Michigan
17-9,8-7Big Ten
Rutgers
18-9,9-7Big Ten
Simpson Enters Exclusive Club, Leads U-M to Win at Rutgers
2/19/2020 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Zavier Simpson became the fourth U-M player to collect 1,000 career points and 500 assists
» Colin Castleton and David DeJulius were pivotal in the second half with 15 combined points.
» Michigan became the first team to defeat Rutgers (17-1) on its home court this season.
Site: Piscataway, N.J. (RAC)
Score: Michigan 60, Rutgers 52
Records: U-M (17-9, 8-7 B1G), Rutgers (18-9, 9-7 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 22 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 1 p.m. CST (TV: BTN)
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Senior Zavier Simpson became just the fourth Michigan basketball player with 1,000 career points and 500 assists as the point guard led the Wolverines to a 60-52 victory at Rutgers on Wednesday night at the RAC.
Michigan (17-9, 8-7 Big Ten) became the first team to defeat Rutgers (18-8, 9-7 Big Ten) on its home court with the Scarlet Knights falling to 17-1 at home. U-M also defeated Rutgers several weeks earlier in a game played at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Playing in a hostile environment without leading scorer Isaiah Livers, Simpson put Michigan on his shoulders early in the game, connecting for a pair of early three-pointers to offset erratic play on both ends of the court. U-M edged its way to an eight-point lead only to see Rutgers end the half on a spurt of its own en route to opening a nine-point lead in the second half, 37-28 with 17:40 to play.
At that point, Simpson was in foul trouble and outside shots were not falling. Enter Colin Castleton, who battled against a physical Rutgers frontcourt that had hauled in rebound after rebound in the first meeting of the season and was again beginning to assert itself on Wednesday. Castleton's final stats did not show his full impact, but the wiry forward came up huge as he cobbled together five points, four rebounds and a key blocked shot during nine minutes of the second half.
Castelton's energy transferred to David DeJulius, who added 10 second-half points with consecutive baskets, including a triple, to give U-M a 45-41 lead that it would not relinquish as the Wolverines held off the Scarlet Knights for the final 9:14 of play.
Michigan was led by Simpson's 16 points, with the guard also adding six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Simpson is joined in the 1,000-point, 500-assist club by Gary Grant (1985-88), Rumeal Robinson (1988-90) and Antoine Joubert (1984-87). Simpson also collected his 200th assist of the season.
Franz Wagner added 12 points, including a key three-pointer in the second half. Eli Brooks added nine points with his own clutch triple late in the action and a fast-break dunk to put an exclamation point on the victory.
The Wolverines will return to action Saturday (Feb. 22) with another road tilt, this one at Purdue. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CST, and the game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
