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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #02 – 10/20/2025 – Dusty Gets His Wish

The (#7) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one (exhibition) game this past week, and they lost it.  On Friday (10/17/2025), they lost to Cincinnati 100-98 in Crisler Arena.   Since it was just an exhibition game, Michigan’s record is still 0-0.

What Happened?

Before the game, head coach Dusty May said that he hoped that Michigan would lose an exhibition game.  He got his wish.  I understand what he meant: he was hoping that Michigan would play a team good enough to beat them, instead of the normal “cupcake” teams that Michigan usually schedules for their exhibition games.  He wanted to have any weaknesses exposed in a game that doesn’t count in the team’s win-loss record, so that they know what to work on before the games count.  Mission accomplished.  There were several weaknesses exposed, and now Dusty needs to figure out how to address them.  It was sad to lose a home game and give up 100 points, but it was only an exhibition.

In all fairness, Michigan was missing a couple key players due to minor injuries, and the officiating was, let’s say, interesting.  The refs called way too many fouls, so there was very little rhythm and flow to the game.  It will be interesting to see how Michigan does with a full roster and reasonable officials.

Game Flow

Cincinnati led for most of the game, except for a brief period in the 1st half when Michigan led.  Cinci was ahead 5-0 and 7-3, but Michigan went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 11-7 at the 16:56 mark.  They were still ahead, 15-11, with 12:41 to go, then they went to sleep.  Cinci went on a 10-6 run, and went ahead for good, 21-17 at the 8:45 mark.  They pushed their lead as high as 20 points in the 1st half, 52-32, with 0:27 to go, and led by 18 at halftime, 52-34.  It was an ugly half.

The 2nd half was better.  Michigan cut the lead down to 11 points pretty quickly: 57-46 at the 17:11 mark.  Cinci kept the lead in the 10-14 range for the next 5 minutes, but Michigan finally got it down to single digits (69-60) with 12:04 to go.  UM kept chipping away at the deficit, and got within 2 points (86-84) with 4:23 left.  That was as close as they got.  They had the ball down 2 points a couple times, but they just couldn’t get the ball to go in the basket.  Cinci made their free throws in the final minute, and a last-second 3-pointer by Michigan made the score look closer than it really was.

Stats

For some reason, Michigan didn’t post stats for this game, but I found them on Cincinnati’s website.

The game stats were just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (24-for-50 = 48.0%), they shot 3-pointers decently (9-for-32 = 28.1%), and they shot free throws very well (41-for-48 = 85.4%).  They won the rebounding battle (33-29), but lost the turnover battle (20-16).  They lost this game with mediocre shooting and lax defense.

Who Started?

The starters were Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Roddy Gayle Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Will Tschetter.

Who Looked Good?

Lendeborg was the star of the game for Michigan, with 31 points and 12 rebounds, for a solid double-double.  He shot well overall (10-for-16), but not from 3-point range (2-for-7).  He was 9-for-9 from the free throw line.  He was the best player out there.

Gayle was the 2nd highest scorer for Michigan, with 18 points.  He shot well overall (4-for-6), but only 1-for-3 from deep.  He was 9-for-11 from the free throw line.  Unfortunately, he led Michigan with 8 turnovers.  Yikes.

Tschetter was the 3rd leading scorer for Michigan, with 15 points.  He shot 3-for-5 overall, all 3-pointers, which is good, but he also had a technical foul, which is not so good.

Cadeau was the only other Michigan player in double figures, with 14 points.  He was perfect from the floor (1-for-1), and got his other points at the free throw line (12-for-15).

Winters Grady only played for 13 minutes off the bench, but he made the most of it, scoring 6 points on 2-for-4 shooting, all from deep.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Burnett had a mediocre game, scoring 7 points on poor shooting: 2-for-7 overall, 1-for-6 from deep.

L.J. Cason came in a few times, but didn’t do much.  He scored 4 points in 14 minutes.  He could be a key player this season, so he needs to get going.

Trey McKenney played like a freshman in his first college game.  He wasn’t afraid to shoot, but he couldn’t buy a basket.  He ended up with 1 point (1-for-2 on free throws) on terrible shooting: 0-for7 overall, 0-for-6 from deep.  He shot 55% overall and 42% from deep his senior year in high school, so he knows how to make a basket.  First game nerves?

Who Else Played?

Oscar Goodman was the first player off the bench, for what that’s worth.  He scored 2 points in 7 minutes.

Malick Kordel played for 3 minutes, but didn’t attempt a shot.  I was surprised that Coach May didn’t have him in there more often, since Cinci had a much bigger lineup, but maybe he’s not ready yet.  He didn’t play enough to get an idea of how good he is.

Ricky Liburd played for 3 minutes, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara are the two mainstream players who didn’t play in this game.  Apparently, they both have minor injuries.

