No. 5 Michigan Makes It 10 Straight, Tops South Carolina 89-78
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jordan Poole scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, and No. 5 Michigan remained unbeaten with an 89-78 victory over South Carolina on Saturday.
The Gamecocks (4-5) scored more points than any team all season against Michigan. But the Wolverines (10-0) were ahead by six at halftime, and they led comfortably for most of the second half.
Iggy Brazdeikis scored 17 points and Jon Teske added 15 for Michigan. Chris Silva led South Carolina with 18.
Michigan was coming off its first close game of the season — a two-point win at Northwestern on Tuesday night. The Wolverines were uncharacteristically careless against South Carolina, turning the ball over 11 times in the first half.
Still, Michigan went on a 13-2 run near the end of the first and led 42-36 at halftime.
Poole went to work in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk, putting the Wolverines up 56-45. The sophomore guard scored 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the half.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: No opponent had shot better than 45 percent from the field against Michigan. The Gamecocks finished at 52 and also won the turnover battle against the Wolverines. South Carolina was done in by fouls. Michigan shot 23 of 30 on free throws while the Gamecocks were just 9 of 14.
Michigan: The Wolverines had held every opponent under 40 percent from the floor until their last two games, when Northwestern and South Carolina eclipsed that. So Michigan hasn't been as dominant this week at the defensive end, but the Wolverines had five players score at least 12 points Saturday and won without much drama.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Nobody ahead of Michigan lost this week, although Sunday's matchup between No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 7 Tennessee could affect where the Wolverines end up in the next ranking.
UP NEXT
South Carolina: The Gamecocks take a break for exams before hosting No. 4 Virginia on Dec. 19.
Michigan: The Wolverines face their first in-state opponent of the season when they host Western Michigan next Saturday.
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