Syracuse vs. Michigan: Score, Grades and Analysis for ACC Big Ten Challenge 2014

 A big second half by Spike Albrecht helped Michigan escape with a 68-65 win at home over Syracuse Tuesday night.

The junior point guard finished with 11 points, nine assists and zero turnovers in the game, but his biggest moment came when he hit a three-pointer to break the tie with 34 seconds remaining. Syracuse had a chance to tie, but the final prayer came up short and the Wolverines left with a quality non-conference win.

Zak Irvin led Michigan with 18 points in the win while making key contributions on both ends of the court throughout.

Trevor Cooney scored 16 points to lead the Orange, 14 of which in the second half. Rakeem Christmas had a reverse day with 11 of his 15 points coming before intermission. Freshman Chris McCullough started slow but finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds to earn his third double-double of the season.

Syracuse actually shot well from the field, but Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports noted the problems:

The 19 turnovers were the biggest problem, with two of them coming in the final minute with a chance to take the lead. Unfortunately, the squad was unable to complete a comeback and fell to 5-2 on the season. Michigan improved to 6-1 with a good home win on the resume.

Early on, it seemed like the Orange were going to bully their way to a win. They built up a 31-29 lead at halftime thanks mostly to the strong inside play of Christmas, who was 5-of-6 from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press noted how easy it was inside for the center:

Meanwhile, Michigan was limited by its outside shooting after going just 3-of-17 from three point range in the first half. 

As both sides continued to make plays in the second half, Albrecht helped give an early advantage to the Wolverines with some big shots and passes, including a behind-the-back dish to Ricky Doyle. Bleacher Report's Adam Biggers joked about the play of the point guard:

He helped fuel an 11-3 run to give the Wolverines the lead, which was eventually extended to double digits when they went up 58-48 late in the second half.

However, Syracuse was not going away that easily. A few Cooney three-point shots helped keep the game close before Christmas tied the game at 63-63 with a minute left.

This was until Albrecht once again came through for the home team with a huge three-point shot to take the lead with 34 seconds remaining. Angelo Di Carlo of WNDU echoed the thoughts of many watching along:

Some missed free throws by Michigan were negated by a pair of Syracuse's turnovers, and the final try by Kaleb Joseph to tie the game fell short. 

Not only is this is quality win for the Wolverines, it is another big moment in the career of coach John Beilein. The veteran coach didn't get a win in the first nine chances against Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, but finally beat him in the 2013 Final Four.

Still, he showed respect for his former Big East rival in saying, "He just really has a way of simplifying this game and win hundreds and hundreds of games by keeping things simple," via Snyder.

With this latest win, the Wolverines coach has apparently figured out what it takes to beat the 2-3 zone.

Syracuse will get back to its Big East roots as the non-conference season continues with a home game against St. John's on December 6. The team will also face Villanova later in the month with a great opportunity to build its resume.

Michigan will have some relatively easy matchups coming up against NJIT and Eastern Michigan over the next week. This will set up a highly anticipated battle against Arizona on Dec. 13. 

While each squad should be competitive in their respective conference, both needs to make sure it can finish the non-conference season as strong as possible.

Grades

Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse: B-

Rich Barnes/Getty Images

He had the opportunity to dominate in this game offensively against a weak Michigan frontcourt and Christmas did that when he got an opportunity, making seven of his nine attempts from the field.

The problem is he didn't help out much on the defensive end of the court as he was limited to just six rebounds. This was a big reason the Wolverines were able to earn 17 offensive boards in the game.

His six turnovers were also a major problem on the offensive end.

Christmas had the opportunity to be a star in this game, but he simply did not play to his ability.

Trevor Cooney, Syracuse: A-

As a junior, Cooney is expected to become more of a leader for Syracuse at this point. However, he is still little more than just a three-point shooter and an inconsistent one at that.

The good news he was able to get back on track in this game, surpassing his season average of 10.2 points per game with 16 in this one. He made 4-of-9 from beyond the arc including a number of big ones late.

If Syracuse is going to be successful this season, it needs Cooney to make a large portion of the shots he takes.

Zak Irvin, Michigan: A-

Tony Ding/Associated Press

Although he wasn't always the most efficient player on the floor (7-of-17 shooting), Irvin wasn't afraid to take control of the action for Michigan and made big plays throughout to help secure the win.

He finished with 18 points, but the times he scored were important as well, as ESPN's Dan Murphy noted early:

If the Wolverines are going to make a deep run this season, Irvin will have to continue to be a go-to option.

Spike Albrecht, Michigan: A+

Although he is not always going to put up huge scoring numbers, Albrecht was outstanding in this game, especially in the second half. He finished with 11 points, nine assists and two steals although some of his best plays won't show up in a box score.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman discussed his thoughts on the point guard during the game:

He certainly played like much more than a backup in this one. Albrecht always seems to make the right decision with the ball and was a catalyst for the offense when he was needed the most.

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