ATLANTA â€" Trey Burke hadn’t scored in single digits all season, and it’s now happened twice during Michigan’s run in the NCAA tournament.
Still, the Wolverines are one win away from a national championship, despite Burke making just one field goal in a 61-56 win over Syracuse on Monday night at the Final Four.
“They’re magnificent in that zone,” Burke said of the Orange. “It’s tough to get the ball into the middle. You think something’s open, it may not be. We just tried to be as careful as possible. We know they strive off turnovers.”
Despite finishing with seven points on 1 of 8 shooting from the floor (he was 4 of 6 from the free-throw line), Burke did have just one turnover. His lone make from the field was a 3-pointer late in the first half.
As for the scoring, Burke and the Wolverines received a boost off the bench.
Freshmen Caris LeVert and Spike Albrecht scored eight and six points, respectively, off the bench. And classmates Mitch McGary and Glen Robinson III had 10 points each.
“I tried to get guys involved,” Burke said. “I knew that their whole game plan was to try to make me shoot tough, contested threes. I tried to get the ball into the middle as much as possible, tried to hit the open man.
“At the end of the day, it wasn’t offense. A lot of us didn’t have good shooting nights. But it was defense that allowed us to advance.”
Burke had a season-low six points in Michigan’s opening win over South Dakota State. Prior to the NCAA tournament, Burke had scored at least 18 points in the Wolverines’ previous 10 games.
“It’s not a one-man team,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said. “We know Trey is our leader. He’s not going to have a game like he’s always been the whole season. That’s when our team just tries to pick him up. He really doesn’t need it, but we try to pick him up anyway.”
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