Some people travel to the Bahamas to go on vacation. MI went cold and made only 2 of 15 from the field. They let CT out-rebound and out-hustle them possession after possession and to make matters worse the Wolverines couldn’t get any of their shots to fall. But UConn’s inability to finish shots around the basket cost them, and Syracuse (5-0) had a big shooting day, shooting 49 percent in the first half, and almost 60 in the second half. Tyler Lydon had a big game off the bench, posting his first double-double at SU by amassing 16 points and 12 rebounds.
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MI trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half, but the Wolverines did not go down without a fight.
Despite the suggestion to only give the ball to LeVert, Duncan Robinson drilled a three-pointer and cut the lead to only eight with three minutes left. Braxton Ogbueze has played the most minutes, averaging 12 points and 2 assists. It looked like UConn might run away with it thanks to their powerful combo of inside and outside game.
Michigan, looking to bounce back off a disappointing 16-16 season that snapped the program’s streak of four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, finds itself in the consolation bracket of the Battle 4 Atlantis where it will meet Charlotte on Thursday. As a freshman in 2013, he netted 15 points (including a trio of treys) in the Huskies’ 66-58 win over the Orange in Hartford. He runs alongside Trevor Cooney, a 3-point specialist for the Cuse who has been at Syracuse since roughly 2008. Guard Michael Gbinije drilled 6-of-8 3s on his way to a game-high 26 points, adding four assists.
That’s why he didn’t budge in the first half against No. 18 CT when his star Caris LeVert picked up his second foul with 8:04 remaining.
As for MI, it plays Charlotte on Thursday in the consolation matchup.
They got the lead to as big as 10 points before UConn clawed their way back thanks mostly to three 3-pointers by Sterling Gibbs in less than two minutes. It was really exciting to see how aggressive the whole team played. Gbinije, Cooney, Richardson, Roberson, and Lydon all took the ball hard to the rim to help us claw our way back into it. “These two guys right here (Hamilton and Purvis) always tell me to make sure my confidence is high”.
“Well it’s definitely a huge game”, Purvis said. That’s just tough. We didn’t do a good job playing without fouling.
Hamilton discussed his critical three-pointer down the stretch, per Amore: “It was a rhythm shot”.
Syracuse was forced into a wild shot with the shot clock winding down.
While his players were pleased with the win, coach Kevin Ollie already had his attention on the next game, per David Borges of the New Haven Register: “We’ve got a short turnaround”.
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While Beilein has said he plans to whittle down the rotation, he may need all he can get from Mark Donnal – whose starting spot may be in doubt after his six-minute scoreless game against Xavier – along with Ricky Doyle, D.J. Wilson and Moritz Wagner.
