The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one (exhibition) game this past week, and they won it.  On Friday (10/25/2024), they beat Toledo 96-92 in Crisler Arena.  Since it was only an exhibition game, Michigan’s record is still 0-0.

What Happened?

Toledo has a pretty good team, but Michigan is obviously better.  However, Michigan made lots of mistakes, and let Toledo hang around and keep the outcome in doubt until the final seconds.  It was not a pretty win.  Still, Michigan showed some resilience and didn’t panic when the game got tense.  The game was tense because of their own mistakes.

Game Flow

Toledo led for most of the first 6 minutes.  The game was all tied up (10-10) with 13:41 to go, when Michigan took the lead for the first time, 13-10.  The score was still tied up (20-20) at the 10:14 mark, when Michigan went ahead for good, 22-20.  They pushed the lead up to 9 points (31-22) with 7:52 left in the half, then let Toledo creep back within 3 points (33-30) at the 5:01 mark.  They closed out the half strong with a 17-8 run, making the score 50-38 at halftime.

The 2^nd half was even for the first 5 minutes, with Michigan still leading by 12 points (58-46) with 15:02 left.  Toledo cut the deficit in half and got within 6 points (58-52) at the 14:08 mark, then within 4 points (61-57) with 12:43 to go.  Michigan pushed the lead back up to 12 points (71-59) at the 9:48 mark, and kept it between 8-10 points for the next 4 minutes.  Once again, Toledo cut into the lead, getting within 4 points (78-74) with 5:28 left.  Michigan got the lead back up to 9 points (83-74) at the 4:57 mark, and it looked like they were finally going to put the game away.  Hah!  They kept turning the ball over, and Toledo got within 1 point (83-82) with 3:13 left.  Michigan settled down for a couple minutes, and got the lead back up to 8 points (93-85) with 0:34 left.  That should have been it, but they let Toledo hang around and get within 4 points again, 93-89 with 0:27 to go.  That was as close as they got, and Michigan hung on for a 4-point win.  It should have been about 20 points, but oh well…

Stats

The game stats were pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (32-for-68 = 47.1%), they shot 3-pointers well (9-for-22 = 40.9%), and they shot free throws well (23-for-27 = 85.2%).  They won the rebounding battle (39-30) and the turnover battle (15-17).  They won this game with good shooting and rebounding.

Who Started?

The starters were Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, Rubin Jones, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

Gayle was the leading scorer of the starters, with 20 points on decent shooting: 5-for-10 overall, 1-for-3 from deep.  He looked pretty good driving to the hoop.

Goldin was the only other starter in double figures, with 13 points on decent shooting: 4-for-9.  He got the ball down low on the block several times, but doesn’t have the moves that we got used to with Hunter Dickinson to turn and put the ball in the basket.  The Toledo defenders kept him just far enough from the basket that he either took a slightly longer shot than he liked and missed it, or he was forced to pass the ball back out.  If he can develop those finishing moves underneath, he can be a weapon that Michigan can run their offense through.

Wolf almost hit double figures, with 9 points on mediocre shooting: 3-for-9 overall, 1-for-3 from deep.  He also tied for most rebounds, with 7.  He actually looks more comfortable underneath with the ball than Goldin.  He certainly appears to have more moves.  He also looked very comfortable bringing the ball up court in fast-break situations.

L.J. Cason tied for high-scorer honors with 20 points, off the bench.  He shot very well: 6-for-7 overall, 4-for-4 from deep, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.  He also had 4 rebounds.  He was the spark that pulled Michigan away from Toledo in the 1^st half, when he hit a pair of 3-pointers and a pair of layups in just over 3 minutes.  He came in again later in the half and hit another pair of 3-pointers and a pair of free throws in just over 3 minutes, giving him 18 points in the 1^st half.  He didn’t do much in the 2^nd half, with just a pair of free throws, but still, it was quite a performance.

Will Tschetter had another solid game off the bench, with 12 points on good shooting: 5-for-8.  He also tied for most rebounds, with 7.

Sam Walters was the 5^th Michigan player in double figures, with 11 points off the bench on decent shooting: 4-for-8 overall, 2-for-6 from deep.

Nimari Burnett had 7 points off the bench, on decent shooting: 3-for-7 overall, 1-for-2 from deep.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Donaldson scored 2 points on terrible shooting: 1-for-8 overall, 0-for-3 from deep.  He did a decent job running the offense, with 5 assists against 3 turnovers.

Jones didn’t contribute much, with 0 points on 0-for-1 shooting (a 3-pointer) in 21 minutes of action.

Who Else Played?

Phat Phat Brooks played for 3 minutes, and scored 2 points.

Who Didn’t Play?

None of the Scout Team players played in this game: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

There are two injured players who didn’t play in this game: Jace Howard and Justin Pippen.

What Does It Mean?

This exhibition game was a much better test for Michigan.  Toledo has some ballers, and they certainly didn’t give up when Michigan built up a small lead.  They kept clawing their way back into the game, forcing Michigan to play for the full 40 minutes.  That’s good practice.

Is Michigan ready for their challenging non-conference schedule?  Maybe?  The team chemistry could still use some work, and Coach May needs to solidify his substitution patterns and player combinations.  He’s got a lot of diverse talents to juggle, and it will be interesting to see how he does with this.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan doesn’t play any games!  What?  That never happens once the regular season starts, but there’s quite a gap between the last exhibition game and the first regular season game.

Check back next week for a preview of Michigan’s regular season opener vs. Cleveland State, and their first road game, vs. Wake Forest, in Greensboro, NC.

Go Blue!