A tale of two halves. The only accurate phrase to sum up the first official meeting between the no. 24 Michigan Wolverines (5-3) and the San Diego State Aztecs (5-3), which ended in a 72-58 Wolverines victory. Unlike Michigan who played a very consistent and balanced two halves, the Aztecs played an exceptionally different pair of halves, which led to their second loss in eight days.
Head coach Brian Dutcher faced his former team for the first time since leaving for the Aztecs with coach Fisher and kept up a great pace in the first half with Michigan’s stout performance from beyond the arc. However, in the second half, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard, who played under Brian Dutcher during his time at Michigan, helped his young team find somewhat of a groove and pull away from the Aztecs.
The Wolverines led 36-34 at halftime after a very impressive first half from each team. One component that the Aztecs possessed in the first half that was lacking in the second half was a clean offensive approach.
In the first half, the Aztecs were able to lean on the team’s leading scorer, Matt Bradley who had 14 points, as well as some less-common contributors including Keith Dinwiddie with five points and Keshad Johnson with five points and five rebounds. However, in the second half, the absence of defensive prodigy Lamont Butler was particularly present and became an issue down the stretch.
Scoring just 24 points in the second half, San Diego State wasn’t able to keep pace with another 36-point half for Michigan. Bradley finished with a team-leading 22 points, while Dinwiddie had eight. Chad Baker Mazara had eight, and Trey Pulliam had seven.
The team totaled 33 rebounds, headlined by 17 between Nathan Mensah, Trey Pulliam, and Johnson. The Aztecs played a better game than the score shows, but the combination of a 26.1 percent 3-point percentage and 16 turnovers allowed Michigan their fifth win of the young season.
In one of their best performances to date this season, the Wolverines were led by Hunter Dickinson with a 23-point, 14-rebound double-double, as well as Caleb Houstan, who scored 17 points with five rebounds. The team shot 46.7 percent from the field and 55 percent from beyond the arc. After their double digit win, the Wolverines are now just 2-3 on the season against teams with a winning record.
San Diego State will play next on Wednesday, December 8th at home against the Cal State Fullerton Titans (3-4) at the Viejas Arena at Steve Fisher Court for a 7 p.m. PT tip-off.