Michigan Basketball got back into the win column in the early hours of Thursday morning, defeating Washington, 82-72, in Seattle. Here are 4 takeaways:
The Michigan Wolverines got back into the win column in the early hours of Thursday morning ET, defeating the Washington Huskies, 82-72, in Seattle.
The Wolverines did not make it look pretty, but conference wins are hard to come by, and Michigan led for most of the contest to shake off the filth from the loss to Wisconsin last weekend. While Washington had a strong push in the second half to flirt with an upset, Michigan was able to secure the double-digit victory.
There is a lot to unpack, so here are four takeaways.
Big three making big plays
After Saturday’s heartbreaking loss, the Wolverines needed to turn to their main three scorers — Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara — who make up 40 percent of the points for Michigan this season, to turn the ship around.
Lendeborg had been playing through an injury his last few games, but he looked just fine on Wednesday night. He started the game 0-for-5, including three missed three-pointers, before scoring seven first-half points in a minute-and-a-half stretch. The second half saw a similar trend, as he opened up the Michigan scoring with a three-pointer, was extremely aggressive on the glass to prevent second-chance opportunities and made some big time shots late in the game to extend Michigan’s lead. He finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and stayed out of foul trouble.
Michigan also received massive production from its big frontcourt, as Johnson almost had a double-double in the first half alone (eight points and 11 rebounds), and finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Johnson appeared confident, strong, and had his eyes up the entire game. He also secured two steals and had a block, proving to be a game-wrecker on both sides of the court.
To top it off, Washington was no match for Aday Mara. He finished with 20 points on 10-for-11 shooting. The 7-foot-3 cheat code also had three blocks, making it very hard for Washington to score inside the paint.
While different shooters went hot and cold at different moments throughout the game, these three proved to be reliable once again.
Rough from deep
Three-point shots have not been favorable to Michigan in recent games, and the same could be said Wednesday night. The Wolverines struggled mightily from deep once again, going 5-for-23 for the game. After starting 3-for-16 in the first half, it didn’t get any better in the second, and it was a big reason why Michigan struggled to extend its lead.
Meanwhile, the Huskies made it interesting for a few minutes. They began 0-for-12 from behind the arc, but had nine makes by the end of the matchup. Washington received some unlikely production from Quimari Peterson’s four three-pointers and JJ Mandaquit draining each of his attempts, but it was still not enough.
Nonetheless, Michigan’s three-point defense continues to be exposed.
Benches getting active
It wasn’t just the starting lineup that got in on the action. The Wolverines received solid play from multiple guys, tallying 14 bench points in the first half and 11 bench points in the second half.
A big spark came from Roddy Gayle Jr., who was subbed in four minutes into the game. He produced four quick points and drew two fouls within a minute to give Michigan its first lead. Then, his tag-team partner Trey McKenney drained a corner three, making it the first make behind the arc for either squad. And to finish off the half, Will Tschetter put up five points to extend Michigan’s lead to double-digits.
However, after outscoring Washington’s bench, 14-4, in the first half, the Huskies did not go away quietly. With fouls racking up for multiple starters, Washington relied on Peterson, Mandaquit and Franck Kepnang to keep within 10 points for most of the second half.
Washington outscored Michigan, 22-11, in bench points in the latter half and made more three-pointers thanks to its bench guys, making the Wolverines fight to the last minute to secure the road win.
Washington goes ice cold in crunch time
Despite leading almost the entire game, Michigan was not shooting at a high percentage to inspire confidence it could greatly extend the lead to win comfortably. And while rebounding and turnovers were not leaning favorably in the Wolverines’ direction late in the second half, Michigan continued to draw fouls and get to the free throw line to control the tempo of the game and wear the Huskies out.
At the same time, Washington could not continue its shooting streak that brought it within six points at the start of the second half, and its deficit continued to grow. The Huskies finished the game shooting 1-for-12 from the field, and Michigan went on an 11-2 run to close out the victory.
Category: General Sports
