Michigan
Wayne State (ex)
Wolverines Double Up Wayne State in Exhibition
11/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2014
• Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #24 Michigan 86, Wayne State 43 (exhibition)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 15 -- vs. Hillsdale College (Crisler Center), 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team (No. 24 AP/No. 23 ESPN/USA Today) cruised to a 86-43 victory over Wayne State in its lone exhibition game of the season on Monday night (Nov. 10) inside Crisler Center. The game was highlighted by freshman forward Austin Hatch's free throw with 12 seconds left, which gave the Wolverines a 43-point lead, their largest of the night.
Junior guard Caris LeVert led the way with 16 points and six assists, while sophomore guard/forward Zak Irvin posted 13 points and five rebounds. Fellow sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. was U-M's final double-digit scorer, with 11 points.
The Wolverines opened the game hitting seven of their first nine shots to take an early 15-6 lead. Walton was fouled behind the arc and hit all three of his free throws at the 13:15 mark, giving U-M its first double-digit lead of the night at 18-8. Three minutes later, LeVert found freshman forward D.J. Wilson wide open under the basket off a pick-and-roll, and he dunked to give Michigan a 25-10 lead midway through the first half.
Up 25-14, the Maize and Blue went on a 9-0 run that was capped off by an emphatic dunk by Irvin off an alley-oop pass from LeVert in transition. This put Michigan up by 20 points at 34-14 and forced Wayne State to call timeout with 4:36 remaining in the period.
WSU scored seven straight points at the end of the half, but LeVert made a basket in the paint right before the buzzer sounded, giving the Wolverines a 40-24 advantage going into the break.
The Wolverines shot 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) in the first half, making three of their 11 attempts from three (27.3 percent). The Wildcats went 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) from the floor, making only one of their five attempts from long distance (20 percent). LeVert led with nine points and four assists, while Irvin also scored nine, and Walton chipped in eight points before the intermission.
Michigan scored the first 11 points of the second frame to take a 51-24 lead with 14:31 to play in the game. After Wayne State scored its first basket of the half, junior guard Spike Albrecht threw a behind-the-back pass in transition to LeVert, who threw down a vicious dunk to bring the score to 53-26. The Wolverines took a 30-point lead when Irvin hit two free throws to make the score 63-33 with 9:24 left, and they held steady for the 86-43 victory.
U-M finished the game shooting 28-of-56 (50 percent), including 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Wayne State made 14 of its 54 field goal attempts (25.9 percent) and went 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) on three-pointers. The Wolverines forced 18 Wildcat turnovers while committing only eight themselves.
The Maize and Blue will open regular-season play on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 15) against Hillsdale College inside Crisler Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., and the game can be viewed on ESPN3.
Contact: Tom Wywrot, Chad Shepard (734) 763-4423
