Michigan Basketball: 5 things we learned from win over North Carolina

Michigan basketball dominated North Carolina Wednesday night in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and here are five things we learned from the Wolverines win.

When the Michigan basketball team went on the road and beat up Villanova, that was an impressive victory. However, it was not nearly as impressive as what the Wolverines did to North Carolina Wednesday night.

In the marquee game of the Big Ten-Acc Challenge Wednesday night at Crisler Arena, the Wolverines not only proved they are one of the best teams in the country, they enacted some revenge on North Carolina for last season’s 15-point loss with a 84-67 win over the Tar Heels.

Early on, it didn’t look good for Michigan basketball. North Carolina stormed out of the gates and grabbed a 21-11 lead after some hot shooting. That start prompted a timeout by John Beilein and after that moment, Michigan went off.

Literally, from that point on, Michigan outscored North Carolina 60-30, as the Wolverines built a 71-51 lead. At one point, the lead reached 22 points before the Tar Heels made a run late and got the advantage down to 12. That’s when Charles Matthews drilled a 3-pointer from the corner.

The Wolverines hit a few more triples late, including a late dagger from Jordan Poole that put the game on ice. Ignas Brazdeikis also had a huge night for Michigan with 24 points and five rebounds, while Matthews finished with 21 points and seven boards.

Poole hit five times from downtown on his way to 18 points. Jon Teske also added five blocks and Zavier Simpson had six points, five assists and four rebounds in the win.

The bottom line is that it was a dominant performance for Michigan, especially over the last 30 minutes or so and here are five things that we learned.