Game recap: Michigan falls to North Carolina in Jumpman Invitational
Michigan men’s basketball traveled to Charlotte for a “neutral site” game against the North Carolina Tar Heels but were unable to match the women’s team performance from the night before. The men fell to 7-4 on the season with an 80-76 loss to UNC in the Jumpman Invitational.
Michigan was led by 22 points from sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin with freshman wing Jett Howard adding 17 points of his own. Junior Hunter Dickinson had one of his poorer outings as a Wolverine, fouling out with 9 points on 3-of-9 shooting and 8 rebounds on the night.
UNC was paced by star big man Armando Bacot, who won a lopsided matchup with Dickinson. He finished with 26 points on the evening.
Here is the recap of how the night went for Michigan.
First half
The Tar Heels got out to an early 5-0 lead before a 7-0 run from the Wolverines helped them take their first lead of the night at the 16:40 mark. UNC would take it back on a quick 4-0 spurt to go up 9-7 over the Wolverines, but Michigan had a big run ready in response. The Wolverines were able to rattle off a 13-3 run to go up 20-12 at the 13:06 mark. The 8-point lead would be their largest lead in the game.
Michigan’s dominance would be short-lived with the Tar Heels waking up. An RJ Davis 3-pointer narrowed the lead to 20-15, matched by a jumper from Jett Howard to put U-M back up 22-15. UNC would go on another 5-0 run to narrow the deficit to 22-20 at the 9:47 mark. Michigan would keep itself ahead thanks to a pair of free throws and layup from Kobe Bufkin to hold a 28-23 lead with 6:36 to in the first half.
Top 10
- 1
Underranked SEC
Lane Kiffin protests CFP rankings
- 2New
Saban chirped
Big 12 comes after GOAT
- 3
DJ Lagway
Fan flashes Florida QB to Pope
- 4Hot
Strength of Schedule
CFP Top 25 SOS ranking
- 5
Alabama needs a prayer
Tide can make the CFP but needs help
The Tar Heels would come roaring to life in the last 6 minutes of the half, though. Michigan led 30-28 with 4:23 remaining, but UNC went on a 10-0 run to take a 38-30 lead over the Wolverines with 1:29 to go. Bufkin had Michigan’s last 4 points of the half, but it would trail 41-34 heading into the locker room.
Second half
UNC star Armando Bacot got the scoring started to put his team up 43-34 before Michigan’s 4-straight points from Dickinson and Jett Howard, each a pair of free throws. Three-pointers from Terrance Williams and Bufkin helped keep Michigan afloat, but UNC was able to keep its lead at 51-44 with 15:33 remaining. The teams would continued to trade baskets over the next couple of minutes with Joey Baker’s layup putting U-M at a 59-52 deficit with 12 minutes to go.
North Carolina would go back up 9 on a Caleb Love layup, but a 3-pointer from Bufkin and layup from Howard helped Michiganclaw back to down 4 points at 61-57. UNC’s Davis would hit a 3-pointer at 7:58 to help UNC out to a 66-59 lead before an and-1 situation from Pete Nance helped them out to a 69-60 lead.
U-M had one more push in it, though. Baker hit a free throw, Dickinson had a layup and Baker followed it up wit ha 3-pointer to narrow the deficit to 69-66 with 3:37 remaining. The two teams would go back and forth down the stretch with Davis helping UNC to a 75-71 lead with under a minute to go before a pair of free throws from Love to go up 77-71 with 36 seconds to go. Baker would hit a triple late, but Michigan fell 80-76.
Michigan basketball vs. North Carolina box score
Michigan is in action next on Dec. 29 at home against the Central Michigan Chippewas.
