In what should have been the matchup of two Player of the Year candidates in the first round, neither Michigan’s Trey Burke or South Dakota State’s Nate Wolters made much of an impact in Thursday night’s first round game at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The thirteenth seed Summit League champion came in to face the might of the Blue and Maize in what was a glorified home game for Michigan. Despite being down by four at the half, SDSU failed to keep up with Michigan as the Wolverines won, 71-56.
Trey Burke was shut down by the South Dakota defense, scoring just six points in the game. Burke went 2-of-12 for field goals and missed five three-point attempts. He had seven assists on the night.
Stepping up for Michigan was Glenn Robinson, III and Tim Hardaway, Jr as each had 21 points on the night. Hardaway was 8-for-13 from the paint and 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Robinson was 8-for-9 shooting two’s, 3-for-3 from behind the arc and 2-for-2 from the line.
Nate Wolters was also shut down by the Michigan defense, as he was able to score just 12 points. He went 3-of-14 in the paint while missing five three’s and shooting 100% from the line, good for four points.
Brayden Carlson stepped in for the Fighting Jackrabbits with 20 points, picking up the slack left.
There was talk that the game may hurt both point guards NBA draft hopes following last night’s performance, but due to Burke’s big name school and reputation, plus another game to redeem himself, he is seemingly safe. Wolters, on the other hand, may have issues. Despite his consistency through four years at South Dakota State, the school is lesser known and far less likely to have a player drafted.
It’s not impossible, however. In 2011, the Atlanta Hawks drafted former Oakland (Summit League) star Keith Benson while other schools in the league have seen minor success in the NBA draft. The performance against such a top-program for Wolter’s could lead to a later draft pick, but it shouldn’t hurt him overall due to his consistency on the court.
While SDSU’s season has ended, Michigan’s will continue as they advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament to face VCU Saturday afternoon at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Will Trey Burke redeem himself following Thursday’s performance?
