Robinson's shooting propels Michigan to ugly win over Rutgers

ANN ARBOR -- Duncan Robinson, naturally, doesn't like coming off the bench. He prefers to start, like he did in Michigan's first 18 games this season. But the redshirt senior has been a good teammate, mentoring the freshman who replaced him in the lineup and embracing his new role. Against Rutgers on Sunday, Robinson came off the bench and changed the game with his outside shooting, sparking Michigan to a 62-47 victory.

In what was an otherwise shaky offensive performance for Michigan, Robinson scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. He also recorded five rebounds and four assists.

The Wolverines (17-5, 6-3) needed a strong second half to reach 43 percent shooting. They committed nine turnovers, including several wild, one-handed passes that left head coach John Beilein frustrated on the sideline.

Michigan had a small but comfortable lead for much of the game, though, thanks to its defense. Rutgers made just 17-of-51 shots (33 percent) and grabbed only seven offensive rebounds. The Scarlet Knights had just one assist Sunday.

After Moritz Wagner (game-high 16 points) made Michigan's first shot of the game, the Wolverines missed their next 10 as Rutgers gained an 8-2 advantage. But three Robinson 3-pointers keyed a 16-2 run that put Michigan on top 18-10 with 7:13 remaining. Rutgers did not score for eight minutes during the run.

The scoring picked up -- relatively speaking -- and Michigan led 27-21 at half. Rutgers (12-9, 2-6) shot just 31 percent in the first half and committed eight turnovers without an assist.

When the Michigan offense hit a rut early in the second half, it was Robinson who got it back on track, hitting a contested 3 from the right wing to give Michigan a 43-33 lead with 9:57 left. The Scarlet Knights never got within single digits after that.

It was the fourth game in nine days for No. 23 Michigan, a stretch that started with a win at Michigan State last Saturday and was followed by a home win over Maryland on Monday and Thursday's loss at Nebraska.

Sunday at Crisler, neither team could get much going offensively. Michigan failed to knock down several open looks when they did present themselves. Not counting Robinson, the Wolverines shot 4-for-17 from 3.

The energy was there, for the most part, as evident by Michigan's defense. Efficient offense was not, and Rutgers hung around for 30 minutes.

Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson (10 points each) were the other Wolverines in double figures. Jaaron Simmons has quietly slid into the backup point guard role. He played eight minutes Sunday.

Michigan visits Purdue on Thursday.

It was alumni weekend in Ann Arbor and several former Wolverines made on-court appearances during Sunday's game, including Glen Rice, Rudy Tomjanovich, and Jalen Rose.

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