Dusty May on Nimari Burnett’s game winner: ‘He deserves to make that play’

No. 15 Michigan men’s basketball stunned Rutgers on Thursday night with a buzzer-beating three pointer from Nimari Burnett. The Wolverines overcame five separate double-digit deficits in the second-half, outscoring the visiting Scarlet Knights 35-25 over the final 20 minutes.

Dusty May comments on Nimari Burnett buzzer-beater against Rutgers

Burnett put up 14 of his 20 points after halftime. It marked the first time he’s reached 20 since Nov. 13, 2023, when he scored 21 against St. John’s. Michigan head coach Dusty May said it came at a great time.

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“I’m extremely happy for Nimari. He deserves to make that play,” May said after the game. “Give Danny (Wolf) credit for finding him. They were in a zone, and Nimari was the outlet on the weak side and Danny found him.

“His day-to-day work, preparation (and) consistency is, in my opinion, the reason you make shots like that. We needed it. For him to play like that down the stretch was impressive.”

More angles of Nimari Burnett’s buzzer-beater because why not 🤷‍♂️#B1GMBBall x @umichbball pic.twitter.com/y31qzxPGG9

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 28, 2025

Michigan had 12 seconds to find a shot after Rutgers guard and Detroit native Tyson Acuff made 2-of-3 free throws to put the game at 82-81. The Wolverines didn’t have any luck, and May took a timeout with three seconds left. He said his team needed to get their ducks in a row.

“… I didn’t really want to (take the timeout), I just felt like what we wanted to do and what we trained to do in practice, they defended well,” May said. “And we didn’t have an advantage, so we needed to get organized. It wasn’t anything more than that.”

After the game, Burnett said it was his first buzzer-beater since high school. He was having a big second-half, but Rutgers swarmed Wolf after the in-bound, leaving him wide open on the opposite wing. Burnett said he wasn’t sure about it going in, until it did.

“When the ball went through the net, that’s when I knew,” Burnett recalled. “At the same time, I told Danny before, I was like if you see me, and I’m open, pass it to me, I’m going to make it. God came through.”

The Wolverines (22-6 overall) remain tied with No. 8 Michigan State (23-5 overall) for the top spot in the Big Ten, as each have 14-3 conference records. Both teams play Sunday, with the Spartans tipping off against No. 11 Wisconsin at 1:30 p.m., and Michigan hosting Illinois at 3:45 p.m.

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If MSU loses, a win for the Wolverines would put them alone at the top of the Big Ten.

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