Postgame Notes: #13 Michigan 72, Illinois 61
3/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2012
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• With the win, Michigan improves to 22-8 for the season and 12-5 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines have now won their last three games on the road. The 22 wins mark the most wins in a season during head coach John Beilein's Michigan career.
• The win marks Michigan's first win in Champaign since Jan. 17, 1995, and the first of head coach John Beilein's career at U-M. Beilein is now 5-5 against Illinois at U-M. Michigan improves to 74-85 (70-80*) all-time against Illinois. The Wolverines are now 24-55 against the Illini in Champaign.
• Thursday's matchup marked the second of two meetings between Michigan and Illinois this season. The Wolverines also defeated the Illini, 70-61, on Feb. 12 in Ann Arbor.
• Michigan is 17-0 this season in games it led at half.
• With the win, Michigan secured a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, which marks the second straight year U-M has gotten a bye in the opening round.
• Following each of Michigan's losses this season, the Wolverines have responded with a win in each of their next games. Michigan has now done so following the last 14 losses dating back to the 2010-11 season.
• Tim Hardaway Jr. recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career with 25 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Hardaway went 6-for-7 from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc. He also went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe.
• Two Wolverines recorded double-digit scoring efforts -- Tim Hardaway Jr. (25) and Trey Burke (21). It marks the 14th time Hardaway has led the Wolverines in points this season and his fifth time hitting the 20-point mark this season. It also marks Burke's 27th double-digit scoring game of the season and fourth time he hit the 20-point mark this season.
• Michigan went 21-for-23 (91.3 percent) from the free throw line; the 23 attempts are a season high for Michigan. The Wolverines did not miss a free throw until the final minute of the game. Michigan's final 15 points came from the free throw line in the last 6:17 of the game.
• Colton Christian scored two points and grabbed one rebound in the win -- it marked his first points of the season since the win over Memphis in the Maui Invitational (Nov. 21, 2012).
• With the start, Zack Novak moved into sole possession of third all-time at U-M with 118 starts. He has started the last 89 straight games.
• Stu Douglass moved into a tie for fourth all-time in games played with 132 -- Douglass has not missed a single game in his career. Zack Novak moved into a tie for ninth with 130.
• With two three-pointers, Stu Douglass became the fifth Wolverine with 200-plus threes in a career. He hit his 200th career three on the first field goal of the game.
• With 39 minutes played in the win, Zack Novak moved into third all-time with 4,223 career minutes played. He surpassed Dion Harris, who logged 4,200 minutes in his career.
• With five assists in the win, Trey Burke now has 143 career assists, which set a new Michigan freshman assists record. He surpassed Gary Grant, who dished out 140 assists as a freshman in 1984-85.
• Michigan led from the opening tip and the game was tied just once, 14-14, at 11:55 in the first half.
• The Wolverines are now 3-3 this season when wearing their blue jerseys.
• For the 12th straight game, Michigan went with the starting lineup of Trey Burke , Stu Douglass , Tim Hardaway Jr. , Zack Novak and Jordan Morgan. Douglass has now appeared in 132 consecutive games for the Wolverines, having not missed a single game in his career.
