Ann Arbor, MI – For Michigan, being No. 1 turned out to be just like riding a bike. It was shaky at the start, but it soon felt all too familiar.
Trey Burke scored 18 points with eight assists and Glenn Robinson III added 13 points, as top-ranked Michigan suffocated Northwestern, 68-46, in its first game as the nation's top team since November 1992.
Nik Stauskas added 11 points and Jon Horford donated 10 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines (20-1, 7-1 Big Ten), who are off to their best start in school history.
"I'm so proud of our guys, the way they guarded them (Northwestern)," Michigan head coach John Beilein said. "I'm really pleased with that "W" today."
Alex Olah scored 10 points and Jared Swopshire chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats (12-10, 3-6), who have dropped two straight.
"It's a very good passing team, especially with Burke," Kansas State coach Bill Carmody said. "They don't make mistakes. It's a good team. They can make you look pretty bad sometimes."
The Wolverines looked the part in their first 20 minutes wearing the top- ranked bullseye after a slow start. Burke buried a long trey on the first possession of the game and scored twice off the extended fast break to cap a 16-4 surge that broke a 7-7 tie and gave the home team a comfortable 23-11 advantage.
Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Stauskas connected on consecutive 3-pointers for a 32-18 margin with just over four minutes to go in the half, and the lead stood at 36-21 at the midway point. Michigan made just under 61 percent of its shots, connected on 5-of-8 from long range and didn't commit a first-half turnover.
The Wildcats charged out the locker room, drawing within 40-31 on Tre Demps' jumper nearly four minutes in. Northwestern had several good lucks at cutting into the margin even further, but it failed to convert, and over time, the Wolverines re-claimed control of the contest.
Horford's jumper gave the home team a 49-33 lead and the Wolverines methodically increased their advantage from there, taking a 63-42 edge on a pair of Burke free throws at the four-minute mark.
Michigan waltzed through the stretch run from there.
Game Notes
The Wolverines made 51 percent of their shots compared to just 37.3 for Northwestern ... Michigan finished with 14 assists to just two turnovers ... Michigan is ranked No. 1 for the first time since November 30, 1992, the second year of the proclaimed "Fab Five" ... Michigan leads the all-time series, 107-56.
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