Michigan's DeShawn Sims, left, gets hacked by Northern Michigan University's Jared Benson during first half action of Saturday at Crisler Arena. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

When DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris briefly considered an NBA future during the off-season, they did so together.

And when the Michigan basketball team's pair of reliable performers elected to returned to build off of last year's NCAA Tournament appearance, they provided the Wolverines with an experienced 1-2 punch.

So as Michigan's men's basketball basketball team opened its season Saturday night, it only made sense that Sims and Harris would factor in prominently.

Sims scored a game-high 22 points and Harris registered only the second triple-double in school history as No. 15 Michigan overwhelmed Division II Northern Michigan in a 97-50 win at Crisler Arena.

But make no mistake, Michigan's dynamic duo had plenty of support around them.

In all, five Michigan scorers reached double figures and freshman Matt Vogrich and senior Zack Gibson were both perfect from the floor, adding to what was already an impressive wire-to-wire victory.

And although the opponents will only get tougher from here on out, Saturday night's win displayed the capabilities of a team that could be dangerous when all aspects of the game plan run as smoothly as they did against Northern Michigan.

"We're a good team," Harris said. "I think anybody could get 10 assists because we shoot the ball so well and as a team, we're good, and that's why we were able to do what we did tonight."

Harris became the first Michigan player to since 1987 to reach double figures in three statistical categories since Gary Grant, who accomplished the feat in the NCAA Tournament against North Carolina.

Harris finished the triple double with an assist to Vogrich, who connected on his fourth straight 3-point field goal in the second half, giving Michigan (1-0) an 84-41 lead. The junior guard immediately flashed 10 fingers to the Michigan bench after being told he needed three assists to reach the mark at halftime.

Vogrich came off the bench to score 15 points - finishing 5-for-5 from 3-point range while Gibson and Darius Morris each had 11. The Wolverines shot 57.4 percent from the floor and connected on nine 3-point field goals.

Harris often made Vogrich's job easy, delivering perfect passes to the waiting guard, who had to finish with a simple but finely-tuned catch and shoot. Sims maneuvered effortlessly in the post, slipping around defenders in an effective inside-out attack for the Wolverines.

"Games like this, it just gives you confidence - you see shots going in, you see guys making good defensive plays and it just gives the team overall confidence," said Sims, who finished with a double-double after grabbing 10 rebounds.

"We got a lot of shooters, we trust each other and we have a lot of versatile guys. Tonight, we just passed the ball and guys hit shots."

Michigan (1-0) finished with 24 assists, including 10 from Harris, who also had 13 rebounds to go along with 18 points to reach the triple-double. And only two years removed from a freshman season that yielded more than 100 turnovers, Harris is rounding out his game in the way Michigan needs him to.

"He trusts these shooters and he relishes the assists as much as he does the points," Michigan coach John Beilein said of Harris' triple-double. "We'd see (his abilities) at different times (previously), but the game has just slowed down so much."

The Wolverines led 52-25 at halftime, limiting Northern Michigan to 28.9 percent shooting. Michigan put its 1-3-1 defense on display early, forcing the Wildcats into bad shots, limiting Northern Michigan to 20 points over the game's first 18 minutes.

And as much as Michigan's balanced offense flourished, it was perhaps the defense that Beilein appreciated most in holding Northern Michigan to 50 points and 30.9 percent shooting.

"We forced them into missing shots," Beilein said.

Added Sims: "I went out saying, 'Defense first' and we preach that and it's a mindset," Sims said. "If we go out and execute it, we'll be a good team, and today was just an example of how we're going to play defense."

Michigan quickly extended the lead early in the second half, led by Sims, who scored nine of Michigan's first 17 points. Beilein stuck mainly with a nine-man rotation throughout the first half before getting his reserves more minutes.

Michigan's lead was never in question, building its a 34-point cushion before even six minutes had expired in the second half. The only drama late was whether the Wolverines would reach the century mark after freshman Eso Akunne scored late to get the Wolverines to 97 points.

"I didn't really expect that, and I'm happy we had that type of performance," Beilein said. "To put up that many points and then hold them to 50 points is a great thing ... great performance."

Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at jeffarnold@annarbor.com or 734-623-2554.