Michigan
6-3,1-0Big Ten
Nebraska
5-5,0-2Big Ten
Three-Point Barrage Helps Michigan Cruise to Big Ten-Opening Win at Nebraska
12/7/2021 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan made 15 three-pointers and rolled to a 102-67 win over Nebraska to open its Big Ten schedule.
» U-M is 61-44 all-time and 25-24 in Big Ten road openers.
» The Wolverines reached the century mark for the first time since Dec. 6, 2019.
Site: Lincoln, Neb. (Pinnacle Bank Arena)
Score: Michigan 102, Nebraska 67
Records: U-M (6-3, 1-0 B1G), NEB (5-5, 0-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 11 -- vs. Minnesota (Crisler Center), 6:30 p.m. (TV: FS1)
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Finding its stroke behind the three-point arc with a season-high 15 makes, the University of Michigan men's basketball team cruised to an 102-67 victory over Nebraska on Tuesday night (Dec. 7) at Pinnacle Arena to open Big Ten Conference play.
With the conference-opening win, U-M improves to 61-44 all-time and 25-24 in Big Ten road openers. Michigan scored 100 points or more for the first time since Dec. 6, 2019, when it dropped 103 against Iowa in the 2019-20 Big Ten opener. The Wolverines made 15 three-pointers, the most since Nov. 17, 2018, when they also made 15 against George Washington.
The Wolverines (6-3, 1-0 Big Ten) had four players make multiple three-pointers and eight total players make a triple. Freshman Caleb Houstan hit four, while Terrance Williams II went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and Brandon Johns Jr. and Eli Brooks each made two.
Williams led Michigan with a career-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while Johns tied a career-best 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Houstan scored 16 points, and sophomore Hunter Dickinson had 15 points and 12 rebounds for his ninth career double-double. Brooks rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
U-M shot 51.3 percent (39-for-76) and 46.9 percent (15-for-32) from three-point range. Michigan outrebounded Nebraska 54-38 and had seven blocks on the defensive end.
DeVante' Jones had a team-best eight assists and added five points and five rebounds, while Houstan, Williams and Frankie Collins all had three helpers each.
Johns came out hot, scoring seven of Michigan's first 11 points to put U-M up 11-8 over the Cornhuskers going into the first media timeout. Houstan and Dickinson made back-to-back triples followed by a Dickinson jumper to maintain a six point lead with just over 11 minutes left in the first half.
Over a four-minute span, the Maize and Blue strung together a 13-2 run, including making four of its final five shots of the run to extend its lead to 26-18 midway through the first stanza. U-M continued to dominate the pace of the game, tacking on an 8-0 run, capped off with a Zeb Jackson triple coming out of the Michigan timeout to extend the Wolverines advantage to 34-18.
Despite a small scoring drought in the closing minutes of the first half, Michigan took a 19-point lead (51-32) into the half time break. Johns led the Wolverines offensively with 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including two triples and six free throws, while Williams was 4-for-4 with a pair of three-pointers of his own. Michigan shot 50 percent (18-for-36) from the field and 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Each time Nebraska (5-5, 0-2 Big Ten) tried to cut into the lead, Michigan had an answer as Brooks made two free throws and followed it up with two three-pointers to keep the U-M advantage at 20, 67-47, with 13:06 left in the contest. Nebraska continued to give the Wolverines the open shot on the perimeter, allowing Houstan to knock down his third trey, the 12th of the game for Michigan, and extend the lead to 76-51.
The Wolverines built their lead to as many as 35 in the final minutes of the game, earning the decisive road victory at Nebraska.
Michigan returns to action Saturday (Dec. 11) at 6:30 p.m., when it hosts Minnesota at Crisler Center. The matchup will be broadcast live on FS1.
