It was another slug-fest for the Michigan Wolverines, this time going to the buzzer against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, defeating the Horned Frogs, 67-63 late Friday night. It was a game where Michigan shot
43 percent from the field, converted 31 percent of threes and committed 22 turnovers, but in the end, Michigan’s defense and aggression paid off, and the Wolverines survived and advanced.
Here is how it went down.
First Half
The Wolverines came out extremely sloppy in Fort Worth, shooting just two-for-eight from the field and going over six minutes without making a single shot. Meanwhile, TCU came to play against the No. 6 team in the country, turning seven forced turnovers into 16 early points, taking an eight point lead seven minutes into the game.
Desperate to change something up, head coach Dusty May went to his bench early, with L.J. Cason, Trey McKenney, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Will Tschetter all getting early minutes. Pair that with a zone defense look, and it was a recipe for success. Despite the shots still not falling, Michigan became more aggressive, getting down low on a smaller TCU team and forcing nine Horned Frogs team fouls in the first 13 minutes, leading to 12 free throw opportunities and going on a small 7-0 run to cut the deficit to three at the under-eight timeout.
At the 7:08 mark of the first half, TCU was reeling on offense, going on its own four-minute scoring drought. As a result, the Wolverines took advantage. By putting the ball in the hands of Yaxel Lendeborg, the UAB transfer made a tough and-one, made the subsequent free throw, and then found point guard Elliot Cadeau for a wide-open three to take a 21-20 advantage, the team’s first lead since 3-0.
However, Michigan’s 28 percent shooting continued to hold the team back, and eventually, TCU started hitting some shots — first from Micah Robinson with an and-one, then Liutauras Lelevicius with a tough bucket and Jayden Pierre hitting a wide-open three to balloon the Horned Frogs’ lead to 35-31.
With one more chance at the end of the half, May called a timeout to draw up a play for Cason, who drove down the lane with seconds left and cut the TCU lead to two with a soft back-rim touch to finish the half.
In a sloppy 20 minutes, the Wolverines managed to hang with the Horned Frogs, going into the break down 35-33, despite 11 turnovers, 38 percent shooting from the field and converting 36 percent of their shots from behind the arc.
Halftime Score: Michigan 33, TCU 35
Second Half
Both teams came out in the second half with some more energy and tempo, trading shots and turnovers to stay within a point four minutes into the period.
However, as Michigan attempted to keep its foot on the pedal defensively, chaos appeared to ensue as Gayle grabbed rebound on the floor, the ball trickling out of bounds on TCU, Johnson getting a technical foul, a coach’s challenge reversing the out of bounds decision, and two free throws being awarded to Robinson (which he made).
Keeping at 42-39, TCU, both teams could not find a rhythm offensively, committing 10 combined turnovers over six minutes, with Michigan getting the short end of the stick as Cadeau and Lendeborg picked up three fouls apiece amid the skid. As a result, the two Michigan leaders found themselves on the bench, forcing the Wolverines’ bench to find a spark.
Over the next four minutes, it was Gayle vs. everybody, as the second-year Michigan man put together four quick points to keep the Wolverines close, until TCU’s Tanner Toolson knocked down a massive three to extend the Horned Frogs lead to six at the 10:59 mark of the second half.
The proceeding four minutes showcased more poor play with both teams unable to score a single point, resulting in May going back to his starters. Four turnovers later, by each team, with a pair of blocks by TCU’s David Punch and Johnson Jr., Mara finally made his second bucket, flushing a dunk to cut the deficit to two, 49-47, with 7:31 remaining.
Needing to find their identity in back-to-back upset alerts, the No. 6 team in the country dug deep. With four fouls committed by Horned Frogs’ Xavier Edmonds, and three by Punch and Robinson, Michigan sought to take advantage of a weaker TCU lineup. Lendeborg started the run with a second-chance layup to tie the game up at 49.
Then, McKenney out-matched Lelevicius with an and-one bucket to take a 52-51 lead. And with some momentum, Johnson added to the Michigan lead with another strong post-move, forcing TCU to call a timeout down 54-51 with just under six minutes to go.
Out of the timeout, the true freshman from Flint kept the foot on the gas pedal, sinking another three to extend the lead to six, leading the Wolverines with 11 points. With another two-minute scoring drought by the Horned Frogs, Michigan’s Johnson Jr. also joined in on the fun, scoring four quick points and grabbing three rebounds in two minutes to get to 10 and 12, respectively, taking a four-point advantage into a timeout with just over a minute-and-a-half to go.
With 96 ticks on the clock, however, the Wolverines started letting the game slip away. After knocking down two free throws, Michigan gave up four points in one possession, committed an offensive foul to turn the ball over for the 22nd time of the game and allowed two more open looks by Toolson. Nonetheless, TCU could not convert to tie the game back up, and Nimari Burnett made two clutch free throws with 18.3 seconds on the clock to keep a two-possession lead, 65-61.
With one more heave, Pierre missed the rim, and Michigan snuck away with its second-straight close win against an unranked opponent.
Final Score: Michigan 67, TCU 63
Michigan stat leaders:
F Yaxel Lendeborg: 14 points, 10 rebounds
F Morez Johnson Jr: 10 points, 12 rebounds
G Trey McKenney: 11 points
G Roddy Gayle Jr.: 10 points, 6 assists
TCU stat leaders:
G Brock Harding: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
F Micah Robinson: 12 points, 3 rebounds
G Tanner Toolson: 10 points
Up next
The Wolverines will have an opportunity to improve to 4-0 as they go back home to face Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday, November 19th at 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
