Michigan Beats South Dakota State 71-56
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Glenn Robinson III scored 21 points and Mitch McGary added 13 points and nine rebounds, helping fourth-seeded Michigan overcome a rough night for Trey Burke in a 71-56 NCAA tournament win over 13th-seeded South Dakota State on Thursday night.
Burke made only two field goals and left the game briefly in the second half after a hard fall under the basket. The star point guard came back after that, but he finished with only six points.
Michigan (27-7) advanced anyway behind Robinson, McGary and Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 21 points.
South Dakota State (25-10) trailed by only four at halftime but couldn't keep up. High-scoring guard Nate Wolters was held to only 10 points.
Burke was held in single digits for the first time all season.
Michigan faces either Virginia Commonwealth or Akron on Saturday in the next round.
Michigan lost to another No. 13 seed, Ohio, in last year's tournament. The Wolverines looked vulnerable again at halftime of this one. They led 30-26, but Burke hadn't made a shot from the field.
On this night, though, he had plenty of help. Robinson, the son of the former Purdue star with the same name, scored Michigan's first 11 points of the second half, including three 3-pointers.
Robinson put the Wolverines up 41-30 with a 3. He finished 8 of 9 from the field.
Hardaway, another Michigan player with a familiar name, went 8 of 13 and made five 3-pointers.
With 11:01 to play, Burke hit the ground with a thud while competing for a defensive rebound. He immediately grabbed his head, although it wasn't clear if the main point of impact was his head, his back or perhaps his left arm.
Burke was able to walk off the court but went down the tunnel toward the locker room. He returned to the game with 9:23 to go. Burke finished with seven assists, which helped offset his poor shooting.
Michigan freshman Mitch McGary, making only his third start of the season, gave the Wolverines some added muscle inside. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound McGary added an exclamation mark late in the game when he stepped in front of a pass by Wolters, stole the ball and went all the way for a dunk to make it 65-52.
Brayden Carlson had 20 points for the Jackrabbits, but only four after halftime.
Burke is a national player of the year candidate, and Wolters is one of the country's top scorers, but the much-anticipated matchup of talented point guards never really lived up to the hype.
Burke scored only two points in the first half, and Wolters had only four.
Carlson kept the Jackrabbits in the game, and Hardaway picked up the slack for the Wolverines with 12 first-half points, all on 3-pointers.
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