TAMPA, Fla. – Wolverines guard Daniel Horton smelled blood. Unfortunately for walk-on South Florida point guard Chris Capko, it was his.
Horton’s four steals in four minutes brought on a chain reaction of positive results.
A 19-0 run.
A 68-47 win.
And a 7-0 record – Michigan’s best start since the 1996-97 season.
“I just wanted to try and make plays and be tough on the ball,” Horton said. “A couple times, (Capko) threw a couple of lazy passes that I was able to get a hand on and steal, but it was a great team effort. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if guys behind me weren’t denying and taking away the passing lanes.”
Even though the defense may have been a team effort behind the scenes, it was the Daniel Horton show on the surface. The guard’s four steals during the run were highlighted by three consecutive swipes of the overmatched Capko. The defensive effort quickly morphed a game deadlocked at 12 into an early blowout.
Each of Horton’s steals led to a basket on the other end and further created a comfortable cushion for the Wolverines. He took the first two steals to the basket himself, and both led to routine lay-ups. His third strip resulted in another easy lay-in when he hit a streaking guard Dion Harris in the open court. Horton’s final steal of the run was from Bulls star center Solomon Jones. The swipe turned into two free throws by wing Lester Abram, who was fouled going up for a lay-up after Horton got him the ball.
Horton collected his fifth steal shortly into the second half, when his full-court pressure caused Capko to cough up the ball once again. The senior’s dominance over the overmatched Bulls point guard wasn’t met with a great deal of sympathy after the game.
“Teams didn’t feel sorry for us last year,” Horton said. “And nobody felt sorry for me when I was a freshman and had to handle the ball by myself. So these things have to be taken advantage of. This is basketball.”
Michigan finished the game with 24 points off 20 South Florida turnovers. Abram led the attack with 18 points, followed by Horton’s 16 and junior Courtney Sims’s 13.
For the third game in a row, Michigan’s offensive balance outshone its opponents. Three Wolverines in double figures were met by just one for the Bulls – guard James Holmes had a game-high 20 points.
Coming off a 33-point performance against Delaware State, Sims looked as if he had a repeat showing in mind during the game’s early stages. The center scored six points within the first three minutes of the half, each one coming off an offensive rebound. But instead of working on reaching a new career high, Sims watched the defense’s excellence from the bench for the remainder of the half. Two quick fouls sent him to the pine just four minutes into the game.
“It’s not going to be me every day,” Sims said. “It’s not going to be (senior forward) Chris (Hunter). It’s not going to be Daniel (Horton). It can be anybody any given day. We have so many people who can score 20 any given night.”
Sims saw 14 minutes of action in the second half and managed not to foul out. He finished the night with seven rebounds – all on the offensive glass. Graham Brown once again paced the Wolverines on the boards. For the fourth straight game, the Mio native totaled double digits in rebounds. His 10 boards helped Michigan win the rebounding war by a 40-28 margin.
After South Florida closed the Michigan lead to 15 with a minute to go in the first half, Abram scored on back-to-back possessions to stretch the advantage back to 20. The Wolverines then began the second half on an 11-2 run, ending any hopes of a comeback by the Bulls. The closest South Florida got in the second half was within 20 points.
“We’ve had three road games, and we’ve been able to come out on top of all three thus far,” Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. “For us, that’s a significant achievement, and we’re very pleased with that.”
Click here to listen to Michigan coach Tommy Amaker’s press conference after the Wolverines victory over South Florida.