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Posted on by Drew Montag

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #02 – 11/08/2021 – A Rare Road Exhibition

The (#6) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one (exhibition) game this past week, and they won it.  On Friday (11/05/2021), they beat Wayne State 87-54.  The game was played in Wayne State’s brand new fieldhouse, as the inaugural game.  Since it was only an exhibition, Michigan’s record is still 0-0.

What Happened?

As I mentioned last week, it is rare for Michigan to play an exhibition game on the road, but this game was arranged as a courtesy to Wayne State so they could have a big-name opponent for the grand opening of their new fieldhouse, called, amazingly enough, Wayne State Fieldhouse.

The game itself was pretty much what you’d expect from a matchup between the defending Big Ten Champions and a Division II team.  After a brief choppy period in the first 3 minutes, Michigan went ahead for good, 7-6, at the 17:00 mark.  They didn’t pull very far ahead for the next 11 minutes, only leading by 8 (27-19) with 5:39 left in the half.  That’s when they broke the game open, going on a 21-0 run to put the game out of reach, 48-19.  WSU finally broke the UM scoring run with a basket with 16 seconds left in the half, to make it 48-21 at halftime.

WSU scored the first 4 points of the 2nd half, to get within 23 points (48-25) with 18:13 to go, but that was as close as they got.  Michigan pushed the lead as high as 37 points, and coasted to a 33-point win.

Stats

The game stats were predictably good.  Michigan shot well overall (31-for-59 = 52.5%), they shot 3-pointers well (9-for-21 = 42.9%), and they shot free throws decently (16-for-24 = 66.7%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (51-39), but they lost the turnover battle (17-13).  They won this game with good shooting, solid rebounding, and good defense (WSU shot 28.8%, 23-for-80).

Who Started?

The starters were Eli Brooks, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, Brandon Johns, Jr., and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson was tied for high scorer for Michigan, with 14 points, and he almost had a double-double, with 9 rebounds.  He only played 23 minutes, so he could have easily had several more points and rebounds.  With the game firmly in hand, Coach Howard rested him, and gave other players a chance to play.

Brooks had 12 points, going 4-for-4 from 3-point range.  Of course, he missed his 3 shots inside the arc, to finish 4-for-7.  He played mostly shooting guard, with a few minutes running the point.

Jones hit double figures, with 10 points on decent shooting (3-for-6 overall, 1-for-2 from 3-point range).  He did a nice job running the offense, with 7 assists, although he did have 4 turnovers.

Houstan also hit double figures, with 10 points.  He didn’t have a great night shooting (3-for-7 overall, 1-for-4 from 3-point range), but he did haul down 5 rebounds.

Johns almost hit double figures, with 8 points.

Moussa Diabate was the only sub to hit double figures, with 14 points, which tied him for high scorer for Michigan.  He was the first player to sub in, and he did a nice job, shooting 6-for-9 and collecting 5 rebounds.

Terrance Williams II almost hit double figures, with 8 points on decent shooting (3-for-5 overall, 1-for-3 from 3-point range).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Nobody looked not-so-good.

Who Else Played?

Kobe Bufkin played for 17 minutes, mostly at shooting guard, with a couple minutes at point guard.  He scored 3 points, shooting 1-for-4 overall, 1-for-3 from 3-point range.

Adrien Nuñez played for 13 minutes, and scored 3 points, shooting 1-for-3, all 3-pointers.

Brandon Wade played for 5 minutes, and scored 2 points, making his only shot attempt inside the arc and missing his only 3-point attempt.

Will Tschetter played for 5 minutes, and scored 2 points, making his only shot attempt.

Isaiah Barnes played for 6 minutes, and went 1-for-2 from the free throw line for 1 point.

Jace Howard played for 5 minutes, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Ian Burns is on the scout team, so he’s a lower priority for minutes.

Frankie Collins is the only scholarship freshman who didn’t play.  He has a groin injury.

Jaron Faulds is on the scout team, so he’s a lower priority for minutes.

Zeb Jackson has an unspecified illness.

What Does It Mean?

What can we learn from an exhibition game against an overmatched opponent?  Not much.  It was nice to see the new players in an actual game, even if it was just an exhibition.  Coach Howard got to try some lineup combinations, but it was too early to see if he has anything interesting in mind.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Wednesday (11/10/2021, 6:30 p.m., BTN) they play Buffalo in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (11/13/2021, 8:00 p.m., BTN) they play Prairie View A&M in Washington, DC.

Buffalo was 16-9 last season, 12-5 in the MAC.  They didn’t have any impressive wins, and they lost in the 1st round of the NIT.  They don’t have any superstar players on their roster, but they do have decent height, with 6’10” and 6’11” centers.  This should be a decent test for Michigan, but one they can pass if they stay focused.

Prairie View A&M was 16-5 last season, 13-0 in the SWAC.  They didn’t have any impressive wins, and they lost in their conference tournament, so they didn’t go on to postseason play.  They don’t have any superstar players, and they don’t have much height.  This is a game Michigan should win handily.

So, why is Michigan playing Prairie View A&M in Washington, DC?  This game is part of a project called “Coaches vs. Racism”, which will match up Big 10 schools against HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in basketball.  The first game in the series is this one between Michigan and Prairie View A&M.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

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