The month is March, and the night was Michigan.
Hunter Dickinson had the best offensive performance of his career as the Michigan men's basketball team dominated Michigan State, 87-70, Tuesday night at the Chrysler Center.
Dickinson scored a career-high 33 points in the second half, 21 of them, to power Wolverine over his rivals. The sophomore center was virtually unstoppable in the low post and ensured that the Chrysler Center crowd — and the Michigan State bench — knew it after every bucket.
Contact After a dunk through 5:45 remaining, he flexed all the way to midcourt while the Michigan bench did a fake resuscitation behind him. While the final score would come later, the game was already over - for Wolverine a colossal defeat over his rivals, both mental and physical.
Michigan rocked the Chrysler Center early on with a 14-0 run over 3:30 to take a 23-11 lead and force a Tom Izzo timeout. Just about everything worked for Wolverine during that stretch: Allie Brooks hit a sprinter, Dickinson had a big block on the defensive end, Frankie Collins recovered his own turnover and an easy lay-up Brooks for, and Terrence Williams II hits one. 3-pointer moment after stepping on the court for the first time.
An 8-0 run later in the half helped the Wolverines cruise to 16 at halftime. That vibe was highlighted by two dunks—one from Dickinson, on a hard dish from Collins, and the other by Moussa Diabet.
About the only thing that didn't go well for Michigan in the first half was its poor position. DeVante' Jones picked up his second foul before three minutes had passed; Caleb Houston was called to go for his second 90 feet from the basket with 9:44.
But Dickinson finished the Wolverine with 12 points in the first half - shooting 6-for-8 - and the team got a significant contribution off the bench. Williams II went 3-for-3 from 3-point range, two of which came seconds after checking in. Collins was kept scoreless but was firm on defense, went to the basket and made four baskets through assists.
The Wolverines scored 60.7% in the first half, making assists in more than half of their buckets and making five of their eight 3-pointers.
When the second half began, Houston made up for the lost time. His individual 7-0 run - a jumper, two free throws and a competitive 3-pointer - took the lead to 20 shortly after the break. He finished with 16 points in another positive outing to improve the freshman forward.
Gabe Brown's eight points before the first media timeout of the second half alone put the Spartans within any range of striking distance. And with Diabet and Dickinson on the bench, the Spartans 7-0 over 2:01 brought them to within 13 with 9:24 to play. Jaden Akins hit a stepback 3-pointer, and Brown made a transition jumper to force a timeout from Phil Martelli.
But the second half that plagued the Wolverines against Michigan State in January never came.
DeVante Jones responded with a 3-pointer, and minutes later, Dickinson scored eight points in two minutes to keep Michigan State at bay. It was an age-old performance from Kendra - both point wise and for his tendency to talk smack after every bucket.
And all this was a satisfying victory over his rivals.
The Wolverines made a quick change ahead of their next match. They kick off their home schedule on Thursday against Iowa (9 p.m., FS1). When the teams met for the first time last month, Michigan won 84-79 in Iowa City; Hockey hasn't lost since then.