ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Former longtime Michigan assistant Brian Dutcher was hoping to leave Crisler Center with another lasting memory on Saturday.
Michigan's Hunter Dickinson and Caleb Houstan had other plans.
The sophomore center and freshman forward combined for 40 points to down San Diego State, 72-58 and spoil Dutcher's homecoming in a matchup that pitted him against former player Juwan Howard.
Dickinson finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds and freshman Houstan added 17 points for No. 24 Michigan (5-3), which shot 46.7% from the field (28 for 60) and made a season-high 11 3-pointers.
After letting a 10-point first-half lead slip away, the Wolverines built it back up with Dickinson and Houstan leading the way. The two combined for four baskets over the first six minutes of the second half to give Michigan a 49-43 advantage.
The Wolverines started to pull away as their defense dug in and they turned up the pressure, holding the Aztecs to four field goals over the first 13 minutes and cashing in on turnovers.
A steal by Brooks led to a second-chance layup by freshman guard Frankie Collins. Two takeaways from Dickinson led to 3-pointers from sophomore forward Terrance Williams II and Brooks. By the time all was said and done, the defense fueled a 14-0 flurry that gave Michigan a commanding 61-43 advantage with 7:41 remaining.
The Wolverines kept adding to the lead as Dickinson and Houstan kept piling it on and provided the finishing touches. After Houstan buried his fourth 3-pointer, Dickinson followed with his third deep ball to push it to 69-48 at the 3:32 mark and Michigan led by at least 14 the rest of the way.
Matt Bradley scored 22 points for San Diego State (5-3), which shot 33.3% from the field in the second half (9 for 27) and committed 16 turnovers. The Aztecs were down two rotational players in starting guard Lamont Butler (broken wrist) and backup center Tahirou Diabate (medical concerns).
Freshman forward Moussa Diabate exited the game midway through the first half and didn't return because he wasn't feeling well, per a Michigan spokesperson. As a result, Dickinson rarely sat and logged 39 minutes.
As has been the case more times than not this season, Michigan got off to a slow start as it grinded through one possession after another in the half court against one of the better defensive teams in the nation.
It took until the 12:45 mark of the first half for the Wolverines to reach the double-digit mark, when fifth-year senior guard scored on a driving layup to even it at 10.
But things changed when Collins checked in. Michigan started turning stops into scores and pushing the pace, ripping off a 14-3 run with Collins in the middle of it all. After he forced a turnover and scored on a fast-break dunk, he found senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. in the corner for a 3-pointer and fed Dickinson for another deep ball for a 26-16 lead at the 8:36 mark.
The Wolverines couldn't sustain it as the shots stopped falling and things slowed down again once Collins went back to the bench. Over the final 7:29 of the half, Michigan made just three baskets and had a stretch where it missed nine of 10 field-goal attempts.
The cold streak allowed San Diego State to claw back and use a 16-5 spurt to momentarily regain a one-point lead before Dickinson ended the half with a 3-pointer as Michigan took a 36-34 edge into the break.
