims and Harris did the heavy lifting, scoring 23 and 22 points respectively, but the ring leader was Darius Morris. “I thought Darius really controlled the game well,” said Zack Novak. ‘He made some great passes and they couldn’t press us, he was pretty much just breaking it by himself.” Morris dazzled the crowd on several occasions with jaw dropping passes, he also attacked the rim with confidence on his way to a 7 point, 6 assist, 1 turnover night. He seemed to balance perfectly when to be aggressive and drive and when to pull out and run the play. “I really like the way he handled their defense,” said John Beilein.
Stu Douglass chipped in 10 points and 3 assists and Zack Novak tallied 6 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds.
At least for one night, Michigan put their shooting woes behind them. They shot a season best 60% from the field and 42% from three-point range.
One of the common themes I heard in the post game locker room was that everybody was on the same page. “It was a nice thing to see the chemistry on the team tonight,” said Anthony Wright. The synergy on the court was a sight for sore eyes for the fans too. This is what the offense should look like with a balance of three-point shooting and attacking the basket. The Wolverines were aggressive and smart.
L-R, John Beilein, DeShawn Sims, Zack Gibson, Anthony Wright. Photo, Todd White/isportsweb
Senior Night was a hit for Zack Gibson, as he scored 7 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and picked up a block and a steal in his farewell performance at Crisler Arena. Anthony Wright added 3 points and a solid dose of good defense.
The win bumps Michigan’s record to 14-15, 7-10 and sends them to East Lansing on a positive note.
Notes: John Beilein is 5-2 in his career against Minnesota and Michigan has won 4 straight in the series.
Manny Harris now has 1,616 points in his U-M career, 11th-most in school history, passing Dion Harris, Roy Tarpley and Daniel Horton on Michigan’s career scoring list in the contest.
DeShawn Sims now has 1,545 points in his career, the 15th-most in school history. He passed Juwan Howard and Jimmy King on Michigan’s career scoring list.
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