Postgame Notes #21 Michigan 80, #3 Michigan State 75
1/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2014
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• After tonight's win, the Wolverines have beaten three straight AP top-10 opponents for the first time in school history (No. 3 Wisconsin, W, 77-70; No. 10 Iowa, W, 75-67; No. 3 Michigan State, W, 80-75).
• The Wolverines are the the first team since the 1986-87 Iowa Hawkeyes to win three straight games against AP top-10 teams.
• The last time U-M won three straight against nationally ranked teams was during last year's NCAA Final Four run (No. 3 Kansas, W, 87-85, OT; March 29; No. 14 Florida, W, 79-59, March 31; No. 16 Syracuse, W, 61-56, April 6).
• The last time Michigan played three consecutive games against AP top-10 ranked opponents was during the 1964-65 season (No. 5 Duke, W, 83-67, Dec. 21; No. 10 NYU, W, 83-74, Dec. 26; No. 4 UCLA, L, 98-80, Dec. 27).
• The Wolverines' win over No. 3 Michigan State matches last Saturday's victory against No. 3 Wisconsin as the highest-ranked foe in a road win in program history.
• With back-to-back-to-back wins against No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 10 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan State, U-M has now won 22 games against ranked opponents in the John Beilein era -- half of which have come against AP top-10 foes.
• Michigan has extended its winning streak to nine games, the second-longest streak in the John Beilein era (16 wins to start 2012-13 campaign).
• The Wolverines are a perfect 27-0 under John Beilein when scoring 80 or more points. It is the team's eighth time scoring 80 or more this season.
• Michigan leads the overall series against Michigan State, 96-76, and improves to a 37-48 record in East Lansing, including an 8-16 all-time mark in the Breslin Center.
• Tonight's game marked the fifth straight meeting between the two schools in which both teams are nationally ranked, the longest such streak in the history of the series.
• Prior to tonight's win, U-M had only beaten a top-five ranked MSU unit once: Jan. 25, 1979, exactly 35 years ago today.
• The win marks U-M's first 7-0 start in Big Ten play since 1976-77 when the Maize and Blue started conference play with eight straight wins. Michigan's best ever start to conference play was in 1964-65 when the team began Big Ten play with 13 consecutive victories.
• U-M's victory on the road snaps a five-game winning streak for the home team in the series. The last road win in the series prior to tonight's game was a 61-57 U-M triumph at the Breslin Center on Jan. 27, 2011.
• The game featured four ties and four lead changes, with neither team leading by double-digit points in the contest and both teams reaching leads as large as eight points.
• The Wolverines shot 22-of-50 from the floor (44 percent), converting on 11-of-19 three-point tries (57.9 percent), marking the sixth time U-M has shot 45 percent or better from beyond the arc this season.
• U-M's 50 points in the final frame are a second-half season high, besting the previous mark of 47 points, set two times.
• After reaching the foul line just three times in the opening frame, U-M got to the charity stripe a second-half season-high 27 times, passing its season average of 19.3 attempts per contest.
• As a unit, the Wolverines converted on a season-high 25-of-30 free throw attempts (83.3 percent), including going 14-of-16 from the line in the final two-plus minutes.
• It is Michigan's seventh game this season with 20-plus free throw attempts and the 15th game of the season with 15 or more attempts.
• U-M assisted on 14 of its 22 made field goals (63.6 percent), bringing its season average to 57.7 percent (295 assists on 511 field goals made).
• Derrick Walton Jr. set a new career high with 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting, adding five rebounds and four assists. Walton has reached double-figure points in four of seven conference matchups.
• Walton converted on a career-best 9-of-10 free throw attempts, including going 8-of-9 from the charity stripe in the final 2:30.
• Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford combined for 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks. The duo is shooting an even 80.0 percent from the floor in conference play (44-of-55).
• Nik Stauskas reached double figures for the 16th time in 18 contests with his 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including going 5-of-6 beyond the arc, where he is shooting 44.8 percent this season (129-of-288).
• By adding four assists, Stauskas has reached the four-assist plateau in nine straight contests.
• Michigan went with a starting lineup of Derrick Walton Jr., Nik Stauskas, Caris LeVert, Glenn Robinson III and Jordan Morgan.
