No. 25 Michigan falls to South Carolina, 61-46

Michigan shot 10-of-52 (19.2 percent) from the field, 2-of-26 (7.6 percent) from three-point range, and racked up 16 turnovers in a 61-46 loss to South Carolina on Wednesday.

“I asked the staff, have we scored a basket this half?” Michigan coach John Beilein said after the game. “We couldn’t get a basket. Their defense was really good. Our shooting? We’re going to knock some of those down (in the future.) You’re not going to see many 2-for-26 nights out of us. Credit the opposing team.”

Michigan made six field goals in the first half and just four in the second. Believe it or not, the Wolverines (4-1) went 12.5 minutes in the second half with one basket.

The Gamecocks (5-0) did everything right and the Wolverines did everything wrong. South Carolina’s length of Malik Kotsar and Chris Silva, who are both 6-foot-9, was also a problem for Michigan.

“They had great length, bothered some of our shots and made us shoot a lot of shots that we didn’t expect to have to shoot that fast,” said U-M guard Derrick Walton Jr., who led the Wolverines with 15 points, but only shot 3 of 14 from the field. “I tried to take it upon myself and Zak (Irvin) to be aggressive, but it was one of those nights we couldn’t buy a basket.”

Walton Jr. led Michigan with 15 points, but only shot 3-of-14 from the field. Zak Irvin fouled out after shooting 2-of-13 from the field with eight turnovers.

“It’s an away game, the first time, the crowd, really long team and you get punched in the mouth and all of the sudden you can’t make a shot,” Beilein said. “But we have to shoot it better than that to win.”

Sindarius Thornwell led the way for the Gamecocks with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Silva and Kotsar both tossed in 10 points, while Duane Notice scored 13 points in the 61-46 victory.

"We don't play a game, we play a season," Thornwell said. "We have a long way to go."