National Basketball Association
Michigan 84, Illinois 53
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
Officials:
# Ted Valentine, # Larry Scriotto, # John Gaffney
Attendance:
16618
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 12 Michigan 84, Illinois 53: Nik Stauskas scored 24 points, including seven 3-pointers, as the visiting Wolverines clinched their first outright Big Ten title since 1986 with a convincing win over the Fighting Illini.
Caris LeVert added 15 points while Glenn Robinson III tallied 13 for Michigan (22-7, 14-3 Big Ten), which equaled a school record with 16 3-pointers. Derrick Walton Jr. chipped in with seven rebounds and five assists while Jon Horford grabbed a game-high 10 boards for the Wolverines, who shot 56.9 percent from the floor.
Rayvonte Rice led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds for Illinois (17-13, 6-11), which has dropped six straight meetings with Michigan. Kendrick Nunn, who is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, scored 14 points for the Fighting Illini.
Zak Irvin came off the bench to knock down two 3-pointers during a 19-4 run to give Michigan a 36-17 lead with just over eight minutes left in the first half. Stauskas led all scorers with 14 points in the opening frame as the Wolverines hit 11 of their first 14 3-point attempts to go on top 52-30 at the break.
Stauskas continued to have the hot hand as he nailed a triple to extend Michigan's advantage to 27 before Illinois pulled within 60-41. LeVert keyed a 16-2 run to give the Wolverines a commanding 76-43 lead and they cruised to their fourth consecutive victory.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Michigan is 28-0 under John Beilein when scoring 80 points or more. … Illinois fell to 2-7 against ranked teams this season. … Wolverines F Jordan Morgan left the game in the first half with a bruised tailbone and did not return.
Top Game Performances
Michigan |
|
Illinois |
Nik Stauskas 24 |
Scoring |
Rayvonte Rice 16 |
Derrick Walton Jr. 5 |
Assists |
Rayvonte Rice 3 |
Jon Horford 10 |
Rebounds |
Rayvonte Rice 9 |
Derrick Walton Jr. 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Rayvonte Rice 5 |
Glenn Robinson III 2 |
Steals |
Tracy Abrams 1 |
Jon Horford 1 |
Blocks |
N/A |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Michigan
|
84 |
56.9 |
16-23 |
10-14 |
15 |
33 |
1 |
5 |
10 |
Illinois
|
53 |
38.5 |
2-18 |
11-16 |
7 |
22 |
0 |
4 |
8 |