None of the Scout Team players played: Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.  Who else will end up on the Scout Team?  Liburd?  Kordel?

What Does It Mean?

Not much.  It was just an exhibition game.  On the one hand, it was discouraging to see Michigan fall behind so quickly and so far in the 1st half, but on the other hand, it was encouraging to see them fight back and almost get the win.

This Week

This week, Michigan only plays one game.  On Saturday (10/25/2025, 7:00 p.m., BTN+) they play (#5) St. John’s in Madison Square Garden, in New York City.  This is another exhibition game.

St. John’s was 31-5 (18-2 in the Big East).  They won the Big East tournament, and were a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  They lost in the 2nd round to a #10 seed, Arkansas.  They are highly ranked (#5) this season, and they have a solid roster, with a couple 6’11” players.  This is going to be a very challenging game for Michigan, especially if they play the way they did vs. Cincinnati.

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

Go Blue!

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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #25 – 03/31/2025 – And Then The Roof Fell In

The (#22) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game as the #5 seed in the South Region of the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament in Atlanta this past week, and they lost it.  On Friday (03/28/2025), they lost to the #1 seed (#4) Auburn 78-65.   Michigan’s final record for this season is 27-10 (14-6 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

They had it.  They were playing Auburn evenly, and they had built up a decent lead.  All they had to do was keep the game close until the under-4:00 timeout, and they stood a good chance of spinning their close-game-end-of-game magic.  And then the roof fell in.  They went from a 9-point lead to a 9-point deficit in mere minutes, and the game was over.  It was so sad, a sad way to end a very successful season.

Don’t get me wrong: Auburn is very good, and deserved to win this game, but Michigan had played such a solid, strategic game up until the moment the roof fell in, it was a shame that it just abandoned them so suddenly and so completely.

Game Flow

The first half was close and tense, with many ties and lead changes, and neither team getting ahead by more than 4 points.  Michigan led 29-28 with 2:33 left in the half, and Auburn scored with 34 seconds left to go into halftime up by one point, 30-29.  Michigan went ahead early in the 2nd half (32-30), and Auburn tied it up (32-32).  Michigan went ahead again, and started to pull away.  They had a 6-point lead (42-36) at the 14:36 mark, and a 9-point lead (48-39) with 12:26 to go.  That was when the roof fell in.  Auburn suddenly woke up and got hot, and UM went stone cold.  That’s a bad combination.  Auburn got within 1 point (48-47) in just over a minute (11:12 to go), then went ahead for good (49-48) just over a minute after that (9:56 left).  Michigan finally scored again at the 8:52 mark to get within 1 point (51-50), which stopped a 12-0 run, but Auburn rattled off another 8-0 run to make it 59-50 at the 7:27 mark.  So, that was a 20-2 run by Auburn, in just about 5 minutes.  Michigan never recovered.  The Auburn lead got as high as 14 points, and Michigan never got within 10 points again.  That 5 minute stretch ended Michigan’s season.

Stats

The game stats were pretty weak.  Michigan shot poorly overall (21-for-59 = 35.6%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5-for-17 = 29.4%), but they shot free throws pretty well (18-for-24 = 75.0%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (48-33), and they tied in the turnover battle (15-15).  They lost this game with poor shooting and rebounding, and too many turnovers.

Who Started?

The starters were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Vladislav Goldin, Rubin Jones, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

Wolf was the leading scorer, with 20 points.  He was a little careless with the ball, with 4 turnovers.

Goldin’s last game as a Wolverine was a forgettable one: 10 points on terrible shooting (2-for-9 overall, 0-for-1 from deep).  He had 9 rebounds, for an almost-double-double.

Burnett was the only other Michigan player in double figures, with 10 points. 

Roddy Gayle Jr.  had a decent game off the bench, with 7 points.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Jones wasn’t much help in his final game for Michigan, with 6 points.

Donaldson had a lousy game against his old team, with 5 points on terrible shooting (2-for-9 overall, 1-for-3 from deep).

Will Tschetter wasn’t much help off the bench, with 2 points.

Who Else Played?

L.J. Cason chipped in 5 points off the bench.

Phat Phat Brooks played in the final minute, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again in this game.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.  He hasn’t played since 02/08/2025.  It really would have helped to have had him available.

Jace Howard and Justin Pippen were the other scholarship players who didn’t play in this game.

Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May were the Scout Team players who didn’t play in this game.

What Does It Mean?

Season over.  Getting to the Sweet Sixteen was great, but it could have been even better.

What’s Next?

Clean out the lockers.  Season over.

Check back next week for my Season Wrap-up, Final Grades, and a Look Ahead.

Go Blue!

