The No. 4 Michigan Wolverines are heading home from their now annual West Coast trip with two more wins, including beating Oregon on Saturday evening, 81-71.
Led by head coach Dana Altman since 2010, the Ducks have been selected to be in the NCAA Tournament nine times, including a Final Four appearance in 2017. He is one of three active head coaches to have a winning season 28 years in a row, but that’s in jeopardy this season. The Ducks are two games below .500 and are going to be without point guard
Jackson Shelstad and center Nate Bittle for a while as they nurse injuries.
Oregon came out with more energy than Michigan did, and an offensive drought late in the first half allowed the Ducks to go into the break with a 41-40 lead. But Michigan flipped a switch in that first half, defending better top create good transition looks and shooting 60 percent from the field to help Michigan jump out to a double-digit lead and win on the road.
Between this game and the Washington win, we haven’t seen Michigan win with ease like it did in non-conference play. But make no mistake, winning both games in the West Coast trip is a tall task in the new Big Ten, but Michigan was able to survive.
Here are some takeaways from the victory.
A tale of two halves
While Michigan created a lot of open looks, a few offensive cold spells and a lack of scoring inside didn’t allow the lead to balloon by more than 11 points. With Michigan playing smaller with Morez Johnson Jr. in foul trouble, Oregon won the points in the paint in the first half (16-10). Michigan played decent, but also lacked energy at times, not scoring a field goal in the last 6:42 of the half.
Michigan woke up to start the half, with a few threes and a few buckets from Aday Mara to help Michigan jump out to a pivotal 53-47 lead after a quick 7-0 run. Michigan kept pounding the ball inside to Mara, whose eight second-half points were a huge help. Key buckets from L.J. Cason and Roddy Gayle Jr. helped Michigan keep Oregon at an eight-point arms length for the middle part of the second half.
Every time Oregon tried to climb back, Michigan knocked down a big bucket and followed it up with great defense. The Wolverines racked up seven blocks and made life hell for the Ducks in the second half.
It’s great Michigan is able to flip a switch like it did, but it shouldn’t have put itself in that hole to begin with. Obviously a 16-1 record is impressive, but Michigan hasn’t played well for all 40 minutes since the McNeese win a few weeks ago. The Big Ten schedule is tough, but I’m sure I’m not the only one that wants to see more complete performances from this team.
Balanced scoring with Burnett leading the way
The Wolverines are at their best when the scoring is balanced like it was on Saturday. Michigan spread the wealth early on, with eight players scoring in the first seven minutes. The one Wolverine who stepped up early was Nimari Burnett, who knocked down two three-pointers and scored on two lay-ups to become the first Michigan player to reach double-digit points late in the first half.
Burnett also knocked down his first three in the half with a signature catch-and-shoot wing three and cut well to the basket, with Mara finding him for an easy deuce. He was clearly in a rhythm, and Michigan badly needed his contributions.
Burnett was efficient with 15 points on 10 shots, but it was a relatively balanced scoring attack, with Cadeau and Mara scoring 17 points and 12 points, respectively. Yaxel Lendeborg, Cason, Johnson and Will Tschetter each had six or more points as well.
A pair of Ducks were problems on both ends
With Shelstad and Bittle out, Kwame Evans, Sean Stewart and Wei Lin picked up the slack.
Evans brought energy on the offensive glass and was scoring early and often, accounting for 12 of Michigan’s first 17 points in the first 12 minutes. He also played good defense as part of Oregon’s zone, a big reason why the Wolverines finished the half with nine turnovers.
Stewart was a big reason Oregon took the lead towards the end of the half, getting up to 12 points, including knocking down his first three-point attempt of the season. Lin was also a reliable scorer in the first half, knocking down six of his 11 first-half points from the free throw line.
Evans, Stewart and Lin combined to score 24 of Oregon’s 41 points in the first 20 minutes and for 40 points in the entire game, with Stewart posting a new career-high (22 points). That group was much quieter in the second half, but they were the biggest reason Oregon hung tough for a while.
A good day from three thanks to good ball movement
One part of Michigan’s dominant first half of the season that hasn’t been talked about enough is its elite ball movement, reminiscent of the dominant San Antonio Spurs teams from the 2000s and 2010s. The Wolverines found the open man early and knocked down threes at a reliable clip, knocking down five of their first 12 attempts (42 percent) to jump out to a 17-9 lead in the first eight minutes.
Burnett and Cadeau knocked down Michigan’s first two attempts from three at the half to jumpstart the Michigan offense out of that funk to end the first half. Michigan shot well from three in the second half, with a corner three from Tschetter looking like the dagger that gave Michigan a 10-point lead late.
Michigan finished the game with 15 assists and knocked down 39 percent of its attempts from deep. The Wolverines created a lot of good catch-and-shoot looks and knocked them down, which is not always a given in Big Ten road games.
Smaller lineup on display
Johnson sat for a large portion of the first half with three fouls, forcing Michigan out of the super-sized lineup that has given teams fits all season long. Michigan was forced to play a smaller lineup, with Tschetter at the 5 and Lendeborg at the 5. The lineup had mixed results; the Wolverines were able to create shots reliably, but Oregon took advantage of a more open paint and took the ball right to the rim.
The offense is a lot worse without consistent contributions from Johnson and Mara, as they combined for just five points in 19 minutes of first-half action. Without Johnson’s post presence and Mara’s passing ability, Michigan didn’t score a lot in the paint early on.
The bigs playing more in the second half helped Michigan take control. As conference play continues, I’d like to see the Wolverines sprinkle in the smaller lineup more often in case foul trouble rears its ugly head come tournament play.
Up Next
The Wolverines head home for two games at Crisler Center this week. Michigan faces Indiana on Tuesday, Jan. 20 (7 p.m., Peacock) and Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 23 (8 p.m., FOX). The festivities of that Friday game will also include Trey Burke’s jersey being honored — not retired — before the game.
