Michigan
5-2,0-0Big Ten
Virginia
6-0,0-0ACC
Upset Bid Comes up Short as Michigan Falls to Third-Ranked Virginia, 70-68
11/30/2022 1:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
• Watch: Juwan Howard Postgame Press Conference
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite holding an 11-point lead at halftime, the Wolverine offense stalled in the second half as the University of Michigan men's basketball team fell to No. 3-ranked Virginia, 70-68, in front of a sold-out Crisler Center on Tuesday night (Nov. 28).
SUMMARY: Michigan (5-2) held an 11-point lead at the halftime break but Virginia (6-0) went on a 14-5 run in the first five minutes of the second half and the teams went back-and-forth for the rest of the game before a one-point Michigan lead was erased by Virginia's Jayden Gardner in the final 40 seconds of play. Despite a handful of missed Cavalier free throws that kept the door open for the Wolverines, a last-second shot from Jett Howard fell short and U-M's upset bid was stifled in a loss to third-ranked Virginia, 70-68.
SECOND HALF: A three from Virginia's Kihei Clark and an and-one from Kadin Shedrick helped the Cavaliers outscore Michigan 14-5 in the first five minutes of the second half, which cut the Wolverine lead to two. Jett Howard answered with a floater in the lane as the shot clock expired, and a cutting layup from Terrance Williams II along with two free throws from Hunter Dickinson put Michigan up 56-50 with 12 minutes remaining. Unfortunately for U-M, four Wolverine turnovers in four minutes helped Virginia go on a 6-0 run and tie the score at 58-58 before Ben Vander Plas gave the Cavaliers the lead on a difficult contested layup. Kobe Bufkin responded with two free throws for Michigan, but a post hook and a three from Vander Plas with five minutes to play gave a five-point lead back to Virginia. The back-and-forth affair continued as the Wolverines answered with three free throws and a Hunter Dickinson putback layup to tie the game once more. Dickinson then swatted a layup from Clark into the stands with three minutes left in regulation to give momentum back to the Maize and Blue, and his free throw a minute and a half later put U-M back in front, 66-65. With just under a minute on the clock, a mid-range jumper from the Cavaliers' Jayden Gardner put Virginia up by one, 67-66, before a Michigan turnover and a flagrant foul on Howard gave UVA two free throw opportunities and possession with 15 seconds to play. The Cavaliers made three-of-six free throw shots in the final seconds, which left a last-second opportunity to tie or win the game in the hands of Howard. However, the freshman could not get a clean release on the final shot and the Wolverines fell just short of an upset, losing to Virginia by a score of 70-68.
FIRST HALF: Virginia's Kadin Shedrick opened the scoring for both teams with a driving layup followed by a three-pointer for an early five-point lead over the Wolverines. Dickinson answered with a post hook, but two more Cavalier layups put Virginia up 9-2 in the early minutes. Michigan settled in as Dickinson scored again in the post and blocked a shot to set up a triple from Howard, which put the Wolverines within two. U-M trailed 13-10 with 14 minutes remaining in the half before another Dickinson post hook followed by a Howard three put Michigan on top, 15-13, just two minutes later. After UVA tied the game with a layup, the Wolverines went on an 8-0 run highlighted by an acrobatic finish at the rim by Bufkin and a smooth, spinning jumper from Howard that left his defender on the hardwood. Michigan led 23-15, but two Cavalier dunks cut the lead to four with eight minutes before the break. Triples from newcomers Joey Baker and Jaelin Llewellyn helped U-M push the lead back to seven, but Virginia continued to deal damage in the paint with layups and dunks at the rim. Triples from Howard and Llewellyn followed by a Dickinson layup in the final two minutes of the first half helped Michigan expand its lead once again. Bufkin ended the opening frame with an electric steal and fast break layup to put the Wolverines ahead, 45-34, going into the half.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wolverines will travel overseas to face No. 19-ranked Kentucky at the O2 Arena in London, England as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame London Showcase. The game will tip off at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ABC. The event was originally scheduled for December of 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19.
Notes
• With 15 points, Jett Howard reached double figures in his fifth straight game. The freshman has scored nine or more points in every game this season.• Howard made three triples, giving him a team-best 21 on the season.
• Jaelin Llewellyn has shot 5-for-14 (36 percent) from long range in his last three games after starting the season 0-for-11. Llewellyn made two three-pointers against Virginia.
• The Wolverines were outscored by Virginia 44-24 on points in the paint.
• The Maize and Blue leaned heavily on scoring from beyond the arc in the first half, with 21 of 45 total points (47 percent) coming from long range. The Wolverines were held to just one made three-pointer in the second half.
• After making just one of their first six field goals, the Wolverines made 18 of their next 25 (72 percent) in the first half to take an 11-point lead at the break.
• Tuesday's game marked Michigan's 21st appearance in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Wolverines are now 8-13 overall in the event, with a 5-5 record when playing at home.
