Michigan basketball knocks off Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Michigan's Matt Vogrich, left, holds the ball while being defended by Clemson's Tanner Smith in the first half of the Wolverines' 69-61 win at Littejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. on Tuesday night.
Mark Crammer | AP Photo
Updated 12:13 a.m.
CLEMSON, S.C. -- After two straight road losses against its first real competition of the season, there was reason for a young Michigan basketball team to start doubting itself. To start wondering.
In Clemson on Tuesday night, Michigan didn’t need to wonder.
The Wolverines put together their best half of the season to take a 16-point halftime lead and hung on when the Tigers made a run in the second half. The 69-61 win was their first in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge since 2005.
That four-game losing streak in the annual event started to fade when Zack Novak made his first 3-pointer in front of the Michigan bench with 5:31 left in the game. When he hit another 24 seconds later for a 59-41 lead, any sort of concern following two losses in Atlantic City, N.J., last week disappeared.
Michigan knew it needed this kind of win -- on the road, in a hostile environment -- to regain the confidence of a young team still finding itself.
And in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, an event Michigan had struggled in, the Wolverines found it.
They picked up their fourth win in the history of the Challenge, improving to 4-6, and their first road victory since Feb. 16, an 80-78 overtime win at Iowa.
“That was a big win,” Novak said. “We came out and hit them in the mouth to start out with. They made little runs, but (we) hung tough and really just didn’t let them get back in the game.”
Novak’s shots were merely part of Michigan’s best team effort of the season. Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz led Michigan with 18 points, 13 of them coming in the first half.
Sophomore guard Darius Morris had 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Tim Hardaway Jr. snapped a two-game funk and scored 15 points.
Even when Michigan (4-2) got in trouble, it found a way to convert it into points. When a drive to the basket looked stalled, the ball found its way to an open Wolverines player.
It all started with a good first half.
And unlike losses to Syracuse and UTEP in the Legends Classic last week, when Michigan looked worn down in the second half, the Wolverines managed to hang on in the South.
“It was a great first half and it was big for us to have that type of effort in the first half,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “Then it becomes so mental after that because you want to go home, and then you still have to play 20 more minutes against a good team.”
Clemson (5-2) tried to make it close. Behind 14 points from Andre Young and 11 from Demontez Stitt, the Tigers cut Michigan’s 40-24 halftime lead to eight points in the first seven minutes of the second half.
But Michigan never let the Tigers get closer. And when Novak hit his back-to-back 3-pointers, the Wolverines could start to sense a win.
One Michigan knew it needed.
“It’s huge,” forward Jordan Morgan said. “Definitely coming off of two losses, it’s an ACC team, it’s definitely a big win.”
Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.
Comments
Slider
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 4:20 p.m.
Michigan's next 5 games are at home against lesser opponents, so we can reasonably assume the team will be 8-2 heading into big ten play. We will lose the other non-con game against Kansas, of course, putting us at 8-2 outside of B10. I think 7-11 in the B10 is certainly attainable, which would put the record at 15-14. That would be a very nice season for this young team. Without Sims and Manny, the overall talent isn't as great, but this is a better team. It is too bad Belein couldn't make it work with those great talents. But Manny is better suited to the pro game, and Sims was a tweener who never really found his role, even though he tried. Certainly, some of that blame needs to land on Belein. I don't like coaches who have to have "their" guys to fit their specific system. A real coach should be able to maximize the skill set and talents available to him. But nonetheless, I am excited to see what Belein will be doing with this group going forward. Morris and Hardaway will make a very good backcourt. Smotrych is a nice player, and Morgan has been a really nice surprise. Novak is Novak. The group just needs to mature in terms of basketball savvy, some of them still need to mature physically, and the team needs to develop more quality depth. But they have good talent, and it is a nice mix.
81wolverine
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 11:45 a.m.
This was a good, quality win for this team - and on the road to boot. Very impressive for a team with so many young players. It shows that a disciplined team that plays smart can often surprise other teams. Hopefully, Beilein and Michigan can keep it going.
The1Cool
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 11:17 a.m.
