One night after Michigan State's Tre Holloman buried a prayer from Washington D.C., Nimari Burnett said I will do you one better, Sparty. He sank a triple from Catlin Clark range on Thursday night inside of Crisler with Tim Hardaway Jr. watching on. It capped a 13-point rally to keep Michigan basketball locked into the two seed of the upcoming Big Ten tournament and directly on its rival's heels.
Here are three of the takeaways from the euphoric win at home for Michigan basketball.
1. Nimari Burnett's magical shot
Tre Donaldson fouled Tyson Acuff on a 3-point attempt with 12 seconds left. Acuff missed the first, but not his next two. It gave Rutgers a one-point lead as Michigan basketball brought it up court with time elapsing rapidly. Dusty May noticed his offense had no momentum for a game-winning shot, so he called his final timeout with three ticks remaining.
FINAL | Michigan 84, Rutgers 82
— Rutgers Hoops HQ (@RUHoopsHQ) February 28, 2025
A colossal meltdown by Pikiell & Rutgers as they cough up a 12-pt lead & allow Michigan to go on a 17-4 for an 8 min stretch which Rutgers shot 2-of-17.
TERRIBLE shot selection in the 2H sinks Rutgers.
A MELTDOWN OF EPIC PROPORTIONS!
Out of the timeout Roddy Gayle Jr. in-bounded it to Danny Wolf who almost fell down. Wolf somehow kept his balance and got it to Burnett who, with Dylan Harper charging at him and his hand in his face, drained a triple for the improbable game winner. The place went into a frenzy as his teammates mobbed him to celebrate the unforgettable moment with him.