With an offense that scored at an unfathomable clip, the Michigan men’s basketball team tipped off the season with a blowout win against Oakland, beating the Golden Grizzlies, 121-78. That point total was just shy of a program-record 128 points in a single game, so yea, it was a pretty good start to the season for the Wolverines.
This was the second time Michigan has faced Greg Kampe’s squad since Dusty May took over as head coach, with the first being a 92-48 exhibition win at Little Caesar’s Arena last year.
Michigan played at a lightning-quick pace, got whatever it wanted around the rim, and boat raced Oakland by jumping out to a 44-23 lead midway through the first half. I hope y’all bet the over in this one; Michigan led at the half, 69-38. That’s the most points Michigan has had in a half since 1989 against Iowa, and the most points in a first half in program history.
Here are some takeaways from the win, starting with a banner to honor last year’s squad.
To honor the 2024-25 squad that won the Big Ten Tournament, there’s a new banner at Crisler Center. Members of last year’s team and the Maize Rage gathered as the banner rose to the rafters.
Hopefully a few more banners are raised after this season.
Quick injury notes, including a late adjustment to the starting lineup
Yaxel Lendeborg was initially listed in the starting lineup, but at the last minute, he was replaced with Morez Johnson Jr. It’s unclear why he was removed late, but his right hand was wrapped in warmups, and Lendeborg was the first player to come in off the bench alongside Will Tschetter.
Lendeborg came off the bench and played well, but understandably, Michigan was being cautious against a team it could afford to play a limited rotation against. It looked like his wrist was bugging him and he started running gingerly after a chase-down block late in the first half. With Michigan up by so much, he played limited minutes the rest of the way, and Coach May said he was considered day-to-day.
In that same vein, L.J. Cason — who was also not listed on the injury report — did not play and was holding his right shoulder on the bench for the majority of the game. May said that he could have played today, but they wanted to be cautious and make sure he was available against Wake Forest after not looking great in practice the last few days.
Another player unavailable for the Wolverines tonight was freshman sharpshooter Winters Grady. He had a boot on his right foot, and a member of the coaching staff told Maize n Brew he tweaked his ankle in practice recently and that he sat out tonight purely as a precaution. May said he’ll return to practice in the coming days.
That first half was a thing of beauty
To say that first half of basketball was fun to watch was an understatement, with Michigan setting a program record for a first half with 69 points.
Some notable stats at the half:
-Michigan shot 71 percent on it’s 38 field goal attempts and 53 percent on it’s 17 three point attempts
-Michigan averaged 1.64 points per possession, a crazy efficiency rate in a small sample (as a point of reference, in 2023-24, Alabama led the sport with 1.065 points per 100 possessions).
-Michigan had nearly twice as many dunks (seven) as turnovers (four)
-18 assists in the first half alone, with Elliot Cadeau posting nine of those assists.
-Michigan led for all but 13 seconds of the half (and, obviously, led all but 13 seconds of the game).
That’s as dominant of a half as you can have, and Michigan did it with a limited Yaxel Lendeborg, no L.J. Cason, and no Winters Grady. That was stunning to watch.
Paint touches, early and often
Michigan had a clear game plan at the start of this one — utilize the size advantage and get to the lane through the teeth of the signature Oakland zone.
Aday Mara had Michigan’s first two baskets of the season, courtesy of lobs from Elliot Cadeau, and Mara caught another lob from Morez Johnson Jr to make it 10-5 in the opening three minutes. Ten of Michigan’s first 14 points all came in the paint. May said in the preseason he wanted this team to play more above the rim, and that was certainly the case early in this one.
When Mara came out, Johnson played the five-man real well, scoring 14 points in the first eight minutes and doing whatever he wanted inside. The Illinois transfer drew a LOT of fouls and finished with a team-high 24 points, with 20 of those points coming in the first half. At times, he looked like a Dad toying with his kids in the driveway.
Playing up tempo appears to be a priority
Every coach likes to say they want their team to play fast, but Michigan played at a real quick pace against Oakland. Michigan was fairly efficient early, making 12 of its first 15 shots and scoring 1.765 points per possession in the first seven minutes and change while jumping out to a 34-13 lead nine minutes into the game. Michigan’s pace understandably let up in the second half, but man, that first half was a track meet.
This one got out of hand for several reasons, but Michigan turning this into a track meet was one of the most crucial reasons.
Man, this team is athletic
Speaking of tempo, Michigan got up the floor early and often, blasting past Oakland in transition.
Granted, it’s one game against a bad mid-major team, but through one regular-season game, it looks like the biggest difference between last year’s team and this year’s is athleticism. This team is fast, big, and there’s nowhere to hide on defense. It’s an intimidating group to play against.
Lightning Round takeaways
-Seven players scored in double figures, with scoring spread out rather evenly
-Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney just kept dishing some incredible passes, finding bigs for easy baskets whenever they wanted to. The passes were flashy while still being fundamentally sound. They picked apart the Oakland zone with relative ease. Cadeau finished with 12 assists, more than Oakland had as a team (eleven). Trey McKenney finished with 21 points and saw the floor incredibly well.
-The speed with which Michigan moved the ball on offense was impressive. It was reminiscent of those dominant San Antonio Spurs teams of the 2000s and 2010s.
-Michigan rotated well on defense, even when Golden Grizzly ball handlers occasionally drove past them. On-ball defense wasn’t great, but it didn’t need to be with how well Michigan helped on drives.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait another week before you see this team in action. Michigan will hope to exact revenge from last year’s loss on a good Wake Forest team. That game at Little Caesars Arena is set to tip-off at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
