Michigan-Duke: UM's Bid for Second Straight Upset Falls Short

NEW YORK - Toppling a top-five team Thursday was doable for Michigan. Repeating the feat Friday proved to be too difficult, as the Wolverines lost to No. 5 Duke 71-56 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic final at Madison Square Garden last night.

After an unlikely win over No. 4 UCLA, Michigan (3-1) had hopes of pulling off consecutive upsets. The Blue Devils (5-0) had other thoughts, however, limiting Michigan's offense from the start. The Wolverines shot an unimpressive 35 percent from the field.

The difference-maker was Duke's Kyle Singler. The 6'8" sophomore forward has the versatility to defend guards or big men. At times he was on Stu Douglass, a key contributor in Michigan's win over UCLA, limiting the sweet-shooting guard to 1-5 from the field. At other times he guarded forward DeShawn Sims.

On the offensive end, Singler is a matchup nightmare. He's too quick for most defenders his size and too tall for smaller guards. All of Singler's offensive skills were on display last night, as he scored 15 points, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, and dished out four assists. The performance helped earn him tournament MVP honors.

Michigan's leading man was once again sophomore Manny Harris. He scored a game-high 25 on 6-12 shooting. He was also 11-12 from the foul line. Sims added 10 points, giving Michigan's one-two punch two more total points than it had against the Bruins, but a third offensive contributor was nowhere to be found.

Zack Gibson struggled to convert inside, Anthony Wright couldn't find his shooting stroke, and Douglass was bothered by a pesky defense.

Duke's Gerald Henderson and Nolan Smith provided some highlight-worthy dunks en route to 12 and 16 points, respectively. Their contributions, along with Singler's, were important on a night when Jon Scheyer struggled from the outside.

The Wolverines missed far too many shots on a night when they had to be at their most efficient in order to get a victory. But they can take comfort in the fact that they got a statement win out of the tournament and will get another shot at Duke when the Blue Devils visit Ann Arbor on Dec. 5.