The Michigan men’s basketball team defeated the Spartans on Saturday night at Crisler Arena.

But not those Spartans.

The Wolverines topped South Carolina-Upstate 66-35, riding a hot start and aggressive defense to a season-opening blowout victory.

The Spartans got on the board first, as guard Tony Dukes nailed a three from the left corner. But Michigan responded with a 13-0 run and never looked back.

The Wolverines led by as many as 20 in a hot-shooting first half, going 12-25 from the field and 6-13 from three-point land, a marked improvement from the exhibition win over Saginaw Valley State.

Freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. had three of those treys and went on to lead the team in scoring with 19 points in his collegiate debut.

South Carolina-Upstate scored the first four points of the second half as Michigan’s offense stalled with turnovers and missed shots. But Hardaway Jr. exploded through the lane for a one-handed dunk in transition at the 16:13 mark, energizing the team and ending any doubt that the Spartans may make a game of it.

Michigan played mostly man-to-man defense and suffocated the Spartans, frustrating them on the offensive end and forcing difficult shots.

Sophomore Wolverine point guard Darius Morris saw the court well the whole night. He was quiet offensively for most of the second half but came alive late, following a one-handed slam with a layup on back-to-back possessions to punctuate Michigan’s scoring and prompt wholesale lineup changes with 2:11 left in the game. Morris finished with 17 points and four assists.