Michigan Hoops: new and improved Wolverines top Nittany Lions

The important things about Michigan’s 73-64 Big Ten victory over Penn State Tuesday (Jan. 6), were the disappearance of the Wolverines shooting slump, Caris LeVert solving Penn State’s zone defense, and the much-needed rebounding by Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton, Jr.

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LeVert, who led the Wolverines with 18 points,  scored three big baskets down the stretch by dribbing into and through the Nittany Lions’ zone defense.

“They started playing a matchup, 2-3 zone and we were stagnant offensively.” LeVert said. “I tried to take it upon myself to get some easy baskets in the middle of the zone.”

Irvin, who hit only 2-of-12 shots in Saturday’s (Jan. 3) loss to Purdue,  scored 17 points while Walton added 12.

Michigan, which lost five of its last eight games partially due to a horrendous shooting slump, shot a dandy 53.3 percent (24 of 45) including 9-of-15 from three.

Jan 6, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard/forward Zak Irvin (21) drives the ball to the basket as Penn State Nittany Lions center Jordan Dickerson (32) guards during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Michigan defeated Penn State 73-64. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O

U-M wins rebounding battle

It was almost  a different team at Penn State (12-4, 0-3), with Michigan (9-6, 2-1 Big Ten) actually winning the battle of the boards, 31-26. Irvin lead the team with nine rebounds, Walton added six and LeVert four.

The solid rebounding performance by Irvin was definitely by design.

"“A big thing that Coach Beilein tells me is that there are ways for me to impact the game outside of scoring the basketball,” Irvin said in the post-game press conference. “So being able to get nine rebounds today, a career high, is something I am proud of. I need to be more consistent in that area for us to be a better ball club, so it’s something I need to keep working on.”"

Beilein saw a difference in Michigan’s play right from the opening tip.  “I loved the way we came out to start the game” Beilein said.”We came out with really good defense and we rebounded very well after getting destroyed on the boards at Purdue (Purdue had a 44-22 rebounding advantage). That rebounding helped us get the ball up the court. We got out 10-2 and if you look at the final score, that was about (the difference). They came back, but it held up in the long run.”

Albrecht starts

Coach Beilein keeps toying with his lineup. Albrecht made only his second start of the season, taking over the point guard position from Walton who is still suffering from a sore toe. Walton played the shooting guard slot, while Irvin, LeVert and Ricky Doyle also started.

Although Albrecht was held scoreless, he played a solid floor game, dishing out six assists against two turnovers.

The Wolverines hope to build on the Penn State victory when they host Minnesota at the Crisler Center Saturday (Jan. 10) at 1 pm. ET. ESPNU will televise the game.

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