Michigan blows away Marquette, will play SMU in 2K Classic championship

The Michigan Wolverines annihilated the Marquette Golden Eagles from start-to-finish in the 2K Classic semifinals, 79-61. With the victory, Michigan will battle against the SMU Mustangs in the championship event.

Michigan was led by Mark Donnal and D.J. Wilson throughout the entire night. Donnal scored 15 points off the bench on six-for-eight shooting from the field. He added four rebounds. Meanwhile, Wilson logged 10 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists.

Mortiz Wagner scored the first points of the event for Michigan on a layup and the team went on to shoot four-for-four to start the game. The Wolverines jumped out to quick 10-5 lead over Marquette.

Derrick Walton Jr., Michigan’s starting point guard, picked up two fouls with 16:43 left in the first half. However, Xavier Simpson took over in the back-court and the Wolverines started to score at a high rate.

Michigan jumped out to a 36-20 lead thanks to a 21-5 run against Marquette.

Wilson started over Duncan Robinson for the first time and managed 10 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. Meanwhile, Robinson scored 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field.

With just over 10 minutes to play in the game, Wagner proved his talent to the world with an insane slam to give Michigan a 65-39 lead.

Wagner finished the game with nine points, one rebound and two assists.

As the second half continued, Michigan also continued to score the basketball at will. The offense and defense finished strong to secure Michigan a 79-61 victory in the 2K Classic.

Zak Irvin scored a team-high 16 points, while adding five rebounds and six assists to his stat line. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman tossed in 15 points and five rebounds.

As for the Golden Eagles, the team was led by Luke Fischer, who had 19 points, five rebounds and one assist in the loss.

SMU topped the Pittsburgh Panthers by nine points earlier on Thursday to set up a battle with the Wolverines. SMU crushed Michigan in the 2015-16 season, 82-58.