Dug McDaniel had 26 points, Nimari Burnett scored 21 — all in the first half — and Michigan cruised to an 89-73 romp over St. John’s and new coach Rick Pitino at Madison Square Garden. Terrance Williams II added 12 points and Will Tschetter scored 10 for the Wolverines in the opener of the annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, which matches Big Ten teams against Big East programs. Michigan interim coach Phil Martelli filled in again for Juwan Howard, who has been recovering from heart surgery since mid-September. McDaniel added seven assists and six rebounds. Burnett made all eight field goal attempts in the first half, including four 3-pointers. Both players set a career scoring high. Michigan has won its last 11 games at Madison Square Garden.
Dug McDaniel had 26 points, Nimari Burnett scored 21 — all in the first half — and Michigan cruised to an 89-73 romp over St. John’s and new coach Rick Pitino at Madison Square Garden. Terrance Williams II added 12 points and Will Tschetter scored 10 for the Wolverines in the opener of the annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, which matches Big Ten teams against Big East programs. Michigan interim coach Phil Martelli filled in again for Juwan Howard, who has been recovering from heart surgery since mid-September. McDaniel added seven assists and six rebounds. Burnett made all eight field goal attempts in the first half, including four 3-pointers. Both players set a career scoring high. Michigan has won its last 11 games at Madison Square Garden.
Dressed in a charcoal suit and black tie, Rick Pitino spent the first half pointing and shouting directions, waving his arms and imploring one of his St. John's players to “wake up!” after conceding an easy basket. Pitino returned to big-time college basketball Monday night, stalking the Madison Square Garden sideline again in a humbling 89-73 loss to underdog Michigan. And while he certainly looked sharp on game day as usual, his overhauled squad featuring 12 newcomers did not. “We've got to learn from it,” Pitino said.