Michigan basketball cleans up the turnover (finally) with a 72-49 win

On November 22, 2024By Littum

Perhaps the loudest cheer of the night from the Crisler Center crowd came after a fan in the student section was shown on the video board with a white board with a reminder: Five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan.

The news came about two hours before tip-off on Thursday and was all the buzz inside the hoops arena, where the Michigan basketball team also had a game and Dusty May’s crew did enough against an overmatched Tarleton State team in a 72-49 victory.

“It’s nice to end our home run with a win, another game, I feel we’ve learned something about ourselves,” May said. “This was a game we needed. Coach (Billy) Gillespie, he makes his guys play physical. . . . Because where we’ve been and what we’ve struggled with, it’s allowed us to really put emphasis on care. of basketball.”

Turnovers have been an early problem for the Wolverines (4-1) and were again early Thursday with seven in the first half before largely cleaning up, with just three after halftime. Fortunately for Michigan, which ranks No. 349 in turnover assessment per Kenpom, it played one of the few teams in the nation that turned it around more: Tarleton State entered as the No. 364 (out of 364 teams).

Michigan forced 24 giveaways Thursday, resulting in 28 points, including 13 on the fast break. The Texans also struggle on the glass – entering last Thursday, they allowed opponents to rebound 45.9% of their misses. UM just came close, with 13 offensive boards on 31 misses (41.9%), giving them 13 second-chance points.

And like the Wolverines’ other games, the scoring was balanced, with four players in double figures. Roddy Gayle Jr. had a team-high 16 points, Tre Donaldson had 13 points and five assists, Sam Walters also had 13 points and Vlad Goldin scored 12.

Michigan had its worst shooting night from beyond the arc, making six of 22 (27.2%) and also making just 16 of 23 (69.6%) free throws.

“It was a strange game where we didn’t convert very well around the rim,” May said. “We didn’t make our open rhythm shots, we missed some front ends, and for us to still have that margin with all that’s going on is a testament to our guys.”

UM looked to be on its way to an easy win early, scoring the first six points en route to an 11-3 blitz. That’s when the turnovers began and Tarleton got hot off the floor.

Seven early Michigan giveaways led to 11 transition points in the first half; that included a bad pass from Danny Wolf that led to a runout the other way and gave the Texans a temporary 24-23 lead. Of course, Tarleton State was only within reach to take the lead because Bubu Benjamin couldn’t miss early. He hit four 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes of play as Tarleton opened the game 5-for-6 from deep. He finished with a team-high 15 points.

But Michigan would settle down and end the half on an 11-2 run as Gayle Jr made a pair of layups around a pair of Walters 3-pointers; the second of which came off an offensive rebound and prompted some emphatic applause from May.

Tarleton was only down 10 at halftime, despite having as many turnovers (11) as field goals, but it couldn’t sustain its 71% 3-pointer rate or its 50% clip from the floor.

“I think our luck hasn’t been great,” May said of opponents’ 3s. “We think in the long run these bumps and bruises and bad luck will pay off because it always turns around. Anyone who’s been to Vegas knows you can’t be on that kind of luck for long.”

After the break, Michigan turned up the heat and implemented intermittent full-court pressure, forcing two 10-second fouls in the first three minutes of the half. That spurred a 10-0 start that included four points from Goldin. UM seemed to make a concerted effort to get him the ball, but he still seemed off; he finished 4-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the free throw line.

“I thought he played one of his better floor games; as far as not converting around the rim, that’s tough,” May said. “Those are shots he usually converts and they don’t drop. It’s like anything else in sports: You hit a line drive and it’s right at the shortstop. . . . He wishes he had a few possessions left , but we’re not going to spend a lot of time and energy worrying about the images that go in.

“We want to generate those shots over and over and over. … We’re very confident that when the time is right, he’s going to make a high percentage of those shots.”

But the highlight of the run was a left-sided pass from Donaldson to Wolf in transition, celebrated by the point guard who threw up his glasses with his hands.

Michigan’s lead grew to 20, 54-34, before going cold from the floor. May’s group missed seven consecutive shots and went 4 minutes, 50 seconds without a point, allowing Tarleton to go on a 6-0 run to get back within 14. But when Gayle threw down a slam with 10 :13 left, was UM. back on track.

It didn’t help the visitors that starting point guard Izzy Miles, who scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds, fouled out with 9:22 left. The Texans got as close as 13, but a quick 9-0 run capped by five Walters points extended UM’s lead to 22.

After the contest, UM’s players got into a postgame lift — they’re leaving early for Fort Myers tip-off next week, and the hotel gym won’t be conducive to what the team needs — as they prepare for Monday’s tipoff against Virginia Tech .

“Got to get some vitamin D,” May, the former Florida Atlantic head coach, said of his impending return to Florida.