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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL 2018-TRAP AVOIDED AT RUTGERS 42 to 7

The 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines traveled to Piscataway, New Jersey to take on the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University last Saturday.  The Wolverines were a 39.5 favorite.  Rutgers had not won a Big Ten game in six attempts.  The Wolverines had captured 6 straight Big Ten Wins.

Rutgers has not enjoyed a good football season this year under Head Coach Chris Ash, and obviously, the Scarlet Knights aren’t riding high currently, but they believe they are improving.  They have some talented personnel on offense, and special teams.

They proved this by tying the score 7-7 in the first quarter with an 80-yard scamper from scrimmage much to the distress and surprise of both the Wolverines and their fans.

While a group of Wolverines was in close pursuit, they could not catch the speedy Scarlet Knight.  It was a beautiful serpentine run by Rutgers’ Isaih Pacheco for six.

He was in the end zone before the Wolverines caught him but he had the company of several Wolverines as they tackled him in the end zone, including Chase Winovich.  This was the biggest mistake the Wolverines defense made all evening, and they did not make it again.  The same play was stuffed a couple of times later.

The Wolverines do not have a long history against the Scarlet Knights, but have now bested the them four out of their five encounters.

They have only played since Rutgers was admitted to the B1G in 2014.  The one M loss is still celebrated in New Brunswick (campus location), and at Piscataway (stadium location). It was their first Big Ten win after entry into the conference, and a nasty blow to M fans at the time of its occurrence.

That 24-26 loss had an Appalachian State quality about it.  It is not a surprise that it is still celebrated at Rutgers.  Understandable, as anybody would forget a 78-zip loss, and remember their first Big Ten win instead.

THE FIRST COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL GAME WAS AT NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY-Rutgers v Princeton. The sesquicentennial of that 6 to 4 Rutgers victory will occur next year on November 6, 2019.  Wonder how many spectators attended that first game and what the price of admission was, if there was one.

When I read about this on the Rutgers pages there were the usual pejorative comments from disgruntled fans that emanate from struggling programs that are consistently losing.

Slowly but surely, Coach Ash is improving the product.  Only the Buckeye dreadnaught (52-3), and the Badgers torpedoed the Knights badly prior to the Wolverines, this season.

All the pro-Wolverine hype could lull a fan or a team to sleep. The Wolverines had much acknowledged superiority, but fortunately it did not prevent them from giving very satisfactory effort.  This was a classic example of a “trap game”. Only once did the Knights break a significant big play. Rutgers were out jousted and dominated in this tournament.

The Michigan Coaches are to be credited for having the Wolverines ready after three straight tough encounters with ranked teams.  They had both the will and the way to win. As was expected.  Rutgers played hard, had good schemes, and left some bruises.  Coach Jim Harbaugh lauded the efforts of both sides in his post-game press conference, and so did Rutgers, Coach Chris Ash.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE were outstanding against the Knights, although, in truth, it was not one of the best defensive games of the season against the run.

In my opinion, the offensive player of the game was Shea Patterson. He tossed 18 times for 280-yards, and 3 TDs.

Coach Harbaugh said at the post game presser: “He (Patterson) really played well tonight. He just does everything you ask him to do. That was a really tough night to throw the ball, it reminded me of my days back in Solider Field with that wind and conditions. But he made some unbelievable throws with that swirling wind. Also, our receivers did a great job catching the ball in the elements. Our guys continue to do a really good job catching the ball. That was really impressive. Rutgers was doing a good job containing the run game, but the protection was terrific all night. The throw and catch part was difficult with the conditions, but they did it at as high a level as you could have.”

Shea is the “guts and glue” (as the late great Bob Ufer used to say) that holds M’s offense together this year.  He rolled right and left, hit receivers, handed off perfectly, threw for three TDs, threw no interceptions, made good RPO reads, and played in a poised and workmanlike fashion.

That WRs Nico Collins (3/56-yards, two TDs with a long of 36-yards), Donovan Peoples-Jones (5/83 and a long of 32), and Oliver Martin (3/35) made fine catches, kept a toe in bounds when required, and ran intelligent routes helped to make this an outstanding offensive performance.

TE Zach Gentry (3/42, long of 2) made an outstanding leaping catch. Chris Evans and Bell nabbed 3 each, for a combined 41-yards.

The WRs did have a couple of muffs, but they generally overcame the wind and are improving every game.

The OL was up to the task.  They pass protected well and opened hole for a number of backs.

Asked why M was 9 of 13 on third down conversions Rutgers’ Head Coach Chris Ash addressed the subject after the game by stating that “Can’t put it any other way. Good players make good plays. They pass protected well. And some of their play actions, we couldn’t get to the QB, and that’s really the difference”.

The OL also was a benefit to the running game.  In rushing for 2 scores, Karan Higdon blew past 1,000-yards to date for the season. It cannot be said that his game was among Karan’s best.  He did not have the best first half of his career.

