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No. 17 Michigan Edges Syracuse 68-65

By NOAH TRISTER/AP Sports Writer

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Spike Albrecht rattled in a 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining to put Michigan ahead, and the 17th-ranked Wolverines held on to beat Syracuse 68-65 on Tuesday night.

Albrecht's shot broke a 63-63 tie after Syracuse (5-2) had rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit. Michigan led 66-65 after Michael Gbinije scored inside for the Orange, and Derrick Walton missed the front end of a one-and-one for the Wolverines. But Syracuse freshman Chris McCullough threw the ball out of bounds with 15 seconds remaining.

Caris LeVert missed the front end of another one-and-one, but the Orange turned the ball over again. This time it was Kaleb Joseph - another freshman - who lost the ball in the frontcourt. LeVert made two free throws to put Michigan (6-1) back up by three, and Joseph came up short on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Zak Irvin scored 18 points for Michigan, which finished 11 of 33 from 3-point range after going 3 of 17 in the first half. Walton returned from a toe injury and played 26 minutes, but it was Albrecht who made the big plays in the second half. He finished with 11 points and nine assists.

LeVert and Ricky Doyle scored 12 points each.

This ACC-Big Ten challenge matchup was the first meeting between Michigan and Syracuse since the Wolverines won in a 2013 NCAA semifinal.

Trevor Cooney scored 16 points for Syracuse, and Rakeem Christmas added 15.

The Wolverines trailed 31-29 at halftime, but they went ahead 37-36 on a three-point play by Doyle. The Michigan big man dunked while being fouled after a behind-the-back pass by Albrecht.

It was 55-48 after Doyle dunked off another pass from Albrecht. Then Irvin made a 3-pointer to push the lead to 10.

TIP-INS

Syracuse: The Orange went 0 for 14 from 3-point range in their previous game, but they improved to 6 of 17 on Tuesday. Cooney connected four times from long range. Syracuse had 19 turnovers.

Michigan: The Wolverines had 17 offensive rebounds, which helped them overcome a shooting performance that was under 40 percent.

UP NEXT

Michigan hosts NJIT on Saturday.

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