Michigan routs Illinois in B1G Tournament opener

Nothing can stop Michigan Basketball right now.

Amid travel problems, including a scary plane incident on Thursday, the Wolverines arrived in Washington, D.C. for the Big Ten Tournament and announced their presence in impressive fashion.

Michigan took down Illinois by a score of 75-55 in the rubber match of their series this season and have advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will take on Purdue at noon on Friday.

John Beilein’s team left Ann Arbor for D.C. at 6 a.m. on Thursday and made it to the Verizon Center around 10:40 a.m. The game was moved back 20 minutes, but it did not matter.

Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin combined for 37 points on 15-for-28 shooting on the afternoon, while Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 17 points of his own.

Oh, and they did it wearing their practice jerseys.

Because of the FAA’s investigation on the plane crash, none of the team’s equipment was able to make it with them for this morning’s trip, so they made do with what they had.

Michigan next plays at 12 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon against Purdue, who is the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.