Game 22: Penn State at Michigan Recap

Coming off a pair of top ten wins, including one at the Breslin Center, Michigan hardly needed a feel-good night. It got one anyway on Thursday, with a 110-69 win over Penn State.

The Wolverines wasted no time dismantling the short-handed Nittany Lions, building a 42-point lead early in the second half before coasting through the final quarter of play with reserves.

Nimari Burnett embraced that opportunity more than anyone, finishing with a career-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting in just 22 minutes after going scoreless at the Breslin Center. Burnett hit seven threes and helped turn a comfortable win into a laugher.

Penn State was coming off its first Big Ten win over the weekend, but is 1-10 in the conference for a reason. The Nittany Lions’ worst-in-the-Big Ten defense wasn’t up to the challenge, especially without four rotation players, including starting center Ivan Juric, who scored 20 points in the game in State College.

Michigan dominated this game in the way it should have in State College. And perhaps most importantly, the way it should against a team without a healthy Big Ten center.

Michigan’s 1.54 points per possession was its best Big Ten scoring output in KenPom history and the third-best all-time.