Michigan fights off slow start to take down Rutgers behind Danny Wolf’s ninth double-double

The Michigan Wolverines fought off a slow start to take down the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 66-63, moving to 16-5 and 8-2 in Big Ten play on Saturday afternoon. Danny Wolf posted his ninth double-double of the season, leading the Wolverines with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Tre Donaldson put up 10 points and six assists, while Vlad Goldin added 14 points in the win.

Even though it was an underwhelming performance that was filled with sloppy mistakes, Dusty May’s team eventually picked up a second straight win to remain in sole possession of third place in the Big Ten. Michigan held Rutgers star freshman Ace Bailey to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the field, which was a huge reason why the Wolverines came out on top.

In addition to compiling a 30-16 advantage in points in the paint, Michigan put up 17 fastbreak points and 14 points off turnovers in the win. The Wolverines continued to struggle taking care of the ball, committing 17 turnovers and an alarming 26.2% turnover rate, but the defense was able to get crucial stops in the final minutes en route to securing a road victory.

FIRST HALF

Donaldson had his fingerprints all over the game in the opening minutes as he found Goldin for a dunk and connected on a three-pointer to help Michigan take a 7-4 lead. Despite struggling to find a rhythm on the offensive end, the Wolverines were able to go on a 7-0 run as Nimari Burnett scored a fastbreak layup to stay ahead going into the first media timeout.

Michigan finally started to find some success from beyond the arc as Justin Pippen, Sam Walters and Will Tschetter all knocked down three-pointers to cap off a 10-0 run and take a 30-21 lead. In the final stages of the opening half, Goldin threw down a dunk to give the Wolverines a 32-25 advantage at halftime. Goldin led Michigan with eight points in the first half.

SECOND HALF

The Wolverines started the second half with a quick run as Donaldson drilled a three-pointer in transition, then found Tschetter for a cutting layup to take a 40-33 lead. Michigan tried to create some separation throughout the second half but costly turnovers, disjointed possessions and poor shooting allowed the Scarlet Knights to hang around until the final minutes.

Wolf came up with several clutch plays in crunch time including hitting a three-pointer to stop a Rutgers run, followed by finishing a putback layup to cling to a 55-49 lead. Just a few possessions later, Burnett found Wolf for a layup to extend the lead to 61-55 with just over two minutes remaining. The Wolverines went on to seal the 66-63 win by making 6-of-8 free throws.

UP NEXT

Michigan returns home to host the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday night before traveling to face the Indiana Hoosiers on the road next weekend. Oregon started the regular season with a 12-1 record but has struggled in recent weeks, sitting at 16-5 and 5-5 in conference play. The Ducks are currently slotted at 35th on KenPom, which ranks 9th among Big Ten teams.