In just the second game back from their lengthy pause, Michigan defeated Rutgers on Thursday night, 71-64. The Scarlet Knights are still winless against the Wolverines overall, having never beaten the maize and blue.
The Wolverines came out rather slow in the first few minutes of the first half — they committed three quick turnovers and the offense looked confused and stagnant. But, that ended quickly — thanks to the bench, and the maize and blue went on a quick run in a first half belonging to Michigan. Franz Wagner ended up scoring 9 points in the opening 20 minutes, and the team as a whole shot 50% from the floor. The Wolverines left the court up 37-28 in the first.
The second half started much the same as the first half — it was all Michigan outside of five minutes in both halves. The lead never went under double-digits until 1:47 left in the second half. A big scoring drought, and some untimely turnovers led to Rutgers cutting the lead down to eight. Luckily for Michigan, they were able to hold onto a victory, though it seemed like the Wolverines were in control the entire game.
We’re going to dive more into the game and tell you what we liked, didn’t like, and tell you who walks away with the MVP award.
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