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Michigan holds off pesky Wofford 57-40
NCAA Tournament
spt ap Michigan
Michigan forward Glenn Robinson III, left, blocks a shot by Wofford forward Justin Gordon during the second half of a second round NCAA Tournament game on Thursday afternoon in Milwaukee. - photo by The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — While Michigan didn’t have a particularly pretty start to its NCAA tournament, coach John Beilein felt his team proved a point to the rest of the field on Thursday night.Yes, they can play defense too.Glenn Robinson III scored 14 points in the arena his father used to call home in the NBA, Jordan Morgan added 10 points and 10 rebounds, and the second-seeded Wolverines held No. 15 seed Wofford to 34 percent shooting in a 57-40 win.“We were able to get a win basically with our defense today,” Beilein said, “and that’s something a lot of people wouldn’t say if they watched us this year.”However the method, what mattered most was that Michigan is still in the hunt to return to the Final Four in spite of pesky Wofford’s best efforts.Michigan (26-8) capitalized on its decisive edge in athleticism on the undersized Terriers (20-13) but had some nervous moments after missing 15 of their first 18 shots in the second half.Karl Cochran’s 3 with 9:25 left whittled an 18-point deficit to 40-33 — the only 3 Wofford hit all night.But the Wolverines regrouped, and Caris LeVert’s 3 with 4:17 left gave them a 15-point lead to deflate Wofford’s dreams of an upset.“We know we’re pretty efficient offensively. Most times we don’t have trouble scoring the basketball,” said Morgan, whose hustle in the paint helped turn away Wofford.