CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Before heading into the holiday break, the Wolverines were hoping to scratch off an item on their Christmas wish list: A notable nonconference win.
They came close twice in narrow losses to Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and Kentucky in the Basketball Hall of Fame London Showcase.
Michigan came up short once again as its late push fizzled and it fell to North Carolina, 80-76, in the inaugural Jumpman Invitational on Wednesday at the Spectrum Center.
Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin scored 22 and freshman wing Jett Howard add 17 points for Michigan (7-4), which trailed by two in the final two minutes but couldn’t get the stops it needed down the stretch.
Armando Bacot had 26 points, RJ Davis added 19 and Caleb Love 18 for North Carolina (9-4), which shot 50% from the field (29 for 58) and outscored Michigan 40-30 in the paint.
The Wolverines entered the two-day event — which featured the men’s and women’s teams at Michigan, Florida, North Carolina and Oklahoma, who were the first four schools to sign partnership deals with Jordan Brand in basketball and football — without a Quad I win on their resume.
The neutral-site matchup against North Carolina, last season’s national runner-up that entered this season ranked No. 1, marked Michigan’s last opportunity to pick one up during the nonconference portion of its schedule. Once again, the Wolverines couldn’t find a way to pull out a tough game in the final minutes.
After making just four shots over the final 11 minutes of the first half and stumbling into a seven-point hole at the break, Michigan clawed back into the game. The Wolverines used 3-pointers from junior forward Terrance Williams II and Bufkin to chip away and cut the deficit to 47-44 less than four minutes into the second half.
Each time Michigan pulled close, Bacot answered to keep the Wolverines at bay. He countered both deep balls to make it a two-possession game before throwing down a dunk and scoring on a layup to make it 59-50 with 12:42 to go.
Michigan made some gutty plays to keep hanging around. The Wolverines trimmed the Tar Heels’ lead to four twice and pulled within 63-59 when Bufkin made two free throws with 9:00 to play. But the offense dried up and the Wolverines could only muster two points — a free throw from junior center Hunter Dickinson and grad transfer wing Joey Baker — over the next four minutes.
North Carolina, though, could only extend its lead to 69-60 during the dry spell before Michigan mustered one last push. After Dickinson snapped a nearly seven-minute field-goal drought with a bucket inside, Baker splashed a 3-pointer to cut it to 69-66 and force a North Carolina timeout with 3:25 to play.
The Wolverines kept pushing. After Bacot scored on an and-1 layup, Williams canned a deep ball to make it 71-69 with 2:17 remaining. But the Wolverines couldn’t get stops when they needed them down the stretch.
North Carolina countered Williams’ basket with a layup. Then after Bufkin answered with jumper to make it a two-point game, North Carolina once again responded, this time with a jumper by Davis to make 75-71 with 49 seconds left.
Michigan came up empty on its ensuing possession and couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way as North Carolina made four free throws in the final 36 seconds to seal it.
Michigan kept the pro-North Carolina crowd somewhat quiet early on. After a back-and-forth start, Michigan rattled off a 13-3 run to jump out to a 20-12 lead with 11:51 left in the first half.
The spurt started with a string of nine unanswered points, including a scooping layup from freshman guard Dug McDaniel, a bucket in the paint from Dickinson and a 3-pointer from Howard.
Freshman center Tarris Reed added a blocked shot on one end with an and-1 layup on the other end before capping the flurry with a put-back dunk to give Michigan an eight-point advantage.
But once Howard picked up second foul at the 10:26 mark and sat for a stretch, Michigan’s offense hit a lull and things started to get chippy. North Carolina coach Hubert Davis was upset with the officials when he thought Bacot was fouled on a bucket inside that cut Michigan’s lead to two at the 8:16 mark.
Then both teams were called with two Class A technical fouls apiece after Dickinson fouled Love on a layup attempt with 6:54 left in the half and the two got into it under the basket, which led to other players getting involved and both sides having to be separated. Dickinson, McDaniel, Love and Bacot were all hit with offsetting techs.
That sent Dickinson to the bench the rest of the half and the Tar Heels came roaring back as the Wolverines’ offense continued to sputter. After Bufkin scored on a layup to give Michigan a 28-23 lead at the 6:36 mark, the Wolverines made just two shots the rest of the half as North Carolina ripped off an 18-4 run fueled by Love and Bacot to storm ahead.
Love buried a 3-pointer while being fouled by McDaniel to pull the Tar Heels even at 28. Bacot followed with a three-point play to give North Carolina a 31-30 lead at the 4:09 mark. After Bufkin snapped a string of 10 unanswered points with a floater in the paint, Davis ended the flurry with a 3-pointer to make it 41-32 with less a minute left in the half.
