» Hunter Dickinson recorded his second double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds, a career record.
» Franz Wagner won its first 20-point competition in 2020-21 with a 20-point team.
»Michigan hit 50.8 percent of the ground in his first street game of the season.
Local: Lincoln, Nebraska (Pinnacle Bank Arena)
Score: # 19 Michigan 80, Nebraska 69
Records: UM (7-0, 2-0 B1G), NEB (4-5, 0-2 B1G)
Next UM event: Thursday, December 31 – in Maryland (College Park, Md.), 19h (TV: ESPN2)
LINCOLN, Nebraska – The University of Michigan men’s basketball team, ranked 19th, won an 80-69 victory on Christmas Day Friday in Nebraska in their first road game of the 2020-21 season.
Freshman Hunter Dickinson had his second double-double career, scoring 13 points and pulling 15 rebounds, the best of his career, while in his second year Franz Wagner posted his first game of 20 points of the season, winning 9 of 16 from the ground for a team record of 20 points, and picked up nine rebounds.
Senior Isaiah Livers got 17 points with three points, while Chaundee Brown Jr. and Mike Smith rounded up the double-digit scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Wolverines threw 50.8 percent (30 against 59) of the ground in the contest and 57.7 percent in the second half. Corn and Blue also dropped nine points from three points.
On the glass, UM overtook Nebraska, 43-31, with Dickinson grabbing three of Michigan’s eight offensive boards.
Both teams struggled to start the offensive before making three consecutive kicks, and the game was tied at 13 after Smith’s three-pointer, with just 13 minutes left in the first half. The teams swapped baskets until Nebraska left in a 7-0 run to take the lead 32-29 with 2:32 remaining in the opening stanza.
UM used Brown’s triple to get a 34-32 lead and took a 36-34 lead for the break. Wagner led the Wolverines with 11 points in the first half, while Dickinson pulled 10 rebounds and Brown scored nine points.
Wagner scored five points and helped triple the Livers during a 10-0 run that gave UM a 12 point lead, 53-41, with just over 14 minutes to go. The Wolverines led 62-49 with nine minutes left, before both teams entered a scoring drought of more than two minutes.
Corn and Blue had four turns and allowed Nebraska to return with five, 67-62, with 5:41 remaining in the game. However, consecutive brands from Livers and Brooks increased the lead to nine, which Michigan maintained until the end of the game.
Wolverine’s defense put the Cornhuskers on the ice for three of the final four minutes of the game to gain victory on the road.
Michigan (7-0, 2-0 B1G) will be back in action on Thursday (December 31), when he travels to Maryland for the 7 PM competition on ESPN2.