City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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ANN ARBOR, Mi.--In their second Big Ten conference game, the Penn State Nittany Lions dropped their third of their last four games with a blowout loss on the road to the Michigan Wolverines, by a final score of 79-56.

At First…
In the first five minutes, it looked like Penn State (9-6, 0-2 Big Ten) might have a shot at pulling the upset, as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 10-6 lead early. They didn’t trail until the 12:24 mark, when a Zak Irvin three-pointer gave Michigan  (12-3, 2-0) a 15-13 lead.

Turning Point…
Penn State’s early magic quickly evaporated, with the Wolverines ripping off an 18-4 run to suddenly lead 33-17 with 7:38 to go in the half.

Michigan continued to dominate the remainder of the frame, to go into the half up by a strong margin of 49-28. From there, the result would never be in doubt.

Shining Stars…
In the losing effort, Penn State senior forward Brandon Taylor had a nice game, leading his team with 18 points while grabbing six rebounds.

For Michigan, sophomore Mark Donnal and junior Zak Irvin both had 16 to lead the Wolverines. Donnal also snatched eight boards, while Irvin dished out seven assists.

Noteworthy Numbers…
Penn State shot the ball at a very low clip, going just 35-percent from the field while making four of their 18 three-point attempts. Michigan, however, couldn’t miss from three, hitting 14-of-25 from beyond the arc while going 59-percent from the field.

Up Next…
Penn State (9-6, 0-2) vs. Minnesota (Jan. 5, 7:00 p.m.)
Michigan (12-3, 2-0) @ no. 14 Purdue (Jan. 7, 7:00 p.m.)