Michigan finishes strong, kicks off West Coast trip with win over USC

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Jan 4, 2025

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The Wolverines kicked off the new year and their Los Angeles trip with a wild tale of two halves.

Michigan welcomed Southern California to the Big Ten with a 3-point barrage in the first half and a healthy helping of points in the paint in the second half en route to an 85-74 win on Saturday at Galen Center.

Danny Wolf stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six blocked shots to lead the charge and five double-digit scorers for Michigan (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten).

Nimari Burnett and Tre Donaldson each added 16 points for the Wolverines, who used a strong finish to recover after squandering a 15-point second-half lead.

The Wolverines made all 10 of their 3-pointers in the first half en route to a four-point halftime lead. Out of the break, they turned to the front court tandem of Vlad Goldin (11 points) and Wolf and pounded the paint to widen the margin.

Goldin, while being double-teamed, found a cutting Wolf for a layup. Wolf returned the favor and fed Goldin in the post for a three-point play. That sparked a 13-0 flurry in which the two 7-footers did all the damage.

Wolf followed up three consecutive finishes at the rim with an outlet pass that led to a two-handed, fast-break dunk by Goldin, making it 55-40 and forcing a USC timeout with 16:02 left.

USC clawed all the way back during a miserable stretch when things went from bad to worse for Michigan. Back-to-back turnovers by Rubin Jones and L.J. Cason led to USC baskets. A shot clock violation by Michigan was followed by another layup.

Goldin picked up his fourth foul after USC came down with an offensive rebound, which put the Trojans in the bonus at the 10:42 mark. USC came away with the rebound off a missed free throw, leading to a possession on which Chibuzo Agbo banked in a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock.

The Wolverines missed the front end of three one-and-one opportunities and had a four-minute scoring drought. The Trojans kept pushing and used a 15-2 run to pull ahead, 65-63, at the 7:33 mark.

Roddy Gayle Jr. (12 points) pulled Michigan out of its tailspin. He scored at the rim to tie it. He scored again at the rim to put the Wolverines back in front. That sparked a 10-0 burst that Burnett capped by flipping up a shot through contact, giving Michigan a 73-65 lead with 5:09 remaining.

This time, the Wolverines held the lead, though it didn’t come without another USC push. The Trojans cut the deficit to two with 3:23 to go before Goldin and Wolf helped seal it. Wolf blocked a shot on one end and dished out an assist to Goldin for a basket at the other end. Wolf scored on a driving layup on the next possession. Michigan closed the game out on a 12-3 run to remain unbeaten in league play.

Wesley Yates III scored 19 and Desmond Claude added 19 points before fouling out with 3:12 remaining for USC (9-5, 1-2). The Trojans were outscored 38-26 in the paint and shot 14 for 22 on free throws.

Terrance Williams II, who spent the last four seasons at Michigan, missed his fifth straight game for the Trojans with a broken wrist.

The Wolverines picked up where they left off in last weekend’s win over Western Kentucky, when they tied a single-game program record with 19 made 3-pointers.

Michigan opened with a 5 for 5 start from 3-point range to jump out to a 15-6 lead less than four minutes into the game. Donaldson hit back-to-back deep balls to get things started. Burnett drained a pair, including a contested shot in the corner. Wolf buried a step-back 3-pointer.

The Wolverines didn’t attempt a shot inside the arc until the 14:31 mark and didn’t make one until Wolf hit a fallaway jumper 30 seconds later. That all came during a four-and-a-half-minute stretch when USC used a 10-2 spurt to pull ahead, 17-16, midway through the half.

Michigan continued to rely on its production from beyond the arc, while USC got to the free-throw line and hit mid-range jumpers. Wolf hit a deep 3-pointer to put the Wolverines back in front. Then after USC pulled even, Donaldson rattled in his third deep ball to make it 25-22 at the 8:24 mark.

The teams went back and forth, trading points and the lead — all while Gayle and Wolf sat for extended time with two fouls — until Michigan closed the half with a 6-0 burst.

Will Tschetter canned a 3-pointer late in the shot clock on a broken play. Donaldson turned a steal into a pull-up 3-pointer in transition. The Wolverines made 10 3-pointers and just three shots inside the arc, as they took a 42-38 advantage into the break.

Michigan will wrap up its two-game West Coast swing at No. 15 UCLA on Tuesday.

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