UConn vs. Michigan: Score, Highlights and Reaction from Battle 4 Atlantis 2015

Some people travel to the Bahamas to go on vacation. Connecticut Huskies forward Daniel Hamilton went there to dominate a basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines.

Hamilton spearheaded his team's attack during a 74-60 victory on Wednesday in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with 16 points, nine assists, nine rebounds and two steals. He was one of five different Huskies who finished in double figures in the scoring department as they shot 50 percent from the field.

Connecticut also controlled the boards and out-rebounded the Wolverines, 42-31. Considering Michigan only shot 32.1 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from three-point range, the Huskies dominated in every facet of the game.   

MGoBlog provided some perspective for Michigan fans:

ESPN.com's Andy Katz looked at things from Connecticut's side and was complementary of the undefeated victors:

Caris LeVert was the lone bright spot for the losers, and he carried the Wolverines offense with 21 points. However, he missed extensive time in the first half with foul trouble as Connecticut pulled away.

Those fouls stopped Michigan's early momentum after it controlled the opening minutes, but head coach John Beilein put the guard on the bench after he picked up his second foul with just more than eight minutes remaining until halftime. With LeVert sidelined, the Huskies extended their run to 14-3 and seized a 19-15 lead in the closing minutes of the first half.

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops.com described the offensive struggles without the star guard:

The Huskies continued to pour it on and finished the last eight minutes of the first half on a 22-7 run. They took a 36-22 lead into the locker room, and Drew Hallett of SB Nation reacted to the flow of the game:

Hallett questioned Beilein's substitution pattern as well:

Nick Baumgardner of MLive Media Group summarized the first half from the Wolverines' perspective: 

It may have been a double-digit lead at intermission, but the fans in attendance at least witnessed an entertaining moment before the start of the second half, per Brendan F. Quinn of MLive Media Group:

Connecticut picked up right where it left off at the start of the second half when Sterling Gibbs drilled a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 41-24. It looked like a lost cause for the Wolverines, but LeVert went on a mini 5-0 spurt himself to pull his team within 12, which drew this reaction from Baumgardner:

The comeback effort seemed short-lived, though, as Connecticut stretched its lead to 49-33 behind three straight assists from Hamilton. Quinn did not like the outlook for the Wolverines:

Simon Kaufman of the Michigan Daily described one of the offensive problems for Michigan with less than 12 minutes remaining:

The Huskies offense didn't slow down as it built a 52-33 lead with less than 10 minutes left in the game. LeVert was the only one doing anything for Michigan on the offensive end, and Baumgardner was not impressed with the attack:

This tweet from Michigan Basketball summed up the proceedings as the game entered the final stretch:

Ben Fidelman of the Detroit News provided the visual proof: 

LeVert scored seven straight points for the Wolverines to keep them within 11 points with less than five minutes left. Quinn offered Michigan some offensive advice:

Despite the suggestion to only give the ball to LeVert, Duncan Robinson drilled a three-pointer and cut the lead to only eight with three minutes left. 

The Wolverines flirted with a comeback, but Hamilton drilled the dagger from three-point range with less than 90 seconds remaining to put the Huskies up by 11. Michigan made the final score somewhat closer than the majority of the game truly was, but Connecticut's victory was never in doubt.

Hamilton hit another three in the final minute just for good measure, and the Huskies walked away with the 74-60 victory.

What's Next?

Nostalgic fans of old Big East basketball will be thrilled Thursday because Connecticut plays Syracuse in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. The Orange handled Charlotte on Wednesday and will test the Huskies defense that held strong against the Wolverines.

Michael Gbinije scored 26 points for Syracuse in the Charlotte contest, and Trevor Cooney added 19. Even Tyler Lydon scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench, and the balanced attack finished with 14 made three-pointers in the victory.

Connecticut will feel the pressure on the defensive side in the difficult matchup with the 4-0 Orange.

As for Michigan, it plays Charlotte on Thursday in the consolation matchup. The 49ers are only 1-3 on the season, but they made a charge against the Orange and cut the lead to nine after they fell behind by as many as 25 points.

The Wolverines are the stronger team, but they must avoid lapses against a Charlotte squad that proved it can go on extended runs against quality competition.

Postgame Reaction

There was plenty of disappointment on the Michigan side of things after a lackluster effort, and Beilein suggested as much, per Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press: “We're playing really good teams right now and we're not a really good team right now.”

However, Beilein has not lost hope in his squad, especially since it is only November, per Snyder: “I trust these guys but I wish our learning curve was faster.”

As for Connecticut, Rodney Purvis reflected on his team’s first-half run, per Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant: “It's a great feeling, everybody's involved... It’s tough for any team to stop us with amount of weapons we have.”

Hamilton discussed his critical three-pointer down the stretch, per Amore: “It was a rhythm shot. I wanted to go to the rim, but I saw the shot clock going down.”

While his players were pleased with the win, coach Kevin Ollie already had his attention on the next game, per David Borges of the New Haven Register: “We’ve got a short turnaround. We’ve got Syracuse, it seems like, in two minutes. That’s alright, though. We’re ready to play.”

Given the history between the two programs, both teams will be ready to play.