Michigan's 2024 basketball season ended not with a bang, but with a whimper as the No. 14 seeded Wolverines fell to No. 11 Penn State in a 66-57 loss in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan only led in the opening stages of the game and spent most of it trying to come back, but they could never get that big run to really take control. It was a game most had seen from this team before, full of turnovers and sloppy play as the Wolverines had 11 first-half turnovers compared to Penn State's four in a 33-22 halftime deficit.
Michigan did own the boards, especially with 15 offensive rebounds to Penn State's six, but couldn't convert on second-chance points. They also fell behind on three-point percentage, as Penn State shot over 41 percent as a team with Michigan shooting at 22 percent from behind the arc.
Terrance Williams Jr. led the Wolverines in scoring with 15 points as Tarris Reed Jr. wasn't far behind with 12. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions had Zach Hicks as their leading scorer with 20 points, including going 6-for-11 from the three-point line. Michigan will now look to a long offseason after one of the worst seasons in program history.
FINAL: Penn State 66, Michigan 57
0:01 - Michigan's final make of the season comes from a Jackson Selevia made jumper with just one second left. It won't matter as Michigan will go one-and-done in this Big Ten Tournament, ending their season.
0:32 - George Washington III comes into the game and is fouled on back-to-back possessions, going to the line and making all four of his free throws as Penn State should dribble the rest of the clock out.
Penn State 66, Michigan 51 - Michigan Timeout, 2nd Half
1:04 - Time seems to have run out on Michigan's season. Hicks missed the three-pointer but Michigan gives up the offensive rebound to Kern as Baldwin is fouled by Burnett. Baldwin makes both free throws as we will take our final timeout of the game.
2:04 - Both teams have been unable to score after the previous timeout. This included three straight missed free throws from Williams and Howard for Michigan. Tschetter fouls out after contact with Wahab, who splits both free throws.
Penn State 63, Michigan 51 - TV Timeout, 2nd Half
3:50 - Kern is fouled and makes both his free throws for Penn State. Another round of exchanging turnovers for both teams commence before a foul is called on Hicks. We'll take another TV timeout.
4:51 - Baldwin is fouled by Reed and splits his free throws. Penn State throws some half-court pressure at Michigan but fouls Howard, who makes both his free throws.
5:54 - Reed goes to the line but splits his free throws, missing the second. And someone might have spoken too soon, as Hicks hits another three-pointer as Penn State goes back up by double-digits again.
Penn State 57, Michigan 48 - TV Timeout, 2nd Half
6:54 - After Hicks misses a three-pointer, which seems like a rare sight after how he's shot the ball tonight, we get another TV timeout.
7:31 - Penn State goes back to the free throw line after Tschetter fouls Wahab. Wahab makes both his free throws again, then Reed makes the layup as a response. Wahab makes the jumper as Penn State extends the lead back to nine.
8:51 - Jace Howard fouls Baldwin after Howard misses the three-pointer on the other end. Baldwin splits the free throws are we are at 53-46 with less than 10 minutes left.
10:02 - Michigan and Penn State take turns with turnovers, then McDaniel makes the layup to bring Michigan to the closest they've been since the early stages.
11:12 - Puff Johnson makes the and-one free throws, then Williams answers back with an and-one of his own after the foul by Jameel Brown. He makes the free throw as the Wolverines are back down six points.
Penn State 49, Michigan 41 - TV Timeout, 2nd Half
11:31 - Baldwin with a laser of a pass inside to Johnson for the and-one opportunity. We get another TV timeout as Penn State extends the lead to eight again.
13:59 - Hicks makes another jumper, this time it's a two-pointer. Williams answers back with a jumper of his own to keep Michigan within reach.
Penn State 45, Michigan 35 - TV Timeout, 2nd Half
14:57 - McDaniel misses the three then commits the foul as we get our first TV timeout of the second-half. Penn State goes back up double-digits.
15:36 - After Wahab makes more free throws and Michigan can't convert on two chances to score, Hicks makes his fifth three of the night as Penn State keeps their distance.
16:51 - Michigan's defense falls asleep on the in-bound and allows - to cut inside for the easy layup to make it 40-33 for Penn State.
17:19 - We got a back-and-forth offensive sequence! Penn State's Baldwin makes a layup and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions, and Michigan keeps up thanks to Williams, McDaniel, and Will Tschetter. Michigan pulls within five points.
