NEW YORK — Michigan dominated the second half on Wednesday night. As a result, the Wolverines will play for the championship on Thursday night.
Michigan defeated Pittsburgh 91-60 in the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to challenge the winners of Arizona State and VCU for the title.
Michigan freshman Jet Howard led all scorers with 17 points despite playing only 19 minutes due to second-half foul trouble, while Kobe Buffkin scored 14 and Joey Baker thanks to four 3-pointers. Scored 14 goals.
The Wolverines shoot 58% from the field, which includes 9 out of 3-20.
They took the lead midway through the first half and never got Pittsburgh closer within 11 in the final 17:20.
Ranked 20th in the AP poll, the Wolverines have improved to 3-0. Pittsburgh is 1-2 and will be in Thursday’s consolation game. Arizona State and his VCU took to court for a pregame warm-up shortly after the buzzer rang for Michigan’s win. Both potential opponents have former Wolverines on their rosters. Frankie Collins will start as a point guard at Arizona State University. Brandon Johns Jr. and his Zeb Jackson play in his VCU.
Thursday, Michigan made a big leap forward at halftime. Howard followed his play with four points and another three, in two seconds he committed two fouls (third and his fourth) and was sent to the bench. Terrence Williams II picked up the slack with a 3 and a layup, and Jaelyn Llewellyn’s twisted reverse put him 52-39 with 15:55 remaining.
Buffkin converted his own three-point play and sent a long-range no-look pass to Dickinson for another and-one. Michigan led 62-44 with 12:39 remaining.
A 7-0 spurt a few minutes later pushed the advantage to 23 midway through the first half. Howard came back with 6:37 left, but fouled out just over a minute later.
It was an effort by the Michigan team. Hunter Dickinson had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He recorded his 1,000 career points in the season opener, and on Wednesday he surpassed 500 rebounds.
Llewellyn added eight points. Williams had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman Points His guard Doug McDaniel was energetic but controlled (he scored eight points in 21 minutes, his game-high eight assists and five rebounds).
In a 25-point loss to West Virginia on Friday, Pittsburgh was led by Jamalius Burton’s 14 points. The Panthers achieved his first three triples, but cooled off from there.
Michigan trailed by six early, but kept feeding Dickinson. Dickinson’s layup gave Michigan his first lead at 18–17 with him 11:17 left in the first half.
Howard was driving aggressively early on. His fourth basket was his eighth consecutive make for Michigan, pushing the lead to 28-23. Dickinson’s flexible putback extended the margin to his seven. With 3:19 remaining, he made it 10 with the Llewellyn runner.
The Wolverines cooled off from there, missing their next six shots by halftime, but still leading the break 38-32. Howard and Dickinson’s total is his 18 points.
The Barclays Center, home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, hosted a modest but overwhelmingly pro-Michigan crowd.
