Michigan was seconds away from a calamitous loss, before Nimari Burnett saved the Wolverines. With three seconds left and the Wolverines trailing Rutgers by one, the senior guard spotted up 30 feet from the basket and lofted the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift No. 15 Michigan to an 84-82 win.
The game-winner came just one day after No. 8 Michigan State stunned Maryland on a 3-pointer beyond half-court. The Spartans (23-5 overall, 14-3 Big Ten) and Wolverines (22-6, 14-3) are tied atop the Big Ten standings, with MSU holding the tie-breaker because of a 75-62 win over Michigan on Feb. 21.
Burnett was the furthest Wolverine from the in-bounder when the play started and was clearly not the primary option on the play. Roddy Gayle Jr. in-bounded the ball to Danny Wolf, but he had no driving lane to the basket, so he kicked it out. Burnett had cut from under the basket to the top of the key, nearly slipping, before positioning himself on the left wing, where he caught Wolf’s pass and hit the clutch shot.
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Burnett scored a season-high 20 points to help the Wolverines avoid a loss that would have set them back in their quest for the top spot in the Big Ten conference. Center Vladislav Goldin led Michigan with 22 points.
Rutgers led 74-62 with 10:09 left, but then surrendered 10 unanswered points. Michigan recaptured an 81-80 lead when Tre Donaldson made a layup with 31 seconds left. Tyson Acuff made two of three free-throw attempts to restore Rutgers’ lead before Burnett sent them packing at the buzzer.
Will Tschetter scored 16 points and Danny Wolf added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Wolverines.
Rutgers freshman Lathan Sommerville scored 10 of his season-high 17 points in the second half when the highly touted players in his class, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, cooled off. Harper finished with 17 points and Bailey had 13 after both scored 11 in the first half, helping their team score 57 points in 20 minutes.
Steve Pikiell has his highest-scoring team in nine seasons at the school, but the Scarlet Knights are not playing the type of defense they usually have under their coach.
The Scarlet Knights (14-15, 7-11) fell to 12th place in the Big Ten with the loss and are just a half-game up on 16th-place USC, which is the cut-off point for Big Ten Tournament qualification.
Michigan hosts Illinois on Sunday, the same day Michigan State plays No. 11 Wisconsin in East Lansing. Rutgers visits No. 20 Purdue on Tuesday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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