Newcomers lead No. 25 Michigan to 96-82 win over Bowling Green (WITH VIDEO)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Chaundee Brown scored 18 of his 19 points in the second half of his Michigan debut, and the 25th-ranked Wolverines beat Bowling Green 96-82 on Wednesday.

Isaiah Livers added 17 points and Mike Smith contributed 16 for Michigan. The Wolverines (1-0) never trailed, although it took until the latter part of the second half for them to really put the Falcons away.

Justin Turner led Bowling Green (0-1) with 24 points.

Michigan was warming up for a Big Ten Tournament game in March when the season was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. After losing Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske to graduation, the Wolverines’ roster is now a blend of old and new. Livers and Franz Wagner are key holdovers, and Michigan welcomes a handful of transfers and promising freshmen who are expected to contribute.

Brown and Smith transferred in from Wake Forest and Columbia, respectively. Smith was in the starting lineup and quickly showed why he was such a prolific scorer in the Ivy League. He scored 12 points in the first half — making all three of his attempts from the field — and Michigan led 25-14 after a layup by freshman center Hunter Dickinson.

It was 43-36 at halftime.

Brown made a couple 3-pointers about 80 seconds apart to put Michigan up 61-47 in the second. He would make five 3s in the half in all.

Livers dunked off an alley-oop pass from Smith to put the Wolverines up 87-68, and Michigan easily closed out the game from there.

BIG PICTURE

Bowling Green: The Falcons acquitted themselves fine for much of this game. Turner, who entered the transfer portal after last season but ultimately decided to stay at Bowling Green, showed why he’s so important to the team’s hopes.

Michigan: It was a convincing win for the Wolverines, who should be pleased with how comfortable their new players looked after what has certainly been an unusual offseason and preseason.

UP NEXT

Bowling Green hosts South Carolina State on Saturday.

Michigan hosts Oakland on Sunday night.