Michigan finishes strong, Danny Wolf leads the way in 85-74 win over USC

Michigan Wolverines basketball beat USC, 85-74, Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Michigan made 10 threes in the first half but none in the second, instead going inside and finding success. The Maize and Blue battled foul trouble, too, and were able to prevail.

Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded.

First half

Michigan got off to a hot shooting start, making its first five threes to lead 15-9 at the under-16 media timeout. Junior guard Tre Donaldson made the first two, and graduate guard Nimari Burnett also hit a pair.

Junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. picked up his second foul at the 17:51 mark, and head coach Dusty May decided to take him out at that point; he was replaced by graduate Rubin Jones.

Michigan cooled off by missing its next two threes, including one by Burnett. USC, meanwhile, was having some success inside the arc, going 5-of-10 on twos with a pair of made layups. The Maize and Blue held a 17-14 edge at the 11:48 mark. Gayle checked in after the media timeout at that juncture.

USC picked up its first lead of the game with a jumper by Kevin Patton Jr. to go up 20-19 with 9:35 to go. Michigan answered with a three from junior forward/center Danny Wolf, though, and got Donaldson’s third triple of the game moments later. Michigan was up 25-24 at the under-eight media timeout. Michigan saw 11 of its first 17 field goal attempts come from beyond the arc.

Michigan and USC went back and forth for quite a long stretch, with a lot of fouls being called by the officials. Burnett drilled his third three-pointer of the game to put the Wolverines up 34-32, but a banked in jumper by Wesley Yates III tied the game right back up before the under-four media timeout.

The Wolverines started out 6-of-8 shooting from the field but went 5-of-15 in the subsequent stretch.

Donaldson stayed hot throughout the entire half, however. He made all 4 of his looks from deep in the first half, including one in transition after notching a steal. That put the Wolverines up 42-38, which was the halftime score, getting the momentum back by finishing the half on a 6-0 run.

Michigan shot 10-of-16 from three but only 3-of-11 on twos in the first half. Donaldson (4) and Burnett (3) combined for 7 of the team’s 10 made threes. USC, meanwhile, went 14-of-22 from inside the arc at the break.

Second half

USC scored the first two points of the half, but Michigan ripped off a 7-0 run after that, led by the two big men and the inside game that wasn’t as apparent in the first half.

Graduate center Vladislav Goldin found Wolf on two cuts for layups. In between those plays, Goldin finished an and-one on an assist from Wolf. The Wolverines jumped out to a 49-40 lead, sparking a timeout by USC head coach Eric Musselman.

Michigan continued its run, making it a 13-0 push. The Wolverines got out and ran after their sixth steal of the game, with Goldin slamming down a dunk to make it a 55-40 score. Prior to that, Wolf had tacked on 2 more layups to get him up to a team-high 16 points at that juncture.

USC came firing back to make it an eight-point game, but Michigan answered with back-to-back buckets by Gayle. The Wolverines turned the ball over on three-straight possessions, though, with a shotclock violation, a steal as freshman guard L.J. Cason was bringing up the ball and a bad pass by graduate guard Rubin Jones. USC capitalized with an and-one by Desmond Claude and a layup by Yates. Michigan led 61-57 with just over 11:30 to play. Yatest (19) and Claude (16) combined for 35 of the Trojans’ 57 points at that point.

USC had all the momentum as Michigan struggled mightily in the middle of the half. Goldin picked up his fourth personal foul at the 10:42 mark, and he went to the bench. USC banked in a three to get within two points, before Claude tied the game up at 63-63 with a pair of free throws. The Wolverines got in the bonus themselves, but missed three-straight front ends (Burnett, Wolf, Wolf).

USC took a 65-63 lead with under eight minutes remaining, before Gayle tied the game back up by snaking in for a layup. Michigan and USC were all equal at 65-65 at the 7:02 media timeout.

Gayle and Burnett took over for Michigan to gain a 73-65 lead, with the latter finishing a nifty turnaround and-one at the 5:09 mark. USC scored five in a row to pull within three, 73-70, at the under-four media timeout.

After it was 73-71 at the 3:23 mark, Michigan took over with a 10-0 run to go up 83-71 with under a minute to play. Goldin coming back in after having four fouls was big — he got to the line for two free throws and made a layup — and Donaldson was big with a crafty layup and some foul shots.

Michigan closed out the 85-74 win, and Wolf was the star. The 7-footer finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 blocks.

Michigan vs. USC box score