Isaiah Livers scored 21 points and Michigan led virtually from the start and rolled to an 84-65 victory over Ball State at Ann Arbor, Mich Wednesday.
Livers shot 8-for-11 from the field and made all four of his free throw attempts. Franz Wagner supplied 14 points and six rebounds while freshman Hunter Dickinson notched his first double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Mike Smith added 10 points and Chaundee Brown tossed in nine for the Wolverines (3-0), who responded from an overtime scare against winless Oakland on Sunday.
K.J. Walton led Ball State (0-2) with 20 points and seven rebounds. Luke Bumbalough contributed 13 points and Ishmael El-Amin added 10 points and four assists. The Cardinals' only previous outing was a one-point loss to Northern Kentucky a week earlier.
The Wolverines shot 55.9 percent from the field while holding Ball State to 39.3 percent shooting. Michigan also dominated the boards, 41-26.
Michigan started fast but Ball State closed within seven points, 40-33, by halftime.
The Wolverines built a 15-point lead midway through the first quarter, aided by an 8-0 run that included four points from Smith.
Ball State was forced to call timeout after a 7-0 run gave Michigan a 20-point advantage at 34-14. Dickinson converted two putbacks during that span, sandwiching a Livers 3-point make.
The Cardinals then finished the half on a 19-6 run.
Jalen Windham and Zach Gunn got it started with 3-point makes. Brachen Hazen scored seven points in less than two minutes late in the half, with five coming on free throws.
After El-Amin scored the first bucket of the second half, the Wolverines reasserted themselves.
Wagner scored four of the next six points, giving Michigan a 46-35 lead. Wagner's 3-pointer with 15:11 remaining made it 56-42.
Brown's 3-point make with 12 minutes left after an El-Amin turnover gave the Wolverines a 19-point advantage, 67-48. A layup by Eli Books and a dunk by Livers stretched the lead to 23 points.
--Field Level Media
