Michigan goes cold in second half, falls to Rutgers in Big Ten Tournament

Chicago — With its season on the line, Michigan needed to find a way to survive and stay alive.

In a do-or-die matchup between two fringe NCAA Tournament teams, the No. 8 seed Wolverines were clinging to a three-point halftime lead against No. 9 seed Rutgers in their opening game of the Big Ten tournament.

What unfolded over the final 20 minutes was an awful offensive performance. A 1-for-17 shooting stretch out of halftime. A field-goal drought that lasted over 14 minutes. One single made basket over the first 19 minutes of the second half.

Coupled with poor defensive rebounding and too many turnovers, it all led to an early exit, as Michigan’s postseason hopes went up in flames in a bubble-bursting 62-50 loss to Rutgers on Thursday at the United Center.

BOX SCORE: Rutgers 62, Michigan 50

“It wasn’t a good afternoon for us,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “In the second half, I felt we pressed a little bit too much as far as wanting to make the play individually, and that allowed Rutgers to capitalize on either some rush missed shots or turnovers.

“For us to be able to only make four shots, then you also add the turnovers and the offensive rebounds, it was just a really rough second half for this group.”

That’s putting it lightly. The Wolverines shot 34.8% from the field (16-for-46), including a woeful 4-for-21 clip in the second half, where half of their 22 points came at the free-throw line. The 50 points were a season low.

Junior center Hunter Dickinson finished with 24 points and didn’t receive much help. He accounted for nearly half of the offensive production and made half of Michigan’s field goals, including two 3-pointers in the second half that were the team’s only made shots until the final 35 seconds.

Everything started to unravel for Michigan (17-15) once the second half started. Over the first four minutes, the Wolverines turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation and didn’t make a shot, painting a picture for what was to come.

The Scarlet Knights (19-13) ripped off a 9-1 run that forced an early Michigan timeout. A mid-range jumper from Caleb McConnell capped the spurt and gave Rutgers a 34-29 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.

“I feel like we had a couple good looks in there,” said Dickinson, who had one-on-one opportunities in the post in the first half but was double- and triple-teamed often in the second half. “Sometimes, the ball just doesn't fall in the hoop.”

Rutgers pushed its lead to six before Michigan made its first field goal of the half, on a corner 3-pointer from Dickinson at the 15:01 mark. The Wolverines didn’t make another shot over the next 14 minutes.

For a stretch, Michigan used the free-throw line to keep close. Dickinson made half of his attempts in two separate trips to the stripe. Freshman guard Dug McDaniel drained two. Freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. split a pair. Michigan pulled within 40-39 with 11:06 remaining.

But, that wasn’t enough. As the field-goal drought dragged on, the wheels fell off and Rutgers widened the gap with a 12-0 burst. A miscommunication allowed Derek Simpson to rebound his own missed free throw and score a layup. Two more Michigan turnovers led to two more layups.

“At times, we got a little out of character, as far as what we do, instead of just keeping it simple, like we did in the first half,” Howard said. “They doubled in the post, but we've been in situations before all season long where they've doubled, and we've made simple plays out of the post. We could have done a better job of just being patient and making the simple play.”

After Dickinson had his shot blocked at the rim by Clifford Omoruyi, Cam Spencer buried a dagger 3-pointer. On the next possession, sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin missed a jumper, nobody got back on defense and Simpson was left all alone for a fast-break dunk, making it 52-39 with 5:52 to play.

“I thought our effort was there,” said Bufkin, who finished with nine points and turned it over seven times. “When shots don't fall, the game becomes tougher. But, I feel like that's no excuse on the defensive end.

“Give credit where credit is due. Rutgers is a very good defensive team. Me personally, I felt like I probably played my worst brand of basketball on the worst day to play it. Seven turnovers is unacceptable.”

That put Michigan in a hole that was too deep to dig out of. From there, the Wolverines trailed by as much as 16 as chants of "N-I-T" came from the crowd and their run of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances almost certainly came crashing to an end.

Spencer scored 18 and Simpson 13 for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights shot 39.3% from the field (24-for-61) but turned 12 offensive rebounds into 10 second-chance points and scored 18 points off 14 Michigan turnovers.

“To come in here and be locked in and hold them to four field goals in the second half goes to show you what these guys are made of,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “Our defense was terrific.”

The first half was a different story. Dickinson set the tone early as Michigan scored the first seven points and grabbed a 9-2 lead less than five minutes into the game. Rutgers struggled offensively and opened 4-for-23 from the floor.

The Wolverines, though, missed an opportunity to extend the lead when they hit their own cold spell, making two field goals over a seven-minute stretch. That allowed the Scarlet Knights to hang around and pull within 13-11 on an offensive putback by Omoruyi with 9:41 left in the first half.

Michigan pushed the lead back to seven on a deep jumper from junior forward Terrance Williams II. But Rutgers continued to take advantage of second-chance opportunities and turnovers to stay close before it rattled off an 8-0 spurt to take its first lead.

The Scarlet Knights ended their run with a pair of free throws following another offensive rebound and a fast-break layup by Antwone Woolfolk following an errant pass by Bufkin to go up, 25-23, at the 1:21 mark.

Michigan regained the lead for the last time when grad transfer wing Joey Baker swished a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to make it 28-25 at the break. But once the second half started, Michigan’s NCAA Tournament dreams faded away with each clanked shot.

“I feel like sometimes that's just the way the ball bounces,” Bufkin said. “Obviously we didn't get off to a great start in the second half, but we stuck through it. The outcome just wasn't what we wanted.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins