ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Trey Burke stole the ball near midcourt and raced ahead for a breakaway layup to put Michigan ahead by 31.
Moments later, his night was done.
Burke scored 19 points in only 30 minutes — the most rest he's had in a game all season — and No. 3 Michigan routed Binghamton 67-39 on Tuesday. Freshman Nik Stauskas added 12 points, and the Wolverines substituted liberally in a game that was every bit the mismatch it looked like before the opening tip.
"I don't feel banged up, but I think Spike (Albrecht) did a good job coming and giving me some time," Burke said. "Caris (LeVert) obviously came in and gave some great minutes."
LeVert played 14 minutes and Albrecht played 10. They combined for six assists and no turnovers.
The Wolverines (10-0) are off to their best start since their national title season of 1988-89.
The Bearcats (2-9) were coming off a 22-point loss to Bryant. They led Michigan 10-8 before the Wolverines went on a 19-2 run.
It was 34-14 at halftime.
Jordan Reed scored 11 points and was Binghamton's only player in double figures. He also had eight rebounds.
"That's a great team — a team that could win a national championship — so coming into their building was taking an awfully big bite at the apple," Binghamton coach Tommy Dempsey said. "I'm not sure that I thought it was realistic for us to come in here and beat Michigan, but I thought we were competitive, and at this stage of our program, that's a great step in the right direction."
The Wolverines were favored by 37½ points, but they got off to a slow start, allowing the Bearcats to match them in the early going. Rayner Moquete's 3-pointer off a Michigan turnover put Binghamton up two, but the lead was short lived.
Tim Hardaway Jr.'s three-point play 23 seconds later put the Wolverines back ahead, and Stauskas and Hardaway made it 21-12 with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Reed gave the Bearcats a brief highlight, dunking back a missed shot to make it 27-14, but Michigan scored the last seven points of the half, capped by Burke's 3 from near the top of the key in the final seconds.
Burke made an alert play in the second half when his pass toward Jordan Morgan was deflected up off the backboard. The ball bounced all the way back to Burke on the perimeter, and the Michigan point guard then drove for an easy bank shot and a 52-27 lead.
It was 62-31 after Burke's steal and layup.
Stauskas, who entered the game shooting over 60 percent from 3-point range, went 4 for 8 from beyond the arc.
"When he misses a couple shots, we're all surprised, aren't we?" Michigan coach John Beilein joked. "I want him to shoot it when he's open, pass it when he's not, and just have enough drive in his game so he can get to the foul line as well."
Binghamton did not shoot a free throw until there was 4:41 to play in the second half. Michigan was whistled for only four fouls all night. In the Wolverines' previous win over Arkansas, the Razorbacks attempted only four free throws.
"It's been a point of emphasis my whole life," Beilein said. "We think you can play good defense without having stupid fouls. You're going to have fouls, but it's just fouls that are not necessary. We work really hard at that."
The Bearcats settled for too many outside shots, several of which didn't even hit the rim. Binghamton shot 34 percent from the field, 7 of 25 from 3-point range.
It might have been even more lopsided if Michigan hadn't shot a season-worst 44 percent from the field. Burke was 8 of 12, but Hardaway scored only nine points on 3-of-13 shooting. Freshman Mitch McGary had six points and 10 rebounds.
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