Michigan Continues To Roll, Dismantles Penn State

On the heels of its two top-10 wins last week, the Wolverines continued to roll.

The No. 2 Michigan men's basketball team (21-1 overall, 11-1 Big Ten) had no trouble taking down Penn State (10-13, 1-11), dismantling the Nittany Lions by a final score of 110-69.

The Wolverines have struggled with slow starts at times this season, but they avoided that fate early in this game. After Penn State collected the first bucket of the match, Michigan hit back with a 15-0 run. 

Taking advantage of a depleted and undersized Nittany Lions rotation, the Wolverines got the ball down low early and often, forcing Penn State to either foul or give up a layup. Almost eight minutes had passed before Penn State collected its first rebound of the game. 

Michigan started to stretch the floor when Penn State began to pack it in and guard the paint. Junior guard Elliot Cadeau and sophomore guard L.J. Cason knocked through back-to-back long balls to keep the lead in double digits. This is when Michigan is at its best — it pounds the paint, collapses the defense, and hits the open shots.

By the time the under-eight minute timeout rolled around, Michigan had already opened up a comfortable 31-13 lead.

It wasn’t just the Wolverines’ offense that was causing Penn State problems. The Nittany Lions just could not figure out how to navigate Michigan’s unique defense. They couldn’t find the range from deep — finishing the half 0-for-10 from beyond the arc — but they were also too scared to challenge the Wolverines’ shot blockers. Instead, they settled for tough floaters and mid-range jumpers that weren’t falling.

Graduate guard Nimari Burnett put on his own personal dunk contest as the half ran down, jamming three dunks off of baseline cuts. By the time the clock hit zeros, Michigan held a massive 56-24 lead on the back of Burnett’s 15 points.

The rout continued in the second half, and Burnett remained at the forefront of it all. He scored a quick 11 points in the first five minutes of the half, ballooning the already-bloated lead out to more than 40 points at 73-32. Michigan's energy was sustained, and Penn State looked defeated and deflated.

With senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. not playing due to an illness, freshman forward Oscar Goodman earned an opportunity to get more meaningful minutes. Usually relegated to late-game moments, Goodman checked in to the game with just over 12 minutes to play. Holding a 40-point lead, the game wasn't necessarily in the balance, but Goodman flushed an alley-oop on his first offensive possession to announce his presence.

The Nittany Lions sank into a zone defense for much of the second half, presumably trying to mitigate their size disadvantage. It didn't work, as Michigan dismantled that defense, too. Penn State didn't offer much resistance in the middle of its zone, and once the Wolverines got the ball to the high post, there wasn't much it could do to stop them.

Much of the second half was simply a formality, as the outcome of the game was a foregone conclusion. Still, the Wolverines continued to play unselfish and sound.

The game was seldom in doubt, and Michigan will certainly be happy with a 110-69 win coming off of an emotionally taxing week.