Michigan 102, Charlotte 47: A Thanksgiving Thumping

On Thanksgiving, Michigan was thankful Charlotte lined up against them on the court.

After double-digit losses to Xavier and UConn in which Caris LeVert was the only Wolverine that could find his offensive rhythm, Michigan (3-2) couldn't miss as it crushed Charlotte (1-4), 102-47, in the consolation side of the Battle 4 Atlantis bracket on Thursday night. The 102 points that Michigan scored set a Battle 4 Atlantis record, and it's just the fourth time under John Beilein that the Maize and Blue have recorded at least 100 points. The Wolverines averaged a whopping 1.42 PPP and posted a 71.4 eFG%, making 39-of-63 (12-of-23 3FG) shots. That's a nice way to get one's confidence back.

Michigan's scoring outburst was led by four Wolverines that reached double-digit points. German import Moritz Wagner tallied a game-high 19 points and had the best effort by a Michigan big man this season. By far. Wagner displayed some of the flash that has Michigan's staff so excited about his future. He opened his scoring with a nifty spin move around the rim for an and-one finish and drained a three-pointer thereafter. He also had a couple of reverse layups, using the rim for protection. By the end of the contest, Wagner had drained 8-of-9 shots with his only miss being a dunk in the second half. The one red flag was that Wagner didn't grab one rebound, but he looked sharp on offense.

The others that joined Wagner with double digits were LeVert (13), Zak Irvin (12), and Aubrey Dawkins (10). LeVert was the all-around player that he usually is, grabbing four boards and setting up his teammates with five assists. After making only 4-of-21 shots in his first three games, Irvin finally looked comfortable with his jump shot, making 4-of-7 from the field. And Dawkins made all four of his twos and two free throws to get his 10.

Everyone contributed in this game. In addition to the four Wolverines that scored double digits, Michigan had six other players that tallied between six and nine points. Simply, this was an offensive onslaught by the Maize and Blue, and there was nothing that a far inferior Charlotte squad could do about it. There's not much else to take away from this.

It was a much-needed blowout. But Texas awaits tomorrow (7 p.m., AXS TV).