Tim Hardaway Jr. missed the game with an ankle injury and freshman Caris LeVert started in his place and Michigan still cruised to a 88-73 victory over Central Michigan in the Crisler Center on Saturday night. It was the Wolverines’ final non-conference tilt before the Big Ten schedule begins and the win gave Michigan its first unbeaten non-conference slate since the 1985-86 season.

Trey Burke got Michigan off to a fast start with 14 points in the first ten minutes to give Michigan a 31-18 lead. LeVert hit a three and a pair of nice pull-up jumpers from the elbow, while Glenn Robinson III was continuously open on the baseline for easy buckets. Michigan went into the half with a 46-29 lead.

In the second, Central Michigan never let the Wolverines pull away, but the game remained out of reach throughout. Michigan went up by as many as 25 when Nik Stauskas hit three three-pointers to go along with a Robinson dunk and free throw in the first four minutes. But Central Michigan played the final 16 minutes of the game to a 40-30 advantage.

GRIII throws down one of several dunks he had on the day (Rick Osentoski, USA Today)

Burke finished the game with 22 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-12  shooting. Robinson scored 20 and Stauskas added 19 on 5-of-8 three-point shooting. LeVert impressed with nine points and five assists despite making just four of 11 shots from the field. He showed that he has the ability to create his shot and be a capable scorer when Burke, Hardaway, or Stauskas needs a rest.

The three starting freshmen combined for 48 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

As a team, Michigan shot 51.5 percent, while the Chippewas shot 47.4. The most impressive aspect was Michigan’s assist-to-turnover ration of 21-to-3. Three turnovers in 60 minutes is darn good basketball. If there is one thing that wasn’t impressive it is that Michigan was out-rebounded 38-29. Not having Hardaway’s rebounding ability certainly factored into that, but I wouldn’t be concerned because Michigan has dominated the boards all season to this point.

Michigan opens the Big Ten schedule on Thursday at Northwestern and returns home to face Iowa and Nebraska before the big battle with Ohio State on Jan. 13.

#2 Michigan v. Central Michigan
Saturday, Dec. 29 | 7pm ET | BTN
12-0	Record	7-5
Slippery Rock 100-62 IUPUI 91-54 Cleveland State 77-47 Pittsburgh 67-62 Kansas State 71-57 NC State 79-72 Bradley 74-66 W. Michigan 73-41 Arkansas 80-67 Binghamton 67-39 West Virginia 81-66 E. Michigan 93-54	Wins	Olivet 76-62 Wright State 59-55 Idaho State 54-52 Niagra 66-64 Pepperdine 80-77 Texas State 92-80 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-45
	Losses	Iowa 61-73 Utah 51-67 Bradley 65-82 Charlotte 66-78 Nebraska 75-89
79.4	Points Per Game	67.2
57.2	Scoring Defense	68.7
354-for-693 (51.1%)	Field Goal %	258-for-641 (40.2%)
265-for-670 (39.6%)	Def. Field Goal %	317-for-682 (46.5%)
101-for-246 (41.1%)	3-point %	97-for-282 (34.4%)
72-for-236 (30.5%)	Def. 3-point %	77-for-217 (35.5%)
144-for-196 (73.5%)	Free Throw %	194-for-269 (72.1%)
12.0	FT Made/Game	16.2
38.1	Rebounds Per Game	33.8
28.1	Opp. Reb. Per Game	35.2
16.0	Assists Per Game	13.4
10.3	Turnovers Per Game	13.9
5.3	Steals Per Game	7.4
2.7	Blocks Per Game	2.8
G – Trey Burke (17.4) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.8)	Leading Scorer	G – Kyle Randall (15.9) F – John Simons (9.7)
F – Glenn Robinson (6.2) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (5.8)	Leading Rebounder	F – John Simons (5.3) F – Oliver Mbiagoto (4.2)