19:14 - After Burnett makes the fast layup, then Reed blocks Wahab from behind for a jump-ball. Michigan comes out of the second half with some urgency to cut the lead to single-digits.
Penn State 33, Michigan 22 - End of 1st Half
0:01 - Llewellyn misses the jumper as Michigan goes into halftime down double-digits. Michigan has been careless with the ball so far and went cold in the final five minutes to let Penn State pull away. We'll see what the second-half holds.
0:24 - Great ball movement by Penn State leads to another Hicks three-pointer, and this one was wide open as well. Penn State pulling away to end this first half.
1:14 - After the teams trade a few misses, Williams is fouled again and makes both his free throws. Both teams doing well of taking advantage of going to the free throw line.
Penn State 30, Michigan 20 - Michigan Timeout, 1st Half
2:13 - Hicks makes another free throw as Juwan Howard takes a timeout as Penn State builds their first double-digit lead of the night at 30-20.
2:54 - After a Michigan turnover, Wahab makes a layup. Then Baldwin steals the ball away from McDaniel and Johnson is fouled trying to make his shot. Johnson makes both free throws.
Penn State 23, Michigan 20 - TV Timeout, 1st Half
3:51 - Terrance Williams Jr. is fouled by Dunn and goes to the line to make his free throws. Penn State answers back with a three from Hicks. We go to another TV timeout.
6:10 - After Reed fouls Puff Johnson as Johnson makes both free throws, Burnett makes another three to make it 18-16 with Penn State still takes the lead.
7:02 - Reed comes out of the timeout on fire as he dunks on Lilley for the and-one. He makes the free throw and keeps Michigan in the game in these close stages.
Penn State 16, Michigan 10 - TV Timeout, 1st Half
7:07 - D'Marco Dunn gets too aggressive trying to fight Tarris Reed Jr. for the rebound and gets called for the foul. Another timeout is called.
7:47 - Wolverines make their second three of the game thanks to Burnett, but Penn State answers back quickly thanks to Zach Hicks.
10:37 - After the timeout, Qudus Wahab splits his free throws to give Penn State a two-point lead. Jace Howard commits an offensive foul on the screen and that's another turnover for Michigan. On the other end, Baldwin makes another layup to extend the lead.
Penn State 8, Michigan 7 - TV Timeout, 1st Half
11:13 - After Tarris Reed Jr. makes a layup earlier, we have a huge drought filled with turnovers and missed shots. Jaelin Llewellyn attacks the rim and makes the layup. Another TV timeout follows.
14:57 - Penn State goes to the line for an and-1 opportunity after Demetrius Lilley makes the layup with the foul called on Michigan's Tray Jackson Lilley makes the free throw and Penn State goes up 8-3.
Penn State 5, Michigan 3 - TV Timeout, 1st Half
15:29 - First timeout is called as Penn State holds on to its 5-3 lead.
16:35 - Now the two teams are trading misses, but after some strong defense from the Nittany Lions, Baldwin Jr. makes another layup to give Penn State the lead.
18:06 - After trading turnovers and Penn State getting its first two points from Ace Baldwin Jr., Nimari Burnett makes his first three as Michigan takes an early 3-2 lead.
Michigan wins the tip and the game has started. Dug McDaniel misses the deep three for the first shot of the night.
Preview
Michigan basketball will try to fend off the end of its 2023-2024 season tonight, as the Wolverines take on Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.
After setting their program record of 23 losses with a loss to Nebraska on Sunday and being last in the Big Ten standings, Michigan secured its lowest Big Ten Tournament seeding since the tournament began in 1998.
With no realistic chance of any postseason hoops, the first-round matchup against Penn State could more than likely be the last game of the season for the Wolverines, amid a wild and disappointing campaign in Juwan Howard's fifth year as head coach.
Despite how the season has gone and missing the NCAA tournament for a second straight year, Howard still believes he can lead the team next season, and how the Wolverines play tonight may influence the program's future plans.
Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Kameron Goodwill.
Big Ten Tournament, first round
NO. 14 SEED MICHIGAN vs. NO. 11 PENN STATE
Tip-off: Approximately 9 p.m. Wednesday, Target Center, Minneapolis
Records: Michigan is 8-23; Penn State is 15-16
Previous meetings: Penn State won the lone meeting, 79-73, on Jan. 7 in Philadelphia
At stake: Winner will play No. 6 seed Indiana (18-13) in the second round, approx. 9 p.m. Thursday.
