Man, this team has been fun to watch since the beginning.
Three games and three losses for the Michigan men’s basketball team this season. In their first road game of the season, the Wolverines defeated St. John’s 89-73.
Here are some takeaways from the dominant win.
Michigan passes its first real test with flying colors
While Michigan’s first two wins of the season against UNC Asheville and Youngstown State were encouraging, the Wolverines did what they were supposed to and dominated a middling opponent.
This was their first real test of the season; a road contest against legendary coach Rick Pitino and a St. John’s team picked by the conference’s coaches to finish fifth in the Big East. We’ve seen Michigan teams fail at such tests the last few seasons, but they succeeded in this one.
They set the tone with a fast pace and used several 8-0 runs to build a double-digit lead. They were particularly dominant in the second half, forcing the Red Storm to miss nine of their first 12 attempts. A 22-5 run midway through the second half helped the Wolverines turn this game into a blowout.
This Michigan team is real. These guys play fast, shoot the ball well, have size and have scorers all over the field. The Wolverines received two votes in the latest AP poll, and after this impressive performance, it’s almost certain they’ll get more votes next Monday. It wouldn’t shock me if they were in the top 25 this time next week.
Dug McDaniel is more than just a scorer
McDaniel was once again solid in this game (career high: 26 points, seven assists, six rebounds) and has settled into the role of point guard wonderfully.
Not only does he score well from the field; He played like a veteran point guard in this game, thriving at a fast pace, making good decisions, driving to the stand and getting to the free throw line and scoring eight points from the charity stripe. I also like how quick he is while still being under control, both in the half court and when breaking the press. He was the best player on the court at Madison Square Garden.
McDaniel got away with simply being a scorer in many games last season, but he has really made strides in many traditional point guard qualities.
Burnett was a beast
The first media timeout didn’t come until 12:25 of the first half, and Nimari Burnett was on fire during that time, scoring 15 points in the first seven and a half minutes of play. He finished his career with 21 points, all in the first half.
Burnett was relatively quiet offensively early this season, especially compared to the other starters. But he felt it in the first half when he knocked down threes, shot from mid-range and confidently brought them to the basket.
This solid all-around offensive play is why Burnett was a five-star player and a McDonald’s All-American in 2020. He’s struggled with injuries and general inconsistency throughout his college career, but on Monday night he was really able to get it done.
Tarris Reed Jr. wasn’t perfect, but he did a lot of dirty work
With Olivier Nkamhoua struggling with foul trouble for most of this game, Reed spent a lot of time as the only big player on the field and delivered his best performance of the season so far.
Reed did a great job protecting the rim — he led the Wolverines with three blocks — staying on the counters in front of the guards and timing his jumps perfectly to block shots. He also led the Wolverines with 11 rebounds and had five points, including a nice two-handed jam in traffic after blocking an offensive rebound.
Michigan played so well that Reed didn’t have to contribute much offense. He was the anchor of the defense, and although he gave up a few offensive rebounds and missed a few balls inside, I thought he held his own in the paint on both ends of the court. Maybe he’s Michigan’s version of Ben Wallace.
Michigan needs to get better on the glass
Michigan didn’t have many problems offensively in this game, but the Wolverines helped the Red Storm stay in this game by failing to rebound well, especially in the first half.
In the first 20 minutes, Michigan had more rebounds overall (20-19), but St. John’s ran down the offensive boards well, scoring 17 second-chance points in the first half, 13 more than the Wolverines. During the game, St. John’s had almost twice as many second chance points (33-14) and ultimately won the battle on the boards (47-39), despite losing quite narrowly.
A large portion of those second-chance points came when Reed came off the floor and Michigan got rolling with a smaller lineup and Tschetter at center. However, Michigan needs to do a better job of boxing out and collecting boards, especially against some of the bigger Big Ten teams.
Next
Michigan travels to the Bahamas next week to compete in Battle 4 Atlantis for the first time since winning the tournament in 2019. But first, the Wolverines host Long Beach State at the Crisler Center on Friday, November 17th. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on B1G+.
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