With an abnormally long Christmas break in the rearview mirror, the Michigan Wolverines have returned to practice in preparation for their non-conference finale tonight (7pm on BTN) against Central Michigan. Now sitting at 12-0 on the year, the surging Maize and Blue will look to enter Big Ten season undefeated for the first time in more than two decades. Here are three keys to the game that Michigan will have to focus on to maintain that record:

1. Defend the Floor: John Beilein pointed out in yesterday’s press conference that nearly every team Michigan has faced to date has provided some sort of unique challenge. Eastern Michigan played exclusively in a 2-3 zone defense, Pittsburgh, Kansas State, and West Virginia prided themselves on offensive rebounding, and Bradley provided a glimpse into true road games for this team. The Chippewas’ challenge will be on the offensive end of the floor, where they will often roll out five players that can step behind the three-point line, giving Beilein a taste of his own medicine from his West Virginia days with Kevin Pittsnogle. Michigan’s best shooting opponents so far had maybe three guys that could eye the long ball, so a team like Central will force Michigan to stay honest on defense and not collapse too heavily on drives. In all, eight Chippewas have attempted double-digit three-pointers, five of whom shoot 38 percent or better from distance. The good news for Michigan is that, while Central can shoot threes, they really struggle inside the arc, making only 44.8 percent of their two-point attempts. Beilein will likely have his team key on senior guard and UNC-Greensboro transfer Kyle Randall, who is the only player for coach Keno Davis to average double-digits in the points column, pouring in 15.9 per game in a team-high 31.1 minutes. Alongside Randall, who makes almost 40 percent of his threes, John Simons, Blake Hibbitts, Olivier Mbaigoto, and Spencer Krannitz are the guys to keep an eye on lurking behind the three-point line.

2. Take Advantage of Sloppiness: It’s no big secret these days that Michigan is one of the best fast-break teams in the country. Trey Burke is simply lethal in the open floor, Tim Hardaway, Jr. is no slouch in his own right, and Nik Stauskas provides that kick-out threat that any coach would die to have. This adeptness in the transition game makes opponent turnovers even more critical, and even though Michigan does not play a pressure-heavy style of defense, Beilein wants his team to run whenever they can. Central is just the team to do that against, as the Chips turn the ball over a whopping 14 times per game, led by Randall’s 3.1 giveaways. Central has disgracefully turned the ball over six more times than they have assisted their own baskets this year, and they will almost certainly lose the turnover battle again tonight, as Michigan gives the ball away only 10 times per contest. Look for Michigan to try out the 1-3-1 in spurts to create some easy fast-break opportunities and put Central away early.

3. Focus: It’s been said before and will be said again, but the closer this Michigan team gets to the conference season, the more they need to focus on the task at hand. Beilein does a masterful job of “framing” each game, as he put it, to maintain his players’ focus at a one-game-at-a-time pace. Everyone knows who the better team is in this game, but everyone also knows that in most cases the underdog is the team that puts forth more effort, which contributes to some big upsets in the college game. One of the reasons Michigan has not fallen prey to the upset this year is because of that focus that Beilein instills in his team, and because of how well the team buys into it. Tonight, Beilein and his fellow assistants will harp on the importance of finishing the non-conference season with a donut in the loss column and beating Michigan’s fourth and final in-state directional opponent.  Obviously Central Michigan is not viewed as Michigan’s rival, but don’t tell that to their fans in Mount Pleasant. The Chippewas will give everything they have to try to relive the last time these two teams met on the hardwood in Ann Arbor, when Central handed Michigan a 78-67 loss in Beilein’s first season leading the Wolverines. Try as they might, however, this game will likely see a much different outcome.

Prediction: With less than a week until Michigan begins Big Ten play in Evanston, the Wolverines should have no trouble dispatching their final non-conference opponent. Central simply does not have the players to match up with Beilein’s talent, and by halftime the game will be well in hand. Michigan rolls behind Trey Burke and the gang, 84-50.