Michigan won on Saturday to advance to the Sunday’s Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament championship.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Playing at a casino’s basketball arena, Michigan lit up the 3-point line like a slot machine on Saturday afternoon.
The Wolverines hit 15 3s in a 84-61 win over George Washington at Mohegan Sun Arena. Michigan will face the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Providence and South Carolina on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament championship. Tip will be at 1:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).
Michigan (4-0) started the second half Saturday on a 13-2 run to push its lead to 20 and force a George Washington timeout with 17:24 left. The margin never got closer than 17. Midway through the half the lead was up to 30.
Charles Matthews scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Jordan Poole had 22 (7-of-12, including 5-of-8 from 3).
Poole hit three straight 3s in the second half. Zavier Simpson hit four second-half triples and finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The bench yelled “trey trey!” as each 3 arced towards the hoop. Michigan shot 50 percent from the field and from 3.
Michigan went up 28-10, aided by five 3s. At that point, George Washington had more turnovers (six) than made field goals (four). The Colonials (0-4) went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to 30-24 with 3:26 left, but U-M took control from there.
Late in the half, Livers started a fast break with a ridiculous rejection — switching from his right to his left hand mid-air when the shooter tried a reverse layup — that led to a Poole and-one. Livers hit three 3s in the game to finish with 11 points.
The 10,000-seat arena had plenty of empty seats, but the crowd was mostly maize and blue.
Back-up center Austin Davis injured his ankle when he fell against Villanova on Wednesday and did not dress. Jon Teske and Isaiah Livers split the minutes at the center position, with Brand Johns Jr. getting some run as well.
The Wolverines entered their game against George Washington shooting just 23 percent from beyond the arc. But they combined hot shooting Saturday with their typical stifling defense. George Washington shot 39 percent from the field.
Illinois transfer D. J. Williams scored 10 first-half points and led George Washington with 16.
