It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

That refrain certainly rang true for the 

Michigan men’s basketball team (4-0) during 

Sunday’s 80-58 rout of Central Florida (1-1). 

After surviving three tune-up games against 

low mid-major opponents, the Wolverines 

came out flat against the Knights, who had 

beaten Auburn in their only game of the season. 

Not only was Michigan’s defense incapable of 

preventing UCF’s guards from getting to the 

rim, but it struggled to crack the Knights’ 2-3 

zone as well. Midway through the first half, UCF 

had built a double-digit lead off mainly layups. 

The Wolverines’ inability to hit perimeter shots 

worsened their early frustrations. 

“I can tell you it was frustrating just to see the 

amount of shots they were making coming off 

ball screens,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard 

said. “(We) had to make some adjustments with 

our ball-screen coverage. ... There were some 

opportunities where they had some direct blow-

by drives, when they were touching the paint too 

many times.”

The introduction of freshman duo Hunter 

Dickinson and Terrance Williams — at center 

and forward, respectively — changed the tide, 

sparking a 25-9 run from the 9:29 mark on. 

Thanks to their combined 16-point, six-rebound 

contribution in the first half, a rejuvenated 

Michigan took a 38-34 lead into the break. 

“We have confidence in the second unit, of 

course,” Dickinson said. “We’re five guys who 

are very confident in ourselves. We know that 

when we go out there we can make an impact 

on the floor. We know we need the leadership 

from the first unit to help us out, but we’re also 

capable of making our own sparks coming in off 

the bench.”

The Wolverines’ newfound energy persisted 

into the second half as two driving buckets from 

sophomore wing Franz Wagner and a corner 

three from senior guard Eli Brooks increased 

their advantage to 10. 

Defensively, Michigan also cleaned up its act 

in the second half. The Wolverines stayed in 

front of the Knights and forced them into taking 

jumpers rather than layups, which they had 

failed to do in the early going. 

Despite senior forward Isaiah Livers, who 

entered the game as Michigan’s leading scorer, 

being held scoreless through the first 33 minutes, 

Michigan’s lead continued to balloon. Senior 

guard Chaundee Brown has compiled some 

up-and-down shooting performances to start 

the season — going 5-for-7 against Bowling 

Green and then 1-for-10 from deep against 

Oakland — but he caught fire in the second half. 

In a four-minute span, Brown knocked down 

three of his four 3-pointers on the day to put the 

game firmly out of reach. 

“I realize that, playing this game for years, 

you’re not gonna have a good shooting night 

every night,” Brown said. “It’s the life of a 

shooter. But coach Howard told me just to keep 

shooting, keep shooting, keep shooting. Just 

having that confidence from a coach like that 

makes me stay aggressive and confident. I know 

I have a nice shot, they know I have a nice shot, 

I’ve been working all summer and all fall on it.”

In the end, it wasn’t close. Behind 47 

points from its bench — led by Brown’s 18 and 

Dickinson’s 14 — the Wolverines overcame a 

sluggish start in dominant fashion. With one 

game remaining before Big Ten play starts, 

Michigan’s schedule will only increase in 

difficulty, and it will have to rely on the very 

same depth that spurred Sunday’s comeback. 

“We have a very deep team,” Howard said. 

“Our thing is all hands on deck. And game by 

game, it’s always being evaluated on what’s 

giving us the best chance. But we’re gonna need 

everyone this season, it’s that simple.”

DICKINSON AND BROWN COME OFF BENCH, LEAD MICHIGAN TO WIN OVER UCF

CONNOR BRENNAN

Daily Sports Editor

