Kansas Dominates Inside; Downs U-M

The Michigan basketball team dropped a 75-64 to No. 1-ranked Kansas on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. Kansas surged to a 21-point first half lead in the Wolverines 11-point loss.

LAWRENCE, Kansas - On the road against the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks, the U-M basketball team fell behind by 23 points in the first half, then trimmed it to 11 but got no closer in a 75-64 loss on Saturday afternoon.

In the game-deciding first half the Wolverines hit just 34.4% from the floor and 23% from behind the arc. Over the same stretch the Jayhawks hit at clips of 48% and 44%.

Over a ten and a half minute stretch of the half, the Jayhawks outscored U-M 31-7 to put the game out of reach. Michigan got just a pair of DeShawn Sims jumpers and a Stu Douglass triple over the span. Kansas saw a balanced attack with eight different scorers contributing to the run.

Over the final three minutes of the half U-M trimmed the lead to just 11. Zack Novak ended the monstrous Kansas run with a put back on a missed DeShawn Sims shot. Sims then added a pair of buckets and two free throws before five straight by Darius Morris to end the half.

Early in the contest the visiting Wolverines held a pair of leads at 7-5 and 11-10. Manny Harris scored five of Michigan's first 11 points, but that's all he would score in the first 20 minutes.

Over the final 20 minutes the teams battled back and forth, the Wolverines never getting closer then the 11-point halftime deficit. The Wolverines got within 11 on numerous occasions, but Michigan hit just 5-of-28 from the arc and never cracked the double-digit barrier.

DeShawn Sims finished with 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Wolverines in both categories. Manny Harris finished with 16 points, 11 in the second half.

Michigan next looks to get back on the winning side of the ledger with a Tuesday night tilt against Coppin State at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. Tip-off is scheuled for 7:00 p.m.