Michigan basketball, Hunter Dickinson dominate Purdue Fort Wayne in season opener, 75-56

At times, Michigan basketball looked like a team that had lost four of its five starters from a season ago, including one who played in more games as a Wolverine than anybody in program history.

But Monday's season opener was as much about the one man who returned from that lineup, Hunter Dickinson, as those who didn't. The junior center set the tone in the game's first minute, swatting the opening shot attempt by Purdue Fort Wayne, then scored a bucket on the other end — despite being double-teamed — with four seconds left on the shot clock.

He scored eight of the Wolverines' first 11 points and led the team with 22 points and 12 rebounds as he propelled Michigan to a 75-56 win at Crisler Center.

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The run that turned the tide

The Wolverines got off to a slow start, trailing by two at the first media timeout and by four shortly after that. But the game shifted when Michigan went on a 20-0 run in less than five minutes, starting about five minutes into the half.

It started with a Dickinson layup, followed by a Joey Baker 3-pointer in the corner and a Dickinson and-one off an offensive rebound. Baker made another 3 on the following possession and Dickinson made a layup over a defender from the left block on the next and, just like that, the two had combined for the first 17 points of the game.

Terrance Williams II got into the action with a tough floater, Jett Howard hit a deep triple and Kobe Bufkin made a tough layup in traffic to extend the Wolverines' lead to 24-8.

After making 10 of its first 15 shots, Michigan cooled down considerably, going 5-for-17 the rest of the way in the half.

3-pointer struggles rermain

After finishing ninth in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting (33.9%) last season, Michigan put an emphasis on improving its long-range shooting this offseason. On Monday, the results were mixed.

One of the main additions was Baker, who transferred in from Duke transfer, and he delivered. After missing a 3 from the top of the key on his first attempt, he buried his next two long attempts: one from the right corner and the next from the left.

He didn't attempt another shot until the second half, when he made his third 3-pointer, also from the wing. He finished 3-for-6 on 3s, scoring nine points and grabbing three points.

Jett Howard, who dropped 30 points in 22 minutes in Friday's exhibition vs. Ferris State, wasn't quite as hot against the Mastodons, but he was clearly the second-best player on the Crisler Center court Monday.

The freshman started slow but hit a 3-pointer just before the clock expired in the first half; that seemed to spark him. He opened the second period with a long 3 off a drive-and-kick from Jaelin Llewellyn, but his best sequence came with less than five minutes to go.

He hit a 3-pointer on one end and came up with a swat on the other. Then after a rebound, he took the ball upcourt, drove into traffic and finished a contested layup. He buried a long 3-pointer on the next possession, raising three fingers in the air on the way back down the court after capping off an 8-0 run and turning the Wolverines' 12-point lead into a 20-point margin.

He finished with 21 points, five assists and two rebounds as he went 8-for-15 from the field, including 5-for-10 on 3-pointers.

Michigan's shooters not named Jett or Joey, however, were a combined 1-for-13 from 3. That included Williams, the co-captain who went just 1-for-3 with six rebounds.

The rest of the new guys

Llewllyn didn't shoot well, going just 1-for-5, but he had three assists. That includedtwo early in the second half which led to slam dunks — one on a back cut from Jett Howard, the other to Dickinson, who went up and over a smaller defender.

Dug McDaniel also struggled, shooting 1-for-5, but the freshman had a highlight in the middle of the second when he came up with a loose ball, dribbled behind his back to beat one defender, then went coast-to-coast and finished the up-and-under layup in traffic.

Michigan got a bit sloppy after that energizing layup. The team went six minutes without scoring and Purdue-Fort Wayne went on a 12-0 run during that span cut its deficit to 12. That caused Howard to put his starters back into the game and Jett Howard went on his run. Brother Jace Howard, Michigan's third co-captain, had four points, and freshman Tarris Reed Jr. played 11 minutes and had one point and one rebound.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball, Hunter Dickinson dominate in season-opener, 75-56