By the time West Virginia showed up to play Saturday night, it was too late.
Michigan stormed out of the gate, taking an early 13-2 lead that turned into an 81-66 win for the No. 3 Wolverines over the Mountaineers to cap off the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at the Barclays Center.
“I’m glad we got out to that lead,” Michigan head coach John Beilein said. “It was good to get out to the start, but you’re not going to be able to play at that pace all game long.”
Trey Burke led the Wolverines (11-0) with a season-high 27 points, 17 in the first half. The sophomore guard also added eight assists and three steals while going 12-for-16 from the field.
“I took whatever [West Virginia] would give me,” Burke said. “The layups were there, sometimes the kick-outs were there. It was a matter of reading the defense.”
Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. tied his season high with 25 points, snapping out of a funk. Over his previous three games, Hardaway had shot just 9-of-33 and scored 32 points.
“It was great. My teammates were doing a great job of finding me and trusting me” Hardaway said. “They knew I was struggling the past couple of games, but I was trying to do whatever I can to help the team out. It was just fun for everybody.”
Coach Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers tried their best to claw back at several junctures. Terry Henderson scored seven straight points for West Virginia to bring his team to within five with 4:22 left to play in the first half before Michigan pulled away once more.
A Henderson 3-pointer cut the Michigan lead back down to seven late in the second half. Henderson scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Mountaineers (4-5).
“We stayed calm, we stayed together,” Burke said. “We did a good job of huddling up after dead balls and telling each other what we needed to do on the defensive end.”
Michigan’s defense held West Virginia senior forward Deniz Kilicli scoreless. Kilicli entered the game averaging 9.9 points, second on the team behind Juwan Staten.
A scary moment came for the Wolverines when redshirt sophomore Jon Horford went down with an injury to his left knee with 8:54 left in the first half. Horford’s left kneecap quickly became dislocated but popped right back in, similar to an injury he suffered earlier this season.
“We don’t know how serious it is,” Beilein said. “We don’t expect him back quickly. We love Jon, everybody on this team. We hope that this is something that he can return from in two or three weeks, if not sooner.”
The meeting was the first one between the two schools, but there was history between them. Beilein coached West Virginia from 2003-07, leading the Mountaineers to two NCAA tournament appearances before taking over the Wolverines.
“Our family has so many great memories of West Virginia and we have a lot of respect for their program, that’s what makes it feel really good,” Beilein said.
The win improved Michigan’s record in the Big Apple this season to 3-0. The Wolverines won the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at Madison Square Garden last month.
“I like the way we respond [to the New York games],” Beilein said. “When you have that type of support on a Saturday night in Brooklyn, it’s a great feeling to go out and represent the university.”