Wolverines crush ’Cats
|
| Michigan guard Nik Stauskas (11) drives to the basket between Northwestern guard Tre Demps (left) and guard Dave Sobolewski during the first half Thursday in Evanston. (AP) |
| Buy Sauk Valley Media Photos » |
No matter how many wins Michigan piles up, Trey Burke insisted one thing will not change. The Wolverines will keep seeing themselves as underdogs, even after nights like this.
Burke scored 23 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 21 and No. 2 Michigan pounded Northwestern 94-66 on Thursday to remain unbeaten.
Off to their best start since they opened the 1985-86 season with 16 wins, the Wolverines (14-0, 1-0) had no trouble in the Big Ten opener after breezing through the non-conference portion of their schedule.
They built a 21-point halftime lead with Burke and Hardaway Jr. leading the way and were never challenged by Northwestern (9-5, 0-1).
Michigan shot 59.6 percent overall and made 13 of 22 3-point attempts with the two guards doing most of the damage. Burke shot 9 of 16 overall and hit 4 of 6 3-pointers. Hardaway was 6 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from long range, and the ankle injury that kept him out of the previous game didn't seem to be an issue.
Jordan Morgan added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Wolverines, while Glenn Robinson III and Nik Stauskas scored 10 points apiece.
Jared Swopshire and Kale Abrahamson each scored 11 points for Northwestern, but the Wildcats gave up the most points they have allowed this season while being outclassed by one of the nation's best teams.
Wisconsin 60, Penn St. 51: Ryan Evans scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Wisconsin held off Penn State in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams in Madison, Wis.
Penn State (8-5, 0-1 Big Ten) trailed 50-49 with under 3 minutes left. But the Badgers (10-4, 1-0) finished the game on an 11-2 run, finally finding their shooting touch from the free-throw line. They hit just 9 of their first 20 from the line but converted 4 of 6 in the final minutes.
Ben Brust and Jared Berggren also scored 13 points apiece for Wisconsin.
Jermaine Marshall scored 19 points for Penn State, while D.J. Newbill added 12.
State roundup
E. Kentucky 65, E. Illinois 54: Mike DiNunno and Tarius Johnson scored 13 points apiece and Eastern Kentucky pulled away from Eastern Illinois in the first half en route to a win in the Colonels' Ohio Valley Conference opener.
Eastern Kentucky (11-3) broke an 8-8 tie with a 19-4 run and led 35-18 at halftime. The Colonels shot 52 percent in the first half (13 of 25), compared to 35 percent (7 of 20) for the Panthers, and committed only two first-half turnovers.
Eastern Kentucky led by as many as 20 as the Panthers (3-12, 0-2), who entered the game last in the conference in scoring (56.3 points per game), could get no closer than 10.
Morris Woods scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Panthers, who have lost eight straight.
Morehead St. 68, SIU-Edwardsville 64: Milton Chavis scored 16 points, and Chad Posthumus added nine points and a career-high 19 rebounds as Morehead State held on to beat visiting Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Posthumus' 19 boards are the most by any OVC player this season.
Angelo Warner scored 14 points and Drew Kelly added 12 for Morehead State (7-8).
Maurice Wiltz made 4 of 5 3-pointers, and led the Cougars (4-7) with 16 points.
