Apparently, finding the on/off switch is a little more difficult than you would think.
Nonetheless, the Wolverines found their switch, albeit three games into the Big Ten season. No. 16 Michigan's 88-74 victory over No. 25 Illinois (1-2 Big Ten, 11-4 overall) last night was its most complete effort thus far.
"Tonight might have been our best game of the season when you talk about 40 minutes of basketball against a good team," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said.
Led by a red-hot first-half shooting performance and a magnificent defensive effort on Illini stud Kiwane Garris, the Wolverines staked themselves to a 12-point halftime lead and never really looked back.
"They pretty much outplayed us in every phase of the game," Illinois coach Lon Kruger said. "They were comfortable from the start and we couldn't change them."
The Wolverines (2-2, 11-3) shot a sizzling 21-for-32 from the floor in the first 20 minutes en route to scoring 45 points, a season-high for the first half. They shot 60 percent for the game, also their best mark of the season.
Louis Bullock continued his fine shooting of late, leading Michigan's marksmen with 19 points, connecting on eight of 12 field goals. Over the past five games, Bullock has hit more than 50 percent of his shots, averaging almost 20 points.
"He's gotten himself into a little bit of a groove where he thinks it's going in," Fisher said. "At times, when you're shooting well, it does."
But it seemed as if Bullock's teammates were joining him in his groove. Robert Traylor overpowered a weak Illini frontline with 16 points, missing just one of his nine shots. And Brandun Hughes had his best shooting performance of the season (5-of-8) and scored 13 points.
As a result of the strong shooting, Fisher felt his team's confidence returned to where it was before the Wolverines left for Hawaii.
"They feel good about themselves for the first time in a long while," he said.
The Wolverines' defense, which stifled the likes of Duke and Arizona, also rose from the ashes. Hughes and Travis Conlan held Garris to one basket in the first half.
Garris didn't fare much better in the second half. He had only five points with three minutes remaining in the game.
"We were able to keep a man in front of him and not let him get to the free-throw line," Fisher said. "Travis and Brandun contested his outside shot and did a good job on him."
Michigan blew the game open early in the second half, building on the 11-4 run they had at the end of the first. Jumpers from Conlan, Hughes and Jerod Ward built the lead to 17 less than five minutes into the second.
Illinois then scored the next 10 points in an attempt to make it interesting.
But a pair of dunks from Maurice Taylor brought the Crisler Arena crowd of 13,265 to its feet, in what was their loudest performance of the season.
Those dunks helped Taylor break out of his recent slump.
He finished with 14 points. Along with Traylor and Maceo Baston, Taylor helped give the Wolverines a commanding 43-31 advantage on the boards.
"We're getting back to our old work habits," Bullock said. "Practice (Wednesday) was the most energetic all season."
Michigan did play without guard Ron Oliver, who sat out the game for academic reasons. Two of Oliver's grades from last term are in limbo at the moment.
"We have to wait for those grades to be changed," Fisher said. "He may or may not make the trip with us to Minnesota (on Saturday)."
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Brandun Hughes grew up in Peoria, Ill.