ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and No. 3 Michigan won its fifth consecutive game by 25 or more points, beating Rutgers 101-60 on Saturday.
The Wolverines scored more than 100 points for the third consecutive game, a feat last accomplished during their 1989 national championship season.
Yaxel Lendenborg had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Wolverines (8-0, 1-0) in their Big Ten opener. Trey McKenney added 13 points, and Elliot Cadeau had 11 points and nine assists.
Michigan shot 60% from the field while making its case for the No. 1 spot in the AP poll after No. 1 Purdue lost earlier in the day. The Maize Rage student section did its lobbying with several “No. 1” chants late in the game.
Freshmen Harun Zrno and Kaden Powers led Rutgers (5-5, 0-2) with 13 points apiece. Zrno, a 21-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina, made his first career start.
Michigan struggled from the outside early, but more than made up for an 0-for-6 start from 3-point range by controlling the interior. The Wolverines scored 22 of their first 24 points in the paint before a Nimari Burnett long-distance jumper sparked a 15-2 run — which included 3-pointers from Johnson and Lendenborg — that made it 39-19 with 4:51 remaining in the first half.
That advantage grew to 50-25 by halftime, and the Wolverines continued their hot shooting early in the second half, making 7 of 10 (70%) 3-pointers over the first eight minutes.
The Wolverines, returning to action after a 10-day break, picked up right where they left off after demolishing the field at the Players Era Championship. Their three-game run in that event included routs of No. 20 Auburn (102-72) and No. 11 Gonzaga (101-61).
Dylan Grant had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Scarlet Knights, who dropped their fifth game in six outings after opening the season 4-0.
Up next
Rutgers makes the short trip to Seton Hall for Saturday’s Garden State Hardwood Classic. Michigan hosts Villanova on Tuesday night.
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