5 Takeaways From Michigan’s Win Over McNeese

McNeese isn’t a pushover mid-major program by any means, and Michigan knows that all too well. In 2023, the Cowboys walked into Crisler Center and took down the Wolverines. Even with their former head coach Will Wade leaving for NC State prior to this season, McNeese has remained a top-tier mid-major team. 

Entering Monday night’s bout with the Wolverines, the Cowboys ranked No. 46 in the NET, which would make them an above-average Big Ten team in terms of that metric specifically. But Michigan wasn’t fazed, and it dismantled McNeese with relative ease by a final score of 112-71.

The Wolverines were up by 31 at half, 60-29, but if that wasn’t enough to seal the game, they came out in the second half and went on a 16-0 run in under four minutes. Michigan cruised from that point onward, eventually crossing the 100-point barrier for the sixth time in seven games.

With Big Ten play on the horizon, here are five key takeaways from the Wolverines’ win…

Michigan shot 45 free throws in the game, and it made 31 of them. Especially in the first half, the Wolverines lived at the charity stripe, attempting 27 free throws to McNeese’s two.

Michigan didn’t make them at the clip that it’d hoped, but getting the stripe 45 times in a game is a good recipe for a victory. While it’s not an exact science, the team that shoots more free throws tends to have a better chance to win the game. It makes sense: ‘Free’ points are a nice treat.

The second half was a bit of a different story, as the Cowboys shot 24 free throws to the Wolverines’ 18, but most of McNeese’s free throw attempts came in the final eight minutes of the game when Michigan started to empty its bench.

The Wolverines’ trend of passing around the leading scorer role continued, and this time, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. took the reins. He finished his night with 24 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, all in just 21 minutes on the court.

Johnson doesn’t necessarily need to score to be effective — his size and athleticism provides enough value in itself — but he has proven that he is quite adept at putting the ball in the basket. Whether it be a face-up in the high post, a stick-back offensive board, or a traditional back-to-the-basket look, Johnson can do just about everything in the paint.

It seems Johnson is getting more comfortable in head coach Dusty May’s system, and it’s really showing on the court.

Michigan holds opponents to the lowest two-point field goal percentage of any team in the country, with opponents shooting just 38.2% inside the arc — the average team is shooting 51.2%.

A large contributing factor to this stat is the Wolverines’ sheer size. With a starting lineup consisting of a 7-foot-3 center and two 6-foot-9 forwards, trying to get a layup off uncontested is a futile goal. Junior center Aday Mara averages 2.6 blocks a game, good for 10th in the country, while Johnson and graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg add 1.4 and 1.3, respectively. And if the trio isn’t blocking the shot, they’re probably altering it, making clean looks nonexistent.

This size combined with the Wolverines’ willingness to let teams shoot midrange jumpers is a big reason as to why they have been so successful on the defensive end. They run teams off the 3-point line, but they have such good shot blockers down low that opponents are forced to settle for tough twos.

A small, nitpicky issue that Michigan has had at points this season is allowing too many offensive rebounds. Monday night, McNeese grabbed 17 offensive boards, which is too many, especially considering the Wolverines’ size advantage.

In Michigan’s defense, the Cowboys shot, and missed, a lot of 3-pointers — eight makes on 34 attempts, to be exact — and missed threes tend to result in long rebounds. Long rebounds, in return, are more likely to result in offensive boards. Still, there were several moments where Michigan simply fell asleep or didn’t crash the glass hard enough.

McNeese only scored 12 second chance points, but against Big Ten opponents, 17 offensive rebounds might not be so benign.

Michigan’s bout with McNeese was its last non-conference tune-up before Big Ten play gets into full swing. The Wolverines have already had two in-conference matchups, but a series of much stingier opponents await.

It starts with No. 24 USC at home on Friday, which should provide a real test. While Michigan has looked nearly unbeatable for the better part of two months now, the chance that the Wolverines stay undefeated in conference play is quite slim, and there’s a good shot that they go into a slump at some point in the season. It’s not really a matter of ‘if’ the slump happens, rather, it’s how will they bounce back from it?

The Big Ten slate offers an array of unique challenges, but it seems that this squad is as prepared as ever.