Michigan Set for Trip to South Carolina
11/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2016
• TV: ESPNU | | WatchESPN | Live Audio
• Complete Game Notes 
• Coach Beilein on WTKA 
After winning the 2K Classic in New York, the University of Michigan men's basketball team (4-0) remains on the road this week, heading to South Carolina (4-0) on Wednesday (Nov. 23) for a 5 p.m. game on ESPNU.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA
• South Carolina and Michigan head into Wednesday's game with matching 4-0 records.
• The Gamecocks have wins over Louisiana Tech (85-76), Holy Cross (81-49), Monmouth (70-69, OT) and South Carolina State (92-50).
• USC returns eight letterwinners and a pair of starters from last year's team that went 25-9 overall and 11-7 in the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks went to the 2016 NIT and fell to Georgia Tech in the second round of the tournament.
• Head coach Frank Martin is in his fifth year in Columbia and his 10th as a head coach. Martin has a 191-177 overall record and a 74-63 mark with South Carolina.
• Senior guard Sindari Thornwell leads the Gamecocks with 20.8 points per game and is second on the team with 6.5 rebounds a contest. Thornwell was named to the Preseason All-SEC first team and averaged 13.4 points per game as a junior.
• Fellow guard and sophomore PJ Dozier hit a buzzer-beater in overtime to defeat Monmouth on Nov. 15. Dozier, a five-star prospect coming out of Spring Valley High School in Columbia, is averaging 11.5 points and 3.8 assists a game.
• South Carolina has dominated the boards in its first four games. USC has a +12.5 rebounding margin, while Chris Silva leads the Gamecocks with 6.8 rebounds a game.
THIS AND THAT
• Michigan returns to the national polls -- t-25th in AP and 24th in USA Today -- after a little more than a year removed. The last time U-M was among the top 25 was Nov. 16, 2015.
• After making seven total three-pointers in the first three games, Derrick Walton Jr. doubled his tally with a career-best seven triples in the win over SMU in the 2K Classic championship. He finished with a team-best 23 points.
• In his first 31 games, D.J. Wilson had 13 total blocks. Through four games this season, he has 10 total blocks. In addition to his swats, he collected 24 total rebounds in two seasons but already has 38 (9.5 rpg) this season.
• Mark Donnal has come off the bench as U-M's Sixth-Man and has averaged 11.0 points and 4.3 rebounds and is shooting 68.2 percent from the field.
• In a roommate battle, Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr. both have 16 assists (4.0 apg) this season. Irvin holds the slight edge in points, 14.5 to 14.0 scoring in double figures in all four games, but Walton has three with two 20-plus point games.
• After an unusual 17 turnovers in the 2K Classic semifinal win against Marquette (Nov. 17), U-M responded with just four against SMU (Nov. 18) in the title game.
• Michigan, which averages 77.0 points per game ,has opened the season with four straight double-digits wins. U-M has got off to strong starts, averaging 42.7 points in the first half compared to 34.3 in the second.
WOLVERINES TAKE 2K CLASSIC CROWN
• All-tournament team selection Derrick Walton Jr. drained a career-best seven three-pointers, and Most Valuable Player Zak Irvin had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists as Michigan defeated SMU, 76-54, to win the 2K Classic in MSG.
• In the championship game, Walton had a team- and game-high 23 points thanks to his career-best seven three-point field goals made on a career-best 12 attempts. He added six assists and three boards.
• Irvin and Walton were joined on the 2K Classic All-Tournament team by Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rakhman after he posted 15 points in U-M's semifinal win over Marquette and adding 12 more against SMU in the title game. He shot 56.5 percent from the field, going 9-for-16.
• In the semifinal win over Marquette (79-61), D.J. Wilson earned his first career double-double (10 pts., 12 reb.), while Irvin had 16 points and seven rebounds. U-M went on a 35-11 run in the last 13:01 of the first half to turn a 15-all tie into a 50-26 halftime advantage.
• The Wolverines hosted two games at Crisler Center as part of the 2K Classic Ann Arbor Regional before making the trek to NYC. The Wolverines posted wins over Howard (76-58) and IUPUI (77-65).
• The in-season championship title is the first for Michigan since the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off, which also was played in MSG. Michigan defeated Pittsburgh (67-62) and Kansas State (71-57) to earn that crown.
BASKETBALL TIDBITS
• U-M coach John Beilein starts his 10th season with the Maize and Blue and his 39th as a college head coach.
• Beilein has 193 wins with the Wolverines and is second all-time among U-M head coaches for wins. He needs seven more to reach the 200-win plateau and 17 to pass U-M's all-time mark held by Johnny Orr (209).
• Overall, Beilein has 744 career wins. On the Division I level alone, he has 486 wins and needs just 14 to reach the DI 500-win plateau.
• Derrick Walton Jr. needs 62 points to become the 51st Wolverine to reach 1,000 career points. Zak Irvin has already reached the milestone and ranks 39th with 1,173 career points.
• Zak Irvin moved into U-M's top 10 all-time for three-point field goals made. He currently has 193 total, putting him seventh. He needs nine (9) more to move into sixth, passing former Wolverine Tim Hardaway Jr. (2012-13; 202).
• Xavier Simpson was the 2016 Ohio Mr. Basketball. The last Wolverine to earn Ohio's top award was Trey Burke -- the 2013 National Collegiate Player of the Year.
• Incoming freshman Ibi Watson is from Pickerington, Ohio -- the same hometown of former Wolverine Caris LeVert, who was the 20th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets.
WHAT'S AHEAD?
• Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Wolverines start a four-game home stretch beginning with Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. (ESPN3).
• Michigan hosts Virginia Tech, Wednesday, Nov. 30, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Crisler Center. The matchup is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPN2. The four-game homestand closes with home tilts with Kennesaw State on Saturday, Dec. 3, and Texas on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
