Rapid reaction to Michigan’s 101-60 win over Rutgers.
The Moment
The No. 3 Michigan men’s basketball team led for all but 2:23 of Saturday’s matchup against Rutgers — and it was the first 2:23 of the game. The Wolverines controlled the game from then on out, but one moment in the first half truly separated them.
With just under 5 minutes left in the first half, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. collected a rebound and pushed in transition. After passing it away, he got the ball back and nailed down a shot from beyond the arc. On the next possession, junior guard Elliot Cadeau got a steal and found graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg for three.
The Wolverines weren’t firing on all cylinders on offense from deep in the first half, going just 4-12. But the spark at the end of the half propelled Michigan into a second half that never got close.
The Takeaway
Even after three resounding wins at the Players Era Championship and nine days between the championship against Gonzaga and its Big Ten opener against Rutgers, Michigan looked like the same dominant team.
Defensively, the Wolverines allowed just 25 first-half points, recording five steals and three blocks while also keeping the Scarlet Knights to 34.4% shooting from the field and 2-10 from deep. Although Michigan wasn’t lights out from deep to start, the crucial stretch at the end of the first half is what separated the Wolverines for good.
The second half was more of the same, with Michigan keeping Rutgers to just 35 more points.
During the nine days between games, the Wolverines emphasized how they didn’t want to get complacent and lose the momentum they gained from Las Vegas. With both lockdown defense and multiple strong offensive contributors, Michigan did just that.
The Star
The catalyst for how the Wolverines want to play on both offense and defense, Morez Johnson Jr. led the way for Michigan against Rutgers.
Johnson finished with 22 points — but even more impressively, he shot a highly efficient 9-for-11 from the field on 2-2 from deep as well. He kept possessions alive with two offensive boards, one of which was a rebound off of one of his few misses for an immediate putback.
Defensively, Johnson caused the Scarlet Knights trouble both inside and outside the paint. He finished with three steals and a block, which came on a midrange shot. Although Johnson didn’t have as many rebounds as usual, as he averaged 6.6 on the season entering the game, he didn’t need to because he ended possessions earlier.
The Stat
Michigan has won games this season without shooting well from 3-point range. In the first half, after going 4-for-12, it seemed like the Wolverines would do that yet again. But the second half told a different story.
A mediocre day from deep turned into a splash fest as Michigan then went 13-for-29 from range in the second half. At one point in the second half, Michigan knocked down 7 of 8 attempts.
Although the Wolverines had a comfortable 25-point lead at half, the offense kept going by knocking down shots left and right to ensure it won by a similar amount to what they did in Las Vegas.
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