Michigan basketball blown out at Penn State, 83-61
Michigan basketball’s defensive woes were on display again early at Penn State. The Wolverines gave up 16 points in the first 6 minutes, 11 of them to Jalen Pickett, and fell behind by as many as 8 points before getting thrashed, 83-61.
The Wolverines trailed by 30 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
Freshman wing Jett Howard returned from an ankle injury and helped keep Michigan within striking range early. He scored 10 of the Wolverines’ first 12 points, 13 of the 15 and cut a 16-8 deficit to 16-15 by himself.
But Pickett tripled to end the run, and Michigan continued to struggle defensively. The Wolverines left their feet too often and gave up easy looks at the rim to fall behind 29-21.
Junior center Hunter Dickinson, meanwhile, didn’t score his first 2 points until the 7:30 mark of the first half, but he started to heat up. He cut it to 29-25 at 5:51 with a second straight bucket inside. Jett Howard made it 29-27 at 5:19 with his 14th and 15th point on a jumper.
PSU went on a 9-0 run on 3 straight triples. While two of them were of the lucky variety, a pair of prayers, the third was yet another wide open look that made it 40-30. Andrew Funk made it 43-30 with 2 minutes remaining in the half, and Michigan was in trouble. Funk hit another after a Dickinson miss to make it 46-30, and the rout was on.
Howard cut it to 31-30 with a long, contested triple to make it 31-30.
And then the wheels came off. Funk scored in transition for an and-one on a Dickinson turnover that made it 49-30 and an 18-0 run.
Michigan sophomore Kobe Bufkin hit a jumper with seconds remaining in the half to end the run, but the damage had been done.
PSU made 61.3 of its shots in the first half, including 9-of-17 triples. Jett Howard scored 18 on 7-of-8 shooting, while Bufkin added 8.
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SECOND HALF: PSU starts strong and finishes blowout of Michigan
The Michigan defense started poorly to being the second half, giving up yet another open look for a corner three to Lundy. They were up 57-34 before Howard called a timeout, continuing their 3-point assault, and it was 60-34 before Terrance Williams tripled from the top.
But it was 62-36 at the first TV timeout, and the only thing in question at that point was whether Michigan could make it respectable.
They couldn’t. Another Lundy triple made it 69-41, and Pickett made it an even 30, 71-41, at the second TV timeout.
The only thing in doubt was the score. Michigan cut it to 83-61 at the final buzzer to make it look more respectable.
Jett Howard scored 21 to lead Michigan, while Bufkin added 8. The Wolverines will travel to Northwestern
