Michigan set an impossibly high standard to meet during its three-game romp in Las Vegas, but it did its best job of living up to it in a Saturday afternoon return to the Crisler Center against Rutgers.
The Wolverines doubled the Scarlet Knights at halftime, leading 50-25 at the break, and cruised to a 101-61 Big Ten opening win.
The 25-point lead ballooned in the second half when the Wolverines rattled off seven made threes in eight attempts over five minutes midway through the period. By the under-eight timeout, Michigan’s deep reserves checked into the game to help shepherd the game to the final horn.
Rutgers looked every bit like the worst team in the Big Ten that it was purported to be. There was little that Michigan could prove about its upside in this game, but it could live up to the precedent it’s already set.
A team that dominates the Players Era should dominate the Scarlet Knights on its home floor. That’s exactly what Michigan did, reiterating that it’s among college basketball’s best as of December 6th.
“That’s by far the best team I’ve played,” Steve Pikiell said in his post-game radio interview. “They made us pay for every mistake that we made. I watched them live against Gonzaga and they did the same thing. They just overwhelm you.”
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