The No. 16 Michigan Wolverines (11-2) opened their Big Ten schedule with a relatively easy win over the Penn State Nittany Lions (8-6) on Thursday night at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. It wasn't pretty at first, but ultimately the Wolverines pulled away with their eighth win of the season at home.
Michigan got off to a slow start shooting in the first half, but recovered going into the break by the way of a 10-3 run in the final three and a half minutes to take a 36-22 lead. The Wolverines increased their lead to 21 points on a Matt Vogrich three-pointer with over nine minutes left in the game and cruised from there to a 71-53 final.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting (despite being just 1-of-7 from three-point range). Evan Smotrycz added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines.
Michigan finished shooting 47-percent from the field and 32-percent from beyond the arc after shooting just 3-of-15 there in the first half.
Michigan continues their Big Ten schedule on Sunday vs. Minnesota.
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