Michigan
5-3,0-0Big Ten
San Diego State
5-3,0-0Mountain West
Michigan Bounces Back With a Dominant Win Over San Diego State
12/4/2021 5:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Hunter Dickinson led U-M with 23 points and 14 rebounds -- his second double-double of the season and eighth of his career.
» Caleb Houstan used four three-pointers to post a career-best 17 points, while Frankie Collins came off the bench with a career-high eight points.
» The game marked the return of former assistant Brian Dutcher, who was a U-M from 1989-98, and helped U-M win the 1989 national title under Steve Fisher.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #24 Michigan 72, Sand Diego State 58
Records: U-M (5-3), SDSU (5-3)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, Dec. 7 -- at Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 6 p.m. CST (TV: ESPN2)
• Watch: Juwan Howard Postgame Press Conference
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team used 14-0 second-half run to pull away from San Diego State as the Wolverine bounced back from an early-week loss to North Carolina with a 72-58 win over the Aztecs on Saturday (Dec. 4) at Crisler Center.
Sophomore Hunter Dickinson paced U-M with a game-high 23 points going 10-for-16 from the field, including a 3-for-3 performance from long range. With 14 rebounds, he posted his second double-double of the season and eighth in his career. In 39 minutes, he added three assists, three steals and a block. The 10 field goals marked the second time this season he reached double-digits in made shots and fourth time in his career.
Freshman Caleb Houstan followed with his career-high 17 points, as he went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. He added five rebounds, two steals and an assist. Fellow freshman Frankie Collins came off the bench and finished with a career-high eight points with four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Graduate student Eli Brooks posted his eighth straight game in double figures with 10 points, and added four rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block in 39 minutes. He has now played 79 or a possible 80 minutes over his last two games.
In the return of former U-M assistant coach Brian Dutcher, who recruited Juwan Howard to Ann Arbor, the game began as an expected defensive battle. With the Wolverines down 13-12 with 11 minutes left, Michigan (5-3) needed just a minute and an 8-0 run to build a 20-13 lead as the game reached the halfway point of the first half. The Maize and Blue was able to maintain the 10-point cushion before the Aztecs countered with an 11-2 run to trail by just one, 30-29, with three minutes left.
Following a Matt Bradley jumper with 18 seconds remaining, SDSU reclaimed the lead 34-33. As the Wolverines inbounded the ball, Dickinson found himself alone at the top of the key and he drained a long-range bucket, sending the Wolverines into the break up 36-34.
Exchanging baskets to start the second half, Brooks hit the Wolverines' seventh three-pointer of the afternoon, as the Wolverines began what became a 14-0 run and started to pull away. After pushing its lead to as high as a 21 points at 69-48 with 3:30 left, U-M continued to control the clock to defeat the Aztecs.
Michigan made a season-best 11 three-pointers and shot 55 percent from long range and 46.7 from the field.
The Wolverines will begin Big Ten play on the road Tuesday (Dec. 7) when they take on Nebraska (5-4) in Lincoln. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
