Michigan rolls over George Washington
No. 18 Michigan 84, George Washington 61: Michigan coach John Beilein was concerned his Wolverines might suffer a letdown against George Washington after a blowout victory over No. 8 Villanova on the road.
There was still a tinge of worry during the first half of Saturday’s semifinal of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off tournament when GW (0-4) cut an 18point Wolverine lead to six.
But Michigan (4-0), which led by nine points at halftime, went on a 13-2 run to open the second half and finished with an easy victory over the Colonials in Uncasville, Conn. “A lot of the message after the Villanova game was handling success,” Beilein said. “Some kids struggle with that. It’s very natural. Michigan is not going to fall into that trap.”
Charles Matthews led the Wolverines with 25 points and Jordan Poole made five of his eight 3point shots to add a career-high 22. Zavier Simpson finished two assists shy of a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Poole had made just one 3-pointer on 10 attempts coming into the game and was shooting just over 23 percent from the field. He hit his first three shots and finished 7 of 12 from the floor. The sophomore guard insisted that nothing had changed with his shot, but Simpson said he noticed a difference.
“Me and Jordan were having a little contest before the game,” Simpson said. “We were basically bragging with each other how our shot was feeling good today. So I’m not sure what he was talking about feeling normal. Then he knocked the first one down. That was kind of like, ‘I told you so.’”
Michigan, which gave up just 46 points in its 27point victory at Villanova on Wednesday, held the Colonials to 39 percent shooting and outscored GW 17-2 on the fast break.
Furman 76, No. 8 Villanova 68 (OT): Jordan Lyons scored 17 points, Matt Rafferty and Clay Mounce each had 15, and Furman (5-0) stunned defending national champion Villanova (2-2) in overtime.
Noah Gurley and Alex Hunter added 13 points apiece for the surging Paladins, who have started 5-0 for the first time in 30 years.
Phil Booth scored 20 points and Colin Gillespie had 19 for the Wildcats, who were coming off a 27point loss to Michigan. It marked the first time Villanova lost back-to-back home games since December of 2013.
Lyons and Rafferty delivered huge buckets in overtime to key a 7-0 spurt that put the Paladins ahead 69-63 in the final minute, enough cushion for them to hang on for the victory in front of a shocked sellout crowd at the recently renovated Finneran Pavilion.
No. 24 Marquette 74, Presbyterian 55: Sam Hauser scored 19 points and Joseph Chartouny added 16 off the bench as host Marquette (3-1) overcame a sluggish start to pull away for a nonconference victory over stubborn Presbyterian (3-2).
The Golden Eagles, coming off a 96-73 loss at Indiana on Wednesday, erased a six-point deficit with a flurry of 3-pointers to trigger a 29-8 run midway through the second half.
Women’s Top 10
No. 1 Notre Dame 101, No. 15 DePaul 77: Jackie Young had 28 points and 12 rebounds, Arike Ogunbowale scored 24 and Notre Dame beat DePaul.
The defending NCAA champions passed their first big test and gave coach Muffet McGraw her 891st career victory. The Irish (3-0) went from trailing by seven through the first quarter to leading by seven at halftime and pulled away over the final two quarters.
No. 2 UConn 80, Vanderbilt 42: Crystal Dangerfield scored 19 points and Napheesa Collier added 15 points and 16 rebounds to help UConn rout Vanderbilt in the Hall of Fame Showcase.
Katie Lou Samuelson added 15 points while Megan Walker had 14 for the Huskies (2-0).