Still, it has been a long time since an M RB has accomplished that for the Wolverines. Karan has earned every yard.

The leading rusher was Chris Evans who broke a late game 61-yard TD scamper, Chris ran 6/75-yards and 1 TD, for a 12.5 average. Tru Wilson ran 8/58, long of 15, with a 7.9-yard avg. Karan Higdon was 15/44 with a 2.8 avg.  Martin, Hewlett, Edwards Bell, Mason and Milton also carried.  The group totaled  40 carries for 204-yards, 3 TDs, and a 4.8-yard average.

The Wolverines totaled 453-yards of offense to Rutgers’ 252, Rutgers had only 59-yards through the air.

The Wolverines continue to show improvement game by game.

Chris Ash said that Rutgers’ had their best rushing performance in a long, long time, with but one “misfit” that occasioned Chris Evan’s 61-yard bee line to the end zone.  Other than that, he (Ash) thought they played a really good run game, and that it was their best rushing of the year.  Said the Wildcat helped some, and was part of the game plan.

The M defense was effective enough to win big on this afternoon, but maybe a little less aggressive than they were in the prior three games against the run. Against the passing attack they were lights out.

It is no surprise that after the three-game revenge tour they could have a little let down in crushing the running game.  The longest Rutgers play of the passing game was a trick play to a second- string Rutgers QB, Giovanni Rescigno, that went for 19-yards.

This is beginning to look like a consistently productive offense and defense. As good or better than any in the Big Ten.  I am certain Don Brown will cure any dysfunctions in the run defense by Hoosier time.

HOW THEY SCORED:  Rutgers received the Kick Off, and then the teams traded blows with no scoring effect for most of the 1st quarter until the 45 second mark.  Karan then ran it in from the 1 yard-line for a TD to complete an 8 play 59-yard drive. TE Zach Gentry had a 16-yard catch, Higdon, Evans and Mason got it to the one via short runs before Karan ran it in.  M-7, R-0.

Some seconds later Rutgers’ Pacheco breezed 80-yards to score via Rutgers’ best play of the game. M-7, R-7.  It was a most beautiful execution of a zone read play.

The Wolverines answered in the second quarter on another Higdon  1-yard TD run.   That completed a 12-play 65-yard drive.  Shea Patterson completed passes to Martin Oliver (7-yards),  Ronnie Bell (12-yards), Donovan Peoples-Jones (9-yards) to move the ball to the Rutgers  20. A couple of short runs and Higdon scored again.  This series was an example of Shea’s value to the Wolverines at the QB position. M-14, R-7

Next it was the Nico Collins show, as he caught a great throw by Patterson in the end zone.  Both the throw and the catch were perfection. This completed a 6-play, 53-yard drive for 6.  Collins had previously contributed to the drive with a 10-yard catch. M-21, R-7.

The half ended at the above score with the Wolverines firmly in control and receiving to start the second half.

Patterson went to the air again, and with effect.  First came an in-completion, then Gentry nabbed a 21-yard pass to the M 49. Peoples-Jones caught one for 32-yards. Oliver Martin was wide open in the end zone as the Wolverines made it look easy. It was a 6 play, 53-yard drive.  M-28, R-7.

The next M scoring drive started with a 13-yard Tru Wilson run. He then toted two for 8-yard each, and one for three.  Tru had his best Michigan performance in this game. A ten-yard pass to Collins got the score, completing the 5 play 43-yard drive. M-35, R-7.

The Wolverines finished the scoring for the game with a Chris Evans dash up the middle for 61-yards and the TD.  It seems that he is finally back to 100% after an injury plagued season. Good timing.

The Final was M-42, R-7

TAKEAWAY: This was a much-needed game for the Wolverines.  The offense was relatively ineffective running the ball, so Shea Patterson showed them the way to a win through the air.  This was a definite trap game, and the Wolverines prevailed, giving up only one big play, They can be happy with the result,

While the Northwestern Wildcats have clawed their way to Indy, the fate of the Wolverines regarding the West Division title is still in the making.  They must beat Indiana at home next week end, and the Columbus denizens in their lair the next week to face the Wildcats in Indy.

You can bet that the team and their coaches, are correctly taking it one game at a time, and are seeing only IU Red at this time, but the bigger picture can now come into view for fans.  In the shadows, beyond the Hoosier Red, one can catch glimpses of Scarlet tinged with Gray.  Even deeper into the shadows there lies a snarling Wildcat.

Michigan sorely needs to be in the Big Ten Championship title game.  They need a shot at another Big Ten Championship soon.  Some of us are getting old.

I think this set of Wolverines is up to the task.  They have the required coaching, talent, ability, and the will necessary  to make the required  team effort.

Go Blue!