ANN ARBOR -- Saturday afternoon at Crisler Center began with alarming news. Michigan announced that star guard Caris LeVert, an All-American candidate and indispensable player, would miss the day's matinee with a lower left leg injury.

That concern bubbled early as a sloppy start left the Wolverines trailing visiting Penn State.

But there are certain laws in basketball, and one is that made 3-pointers cure all ails. And LeVert or no LeVert, Michigan still had plenty of shooters on Saturday.

The Wolverines made 14 of 25 3-pointers and left Penn State chasing a deficit that climbed to as a high as 29 points in the second half on their way to a 79-56 victory.

Michigan improved to 12-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten with a key matchup at No. 14 Purdue looming on Thursday.

Those Boilermakers might want to guard the perimeter better than Penn State did. Five different Michigan players hit 3-pointers with Zak Irvin (16 points) hitting four, Duncan Robinson (nine points) and Aubrey Dawkins (13 points) hitting three apiece, and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (14 points) and Derrick Walton Jr. (six points) hitting two apiece.

Irvin (seven) and Robinson (six) combined for 13 assists to help fill LeVert's crucial role as a distributor.

Most of the barrage came in the opening half and it was jumpstarted by walk-on Andrew Dakich.

After Derrick Walton Jr. struggled early, Dakich checked into the game with 14:41 remaining and Michigan trailing 9-6. The backup point guard brought some flow to the offense and helped get Robinson get into sync. The sharpshooter drilled three of his first four attempts to push the Wolverines to a 12-11 lead.

Then the rest of the team caught up with Robinson as Penn State wilted under a perimeter attack. U-M stormed to a 22-4 run with 3s falling in every direction from Robinson, Irvin and Dawkins.

All told, the Wolverines made 19-of-29 first-half field goals on 11 assists. From the 11:08 mark to the 5:21 mark, the Wolverines made nine straight shots

Penn State (9-6, 0-2) threw everything from man-to-man defense to a matchup zone to a three-quarter court press at the Wolverines. None of it made much of a difference.

At day's end, the Nittany Lions shot 19-for-54 from the field and were led by Brandon Taylor's 18 points.

Mark Donnal started the game for Michigan after his career game at Illinois on Wednesday, but picked up an early foul and missed much of the first half. He made up for it, though, by checking in late in the half and converting three straight baskets.

Donnal finished with 16 points, matching Irvin's team-high mark, and eight rebounds.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Michigan made 29 of 49 shots, including 14 of 25 3-pointers, and handed out 18 assists.

* While making 19 of 29 first-half shots, Michigan made nine straight field goals in less than six minutes between the 11:08 mark and 5:31 mark. The nine made shots came from six different players.

* Donnal continued his stellar play from Wednesday's out-of-nowhere 26-point, nine-rebound effort at Illinois. The junior scored double figures in a second straight game for the first time in his career, posting 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

* Zak Irvin might have delivered his best performance of the year in LeVert's absence. His seven assists were just as important as his 16 points.

* Duncan Robinson was deadly with his perimeter pump-fake. While making two of his three made 3s with pump-fake, step-over jumpers, he also drew in the defense with those fakes and handed out a number of his six assists.

* Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahman started in Caris LeVert's place and finished with 14 points and two boards in 30 minutes.

LOWLIGHTS

* Derrick Walton Jr. struggled early and never really found his footing. He finished with six turnovers. On the bright side, Andrew Dakich stepped in and was solid, helping to spur a first-half run and playing a total of 13 minutes.

* After committing a season-high 15 turnovers against Illinois, Michigan committed 13 more on Saturday.

NOTES

* Michigan will play No. 14 Purdue on Thursday.



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