In a game without their head coach, one starter, and one bench player, Michigan needed a hero or two to rise. Tonight, the Wolverines got just that from three of the youngest pieces on their team: Caleb Houstan, Kobe Bufkin, and Frankie Collins. The three freshmen turned in some of their better performances of the season, particularly in the second half, shooting Michigan by the Rutgers Scarlett Knights tonight at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor by a score of 71-62. For a team that needs to perform well in the final two weeks to qualify for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, tonight was a big start. 

The first half was rather evenly matched. Michigan came out hot shooting the three, getting a couple quick makes from Caleb Houstan, before going 0-fer the rest of the half from beyond the long line. Michigan's offense shot 43% from the field but dealt with eight turnovers that brought their offensive flow to a halt at some points. Hunter Dickinson scored 12, and the team got just two total points in the first stanza by someone other than Dickinson, Eli Brooks, Houstan, or DeVante' Jones (Johns Jr. had a tip-in). Defensively, Michigan saw some tough makes go down from the likes of Caleb McConnell and Ron Harper Jr., but did collect five blocks and didn't allow a made three pointer. Michigan led 32-30 at the break. 

The first four minutes of the second half moved along at a reasonable pace, with each team answering the other's buckets. A Jones turnover created a transition chance for Rutgers and Cliff Omoruyi slammed home a basket that evened the score up at 38 apiece with 16:12 to go. At this point it became Freshman Time. After Jones missed a three pointer, Brandon Johns Jr. siphoned up a rebound, kicked it out to Houstan, and the freshman knocked down a big three pointer. A Geo Baker miss at the other end followed, and very quickly Michigan was freeing up Houstan for a look again, this time from the other end of the court. Swish. Two treys in the span of twenty five seconds had Michigan ahead six. 

Frankie Collins and Kobe Bufkin were nice off the bench [Campredon]

Rutgers responded with a couple deuces to pull within a pair, but then DeVante' Jones chipped in some nice jumpers to push it from 44-42 to 48-42. Little did we know, but this was the beginning of a 15-2 run that would cement Michigan's control of the contest. Eli Brooks made a couple of tough shots from inside the arc, and that's when Kobe Bufkin and Frankie Collins started to do their parts. Both freshman guards played some of their best defense of the season at one end, and then entered a groove at the other end. Bufkin made a three with 10:31 to go to push it to 55-45 and give Michigan their largest lead of the game. Collins provided good defense on dribble drive penetration and got Hunter Dickinson to help out at the rim. Frankie snagged it, charged down the floor, and finished a slick eurostep layup, forcing Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell to take a timeout. 

The timeout was taken to stop the bleeding, but the blood wasn't done gushing. Michigan got another stop and Bufkin made a shot, stretching the lead to 59-45. Rutgers finally drew a shooting foul after that and Geo Baker made both free throws to stem the Michigan tide with 8:43 left. Over the next 3.5 minutes, the game was fought to a draw, with Michigan doing a good job to deny any long Rutgers runs by answering with makes. Rutgers was only able to shave two points off the margin in this span and with 5 minutes to go, the score sat at 65-55. When Eli Brooks knocked down a three a minute later, Michigan had a stranglehold on the game. 

Another solid game from DeVante' Jones in the second half [Campredon]

Faced with a similar position to last Thursday's game against Iowa, Michigan didn't mess around and let the opposition back in it. Geo Baker pulled up from two on a tough shot, and Dickinson snagged the rebound, which was a good encapsulation of Michigan's defensive effort in this one: better wing defense than normal, forcing gobs of long twos, and solid defensive rebounding limited multiple shot attempt possessions. Though Ron Harper Jr. converted an alley-oop on the next trip down the floor, another Caleb Houstan three from well behind the arc made it 71-57 with exactly three minutes to go. Paul Mulcahy turned it over on the ensuing Rutgers possession, and that pretty much wrapped it up. Final score: 71-62. 

Houstan led Michigan with 21 points, shooting 5/9 from distance. The Wolverines are now 10-1 when Houstan shoots >33.3% from three point range this season. Hunter Dickinson wasn't mentioned much in this piece, because it was a rather unspectacular night, yet he still posted a typical 16 and 11 stat line playing all but one minute tonight (!!). DeVante' Jones continued his quietly great second half by scoring 14 and snagging 7 boards. Eli Brooks scored 11 and then the combination of Bufkin and Collins chipped in 7, though their contributions were greatest on the defensive end. If those two can be more usable defensive options, that very much changes the picture for Phil Martelli's crew. 

Anyway you slice it, this was a big victory. Michigan needs to win 3 of their last 5 to feel good heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Tonight was victory #1, and it's big to knock off a fellow bubble team without a key piece in Moussa Diabate. The Wolverines will get Diabate and Terrance Williams II back for Sunday's game against Illinois. It will not be an easy contest, but it is an opportunity to notch a Q1(A) victory and bolster the tournament resume. That game is scheduled for 2:00 PM EST and will be televised on CBS. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score]