Being a young team means there will be a lot of inconsistency. We'll see really good games and really bad games and everything in between. @Clemson they played well but they couldn't really pull away. The entire game felt like the score was closer than it should have been. But they held on and fought of multiple runs in a hostile environment. I'm most glad about them not settling for 3's. They drove to the basket got layups and kicked it out for open threes as opposed to not attacking and settling. In the game against UTEP (which was the second game of a back-to-back after losing a tough one to Syracuse) they settled too much. I like this team and I believe Beilein has a better team now. Watching last year's team was Manny and Sims + some other guys. And the other guys just seemed to concede too much to Manny and Sims. Now we have better balance, but we lack experience.
Rob Pollard
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 10:26 a.m.
"If I recall correctly, M did pretty good last year prior to the B10 season..." is not an accurate comment. Last year, with pretty high expectations after getting to RD2 of the NCAAs in 2008-2009, they lost to Marquette, Alabama, Boston College, Utah, and Kansas - basically every decent to great team they played. Plus, at the end of the year, they didn't even play in the NIT (let alone the NCAAs). This year's team, based on it being one of the 5 youngest in the country, is likely to finish.500 for the year, but they're already off to a better start than last year. They just need to make sure they win at least six of the next eight to enter the Big 10 season with at least a 10-4 record.
saginaw
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 10:25 a.m.
A truly great game. This was Michigan basketball -- smart basketball. It was fun knowing that all Big Ten fans were pulling for us to win.
rensational
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 9:41 a.m.
This was a nice surprise following a tough weekend for any Wolverines who follow football and basketball. I have thought at times that Michigan actually looks better than last year, too, but against UTEP they looked almost exactly like they did last year. So, my early thoughts on Michigan this year in basketball: 1) How well they do will depend on who and when they play. Back-to-back/one-day break games will be a problem, but they pretty much always have been under Beilein and that's why we don't win much in tournaments. "Who" is more about how the team plays, especially defensively. Clemson allowed a lot of penetration inside the paint. Michigan played someone--might have been UTEP--that allowed almost no penetration. On days when Michigan can't make 3's and they are playing teams that defend the paint well...we can forget about winning. Because of this, Michigan will look like they are overachieving as a "young team" and so much better than last year in some ways, and not other times. I'm glad Michigan's even trying to use the paint this year, though--we will win more games than otherwise because of it. I don't see Michigan as being any better at 3's this year than last year, and maybe that IS why they use the paint more. 2) Michigan is somewhat back to 2008 when they couldn't play for 40 minutes. The first half goes better than the 2nd half. 3) I still don't think Michigan will come out of this season with a winning record, but I think there's hope for it. The Big Ten seems overrated this year--I hate to say it. Wisconsin doesn't look as solid as they normally do. Purdue has lost Hummel and lost to Richmond. Illinois doesn't so far seem like what some experts thought they could be. Iowa is really bad, and so is Penn State...Indiana still has work to do. So, the NIT is definitely a possibility, but, again, I really think it depends on how teams defend Michigan. If Michigan can get into the paint, then great stuff happens--they suddenly can rebound and score and open up better looks for 3's.
heartbreakM
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 9:30 a.m.
My comment was removed because I jokingly referred to this win as good but not so good as if another person (nameless) should be our coach. It was a great win for Michigan--one that did not happen last year. I liked that they did not let up in the first half with that big lead. I am still waiting for Douglass to be able to light it up, but I think his skills have been maxed out in the B10.
mookienation
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 7:17 a.m.
According to the eyeball test, this team is better than last year's team. They're playing much harder and the chemistry is fantastic. This is a complete team as opposed to the Harris/Sims top-heavy teams of the past few years. I really like what Beilein is doing.
KeepingItReal
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 7:05 a.m.
If I recall correctly, M did pretty good last year prior to the B10 season. I don't have high expectations for this team at least not this year. At best, they will probably make the NIT.
boobooman
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 2:41 a.m.
Sorry "HeartbreakM"...If RR was coaching this team, their D would gave up 115 points, lol.
heartbreakM
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 1:19 a.m.
Aw heck, had RR been coaching this team, they would have won at least 100-61. Beilein is just a hack out there.
win
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 11:56 p.m.
caught the second half of this game. Good win. Hardaway looked like he struggled tonight. But a win on the road against an ACC team is a great win for this team.
musthaved
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 11:32 p.m.
This is a good, young basketball team that should just keep getting better with experience.