No. 5 Michigan crushes IUPUI

No. 5 Michigan crushes IUPUI

Published Nov. 12, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

Glenn Robinson III's putback attempt was off the mark, ending the freshman's bid for a perfect night from the field.

''I was kind of upset about that,'' Robinson said with a laugh. ''I shot the ball pretty well today.''

He wasn't the only one.

For a second straight game, No. 5 Michigan breezed to an easy win behind torrid outside shooting. Trey Burke scored 22 points and Robinson added 21, leading the Wolverines to a 91-54 victory over IUPUI on Monday night in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

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Burke equaled a career high with nine assists and Robinson made his first eight shots from the field. Michigan (2-0) has been a model of efficiency on offense so far this season. After beating Slippery Rock 100-62 in their opener, the Wolverines shot 60 percent from the field and went 13 of 21 from 3-point range against IUPUI.

''The efficiency today was more about our defense in the second half,'' coach John Beilein said. ''We were in a fast break mode the whole time.''

Michigan advances to play Cleveland State in the next round Tuesday night,  with a berth in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden at stake.

''Just to be able to beat a good IUPUI team, and face a good Cleveland State team (Tuesday) to go to New York, that even gets me more excited,'' Burke said.

Michigan has scored 90 points or more in consecutive games for the first time since doing it three straight times in November 2000, according to STATS, LLC.

The Wolverines have usually been a deliberate, half-court team since Beilein took over in 2007. Much of the credit for their high-scoring ways this season goes to their terrific outside shooting, but they showed off a bit of extra athleticism Monday night.

Beilein says his team even practices alley-oop passes now.

''I realize it's a really good play against help defense,'' Beilein said. ''We've thrown so many away sometimes, that we actually have started to practice more and get more confident, because they are an important part of today's basketball.''

After the rout of Slippery Rock, Michigan's highest-scoring game in nearly five years, the Wolverines' torrid shooting continued against IUPUI. After Jordan Morgan tipped a pass near midcourt and went in for a dunk and a 31-25 lead, Michigan was shooting 79 percent from the field.

It was 45-31 at halftime, with Michigan at 65 percent from the field and 7 of 10 from beyond the arc.

''We weren't shocked that they made those,'' IUPUI coach Todd Howard said. ''We were surprised at the streak that they got on, because a lot of them were challenged. A lot of them were just tough shots, honestly. That's how they play, and when they're hitting those, you'll see that all year from them.''

Purdue transfer John Hart scored 15 points for IUPUI (1-1).

Nik Stauskas scored 11 points for Michigan, and Morgan and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 10 each. The Wolverines are 25 for 40 from 3-point range through two games.

Robinson made all six of his attempts from the field in the first half, then began the second with a 3-pointer from the right corner. The Wolverines opened the half with seven straight points to make it 52-31.

Robinson's dunk off a backdoor pass from Morgan made it 57-42, and Hardaway followed by driving down the middle for a dunk before the IUPUI defenders had a chance to get completely turned around.

With 13:26 remaining, Hardaway hobbled off with what looked like a left leg problem, but he was able to return.

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