No. 11 UNC men's basketball falls to No. 7 Michigan, 84-67, on the road Wednesday

The North Carolina men's basketball team took a 21-11 lead early in the first half, but No. 7 Michigan quickly woke up and dominated the No. 11 Tar Heels the rest of the way for an 84-67 win on Wednesday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

What happened?

UNC (6-2) got its scoring started with back-to-back baskets from forward Garrison Brooks. The sophomore hit a layup on the team's first possession and then banked in a jump shot on its second possession. Senior forward Luke Maye followed with a jump shot to give his team a 6-2 edge. The Tar Heels stretched their lead to five points at 13-8 with another made shot by Maye, this time a 3-pointer. 

After a 3-pointer from Michigan (7-0) to cut the lead to two points, UNC went on an 8-0 run highlighted by a Seventh Woods layup and a Brandon Robinson 3-pointer. 

The Wolverines came roaring back with an 11-0 run of their own with first-year forward Ignas Brazdeikis scoring six straight points. 

UNC briefly retook the lead as first-year forward Nassir Little hit a jumper from just beyond the free throw line, but Michigan quickly answered with six straight points.

With 4:52 remaining in the opening half, first-year guard Coby White made a jump shot to give himself eight points for the half as UNC retook the lead again at 33-31.

Michigan responded by taking the momentum into halftime with an 8-2 run capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 39-35 game.

Maye got things started in the second half with a jump shot to put himself in double figures at 11 points. Michigan continued to build on its momentum at the end of the first half by outscoring UNC 12-2 over the next three minutes and 56 seconds. 

The Wolverines quickly extended their biggest lead of the night to 16 points thanks to an and-1 by senior Charles Matthews Jr. and a layup by Zavier Simpson.

That lead quickly stretched to 22 points as Brazdeikis hit a layup to make it 73-51. The basket gave the forward 20 points on the night on 8-11 shooting with 7:49 remaining in the game.

Five straight points by graduate guard Cameron Johnson followed by two consecutive 3-pointers from senior guard Kenny Williams cut the lead back down to 11 points. 

The Wolverines quickly put any thoughts of a comeback to rest with five straight points on a 3-pointer from Matthews and a jump shot by Brazdeikis to make it 78-62.

The Wolverines held on for the 84-67 win.

Who stood out?

Although four of the five starters finished in double figures for UNC, no player stood out. White led all Tar Heel scorers with 12 points on 6-12 shooting for the night.

When was it decided?

Although Michigan took a 22-point lead in the second half, an 11-0 run by UNC cut the lead in half to 73-62. The Wolverines responded with a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Why does it matter?

The loss was the second by North Carolina in three games after the team fell to Texas last Thursday night in the Las Vegas Invitational. 

The Wolverines hit 10 3-pointers in the game and shot 57.4 percent from the field on the night as the Tar Heels struggled defensively.

When do they play next?

UNC has a week off before hosting UNC-Wilmington next week at 9 p.m. at the Smith Center.

@christrenkle2

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