Michigan holds off Rutgers for 8th win in Big Ten play

The Michigan Wolverines won their third game in four tries on Saturday afternoon with a 66-63 win at Rutgers, moving to 16-5 on the season and 8-2 in Big Ten play, keeping pace with Purdue in second place in the conference.

Big men Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin led the way again for the Wolverines, combining for 30 points and 20 rebounds on the night. Point guard Tre Donaldson finished with 10 points and 6 assists. Michigan’s defense against top-5 NBA Draft prospect Ace Bailey was a highlight, holding the phenom to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting (0-for-7 from three).

Next up for the Wolverines is a home game against Oregon on Wednesday night at Crisler Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

Below is the full game recap from Saturday’s victory in Piscataway.

First half

Michigan started the scoring on Saturday afternoon with a dunk from Vlad Goldin to take a 2-0 lead at the 18:27 mark. Rutgers went on a 4-0 run thanks to dunks by Dylan Grant and Lathan Somerville, going up 4-2 with 16:46 on the clock. The Wolverines stormed back ahead with a 7-0 spurt from 15:45 to 14:12 on a fast break layup from Tre Donaldson, followed by a three-pointer. Nimari Burnett added a layup to put Michigan in the lead at 9-4. The two teams combined for 9 turnovers between the start of the game and the first media timeout at 13:46.

Rutgers scored five straight points to tie the game at 9-9 at 12:32 before Will Tschetter, who was playing sick on Saturday, was fouled and split a pair of free throws after the under-12 timeout at 11:43. Rutgers guard Tyson Acuff gave the Scarlet Knights the lead back with a three-pointer at 10:49, which would wind up sparking a 5-0 run by the Wolverines. Goldin had a paint shot good at 10:24, followed by a right corner three for Sam Walters to give Michigan a 15-12 lead at the 9:14 mark.

Rutgers would go on a 7-2 to run over the next minute and a half to take the lead back at 19-17, answered by a three from Justin Pippen to put Michigan ahead 20-19 (7:29). Bailey scored his first basket on a jumper at the 5:48 mark to give Rutgers its last lead of the first half at 21-20.

Michigan started to get some separation at the 4:42 mark, which kicked off a 10-0 run thanks to a layup from Goldin, threes from Walters and Will Tschetter and a pair of Roddy Gayle Jr. free throws, taking a 30-21 lead by the time the 1:36 point hit. Rutgers scored four points in the final minute and a half, including a highlight reel dunk from Bailey with 44 seconds to go, but Goldin answered with one of his own to send Michigan into the locker room up 32-25.

Second half

Rutgers started the half with a quick four points from Somerville and another Bailey dunk, cutting the lead to 32-29 at 18:11. Michigan fired back with a 6-1 run, jumping out to an 8-point lead at 38-30 with 15:58 remaining. Rutgers ended the run with a 3-pointer at 15:39, answered at the other end by a layup from Tschetter. The Scarlet Knights would keep chipping away with a trip of three-pointers between 13:34 and 8:25 to cut the Michigan lead to 46-44 with 7:53 remaining.

Gayle hit a pair of free throws at 7:06 to extend the U-M lead to 48-44 with Jordan Derkack matching with two foul shots made at the other end. The Wolverines were able to get some breathing room thanks to a Wolf three-pointer at 6:30, pushing the lead to 51-46. Rutgers split a pair of free throws afterward, then Goldin added a layup to put the Wolverines ahead 53-47 with 5:39 to go. Somerville hit a jumper at 5:16 to trim the lead to 4 at 53-49 before a Wolf layup at 4:51 (55-49). Bailey split a pair of free throws at 4:29 to bring the score to 55-50, then Goldin hit both foul shots at the under-4 media timeout to push the lead back to 57-50 in favor of Michigan.

Davis hit a triple for the Scarlet Knights at 3:15 to trim the lead to 57-53, answered 17 seconds later by a layup from Goldin at 2:58. Bailey hit two free throws to bring the score to 59-55 with 2:40 to go before a Wolf layup at 2:13 to go up 61-55.

Derkack hit a pair of free throws with 47 seconds, trimming the Michigan lead to 61-57. The Wolverines held off the Scarlet Knights by Wolf hitting a pair of free throws followed by Donaldson and Wolf splitting their next four combined attempts, holding a 65-57 lead with 16 seconds to go. Acuff hit a three for Rutgers with 6.4 seconds to go, bringing the game to 65-60.

Final Michigan at Rutgers box score