Michigan wrapped up its pre-Big Ten portion of the schedule on Thursday night, beating Bryant University, 87-71. The Wolverines got into a shootout with the Bulldogs, as both teams lit up the scoreboard with three-pointer after three-pointer. It was close early on, but once Michigan caught fire there was no looking back. The Wolverines put up over 40 points in each half, and although their defense wasn't that great, their school record-tying 16 threes was more than enough for a comfortable victory.
Like most Michigan games this season, the player of the game was Darius Morris. He scored 26 points, dished out 12 assists and grabbed six rebounds. Morris didn't have any turnovers, and as a team the Wolverines had only three TOs.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Evan Smotrycz also scored in double digits for Michigan. Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points and had five rebounds and Smotrycz had 14 points. Each player made four shots from behind the arc, and as a team Michigan went 16-32 from three-point land.
At one point in the second half Bryant was 10-14 from three-point land. The Bulldogs cooled down as Michigan pulled away, but they still ended up making 13 of 25 attempts.
Up next for Michigan is its Big Ten opener on Dec. 28 at home against Purdue. The Wolverines then play Penn State at home before heading to Wisconsin on Jan. 5. Michigan's killer stretch continues with a game at home against No. 2 Kansas on Jan. 9 and a game against No. 2 Ohio State (also at home) three days later.