Michigan 85 - LBSU 61: The Wolverines Roll Through Round One of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off

It was a game that Michigan was supposed to win handily, and everything went according to plan as Michigan rolled past LBSU in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.  Michigan scored 42 and 43 points by the half compared to 29 and 32 for the 49ers.

Nik Stauskas led all scorers with 24 points on 10 (!) shots.  He hit four of his six 3PA, six of his eight FTA, and added four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.  As Michigan still works to find a number one scoring option, Stauskas continues to make the case that he might be that.

Caris LeVert also put up 20 points in this one, and he did it on 13 shots while going 4/7 from behind the arc.  He had five rebounds, four assists, and didn't turn the ball over.  At this point LeVert, Stauskas and GRIII have all but cemented themselves as the foundation of this team — you know, pending McGary — as the three had 34, 36, and 35 minutes respectively.  GRIII was a bit quieter in his scoring with 14 points and four assists.

Mitch McGary is still working his way back from injury, and that much is obvious.  He was limited in this game to just 14 minutes, but he had a very McGary stat line.  Six points on 3/3 shooting, 0/1 from the line, four rebounds, and one assist, one steal, one block, and one turnover.  Plus three fouls, of course.

The freshmen duo once again had its ups and downs.  Derrick Walton played 29 minutes and made three shots from outside, but he also missed everything else to go 3/11.  However, he had seven defensive rebounds.  Zak Irvin (who is playing behind Michigan's big three right now) hit one of his two 3PAs and played a little over 10 minutes.

Michigan will take on Florida State tomorrow in round two.  The Seminoles beat 10th ranked VCU 85-67 in the game after Michigan-LBSU.  More on that contest tomorrow.