In a game without their head coach, one starter, and one bench player, Michigan needed a hero or two to rise. Tonight, the Wolverines got just that from three of the youngest pieces on their team: Caleb Houstan, Kobe Bufkin, and Frankie Collins. The three freshmen turned in some of their better performances of the season, particularly in the second half, shooting Michigan by the Rutgers Scarlett Knights tonight at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor by a score of 71-62. For a team that needs to perform well in the final two weeks to qualify for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, tonight was a big start. The first half was rather evenly matched. Michigan came out hot shooting the three, getting a couple quick makes from Caleb Houstan, before going 0-fer the rest of the half from beyond the long line. Michigan's offense shot 43% from the field but dealt with eight turnovers that brought their offensive flow to a halt at some points. Hunter Dickinson scored 12, and the team got just two total
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) After 31 years of coaching, Steve Pikiell is looking forward to the time when he can roll a basketball onto the court, sit back and watch Rutgers win game after game. As soon as the words came out his mouth Thursday, the 54-year-old Scarlet Knights coach started laughing.
This post has a sponsor: Rutgers basketball is 40 minutes of pure tension. Winewood Organics can help with that, so long as you're over 21. Use this link to get 25% off your first order. Their cannabis flower, edibles, concentrates and vape carts are all nurtured and refined in-house in small batches. Soil grown. Family owned. Caregiver-quality. Makes a perfect gift for that Wisconsin basketball assistant in your family. THE ESSENTIALS WHAT #31 Michigan (14-11, 8-7 Big Ten) vs #71 Rutgers (16-10, 10-6 Big Ten) WHERE Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI WHEN 7 PM THE LINE Kenpom: M-6 Torvik: M –7.5 TELEVISION BTN THE OVERVIEW Michigan's erratic quest to sneak into the tournament continues tonight with the beginning of a four-game homestand featuring two quad one games. This is not one of them. Rutgers owns a better Big Ten record than Michigan and several impressive wins (Purdue, Michigan, @ Wisconsin, OSU, Illinois) but is widely hated by fancystats because they've lost to N