Michigan stays unbeaten, cruises past Air Force

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) Iggy Brazdeikis scored 19 points and Charles Matthews added 17 to lead No. 4 Michigan to a 71-50 victory over Air Force on Saturday.

The Wolverines (12-0) went on a 19-3 run in the first half and never looked back. Michigan is 12-0 for only the third time in school history. The Wolverines also did it in 1985-86 and 2012-13.

Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers scored 11 points each for Michigan. Lavelle Scottie led the Falcons (4-7) with 16.

Air Force led 10-5 early, and the Wolverines seemed content to stay on the perimeter. Eight of Michigan's first nine shots were from 3-point range, and only one of them went in.

The Wolverines were quick with a course correction. Eli Brooks and Poole made layups, and a dunk by Jon Teske put Michigan up 11-10. Eventually, the 3s started falling too, and it was 28-21 at halftime.

Brazdeikis took advantage of an Air Force turnover early in the second half and finished a breakaway with a reverse dunk to make it 39-28.

BIG PICTURE

Air Force: The Falcons did a decent job early defending Michigan, but even then, Air Force had too many problems scoring to build much of a lead. The Falcons turned the ball over 20 times.

Michigan: The Wolverines were coming off an eight-point win against Western Michigan, and this one seemed like it would be closer than expected, but Michigan eventually extended the margin late. The Wolverines had an uncharacteristic nine turnovers in the first half but had only two in the second.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

None of the three teams ahead of Michigan in the Top 25 has lost this week.

UP NEXT

Air Force: The Falcons return home and face UC Riverside on Friday night.

Michigan: The Wolverines have one more game before returning to conference play. They host Binghamton on Dec. 30.