The Connecticut Huskies will always be remembered fondly in Ann Arbor as the team the Michigan Wolverines took down to earn their first national championship in almost 40 years. Last April’s title game was not the prettiest sight — that is, until the confetti began to fall on one of the most dominant rosters in the sport this century.
Those Wolverines are a closed chapter, however, meaning the championship game rematch this Friday will look very different. The same is somewhat true for the Huskies,
though there is nothing too foreign about entering the season in the top five and eying a return to the Final Four (as seemingly is the case every year). So early in the year, this game is far from make-or-break, but absolutely will impact seeding conversations for both teams in March.
Even more tangibly, this game is a quintessential early measuring stick for these reloaded rosters. Dan Hurley has built this program into the country’s best this decade, and the Huskies will be ready for revenge in a not-so-neutral location. Meanwhile, Mike Boynton faces the first big test of his tenure, where he will show just how close, or far, his squad is from competing with the top of the sport.
No. 16 Michigan (1-0) vs. No. 4 Connecticut (1-0)
Date & Time: Monday, Nov. 2, 6 p.m. ET
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
TV/Streaming: TNT
The last time these two teams met…needs no reminder. Only eight Wolverines logged minutes in the final, with just three of them remaining in college. Elliot Cadeau was 5-for-11 with a couple assists, hitting the first of Michigan’s two shots from deep. Trey McKenney famously hit the other, but was just 2-for-9 on the night, though he did snag eight rebounds. Roddy Gayle had a powerful putback dunk at the end of the first half, then drained out the clock with his heads-up heave of the ball in the season’s final seconds.
Which newcomers will stand out most?
In Indianapolis, Michigan leaned on the Yaxel Lendeborg-Morez Johnson-Aday Mara trio to anchor both ends of the floor, and now turns to JP Estrella and Moustapha Thiam, who are solid players but clear downgrades as of this moment. For UConn, Duke transfer Nik Khamenia and Seton Hall transfer Na’jai Hines will be the ones attempting to replace Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed, respectively.
Without Thiam, Estrella was the feature inside against Oakland and certainly looked the part, posting a double-double. Though it was one game, against a mid-major, Quinn Costello also threw his hat in the ring as a newcomer to watch. The path to victory for the Wolverines this year will involve more outside shooting, and the sharpshooting freshman was not afraid to let it go from deep, taking 10 threes against the Grizzlies, hitting 30 percent of them.
Both Khamenia (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Hines (12 points, 12 rebounds) transitioned smoothly onto their new team on Monday as well. While all of the incoming players and complementary pieces will certainly be a factor, Friday’s showdown could end up a McKenney-Braylon Mullins battle, with the returning offensive weapons shooting early and often in their respective season openers.
How will this offense attack UConn?
Even though the Huskies are typically stout in the paint, I do see the Wolverines giving Thiam and Estrella plenty of looks near the hoop. However, given that the continuity of this team comes from the backcourt, this does feel like a game where Boynton is going to lean on Cadeau and McKenney to a large extent. Maybe this means Cadeau driving and setting up his bigs, but I also expect plenty of jumpshots as well.
It would be great if Thiam could be a huge factor in Boston, though this is an extremely tough game to make a debut. From rebounding to shot blocking to being a target for the guards, Boynton will need the big man to be involved in all areas as much as he can. UConn has been amongst the top 10 teams in two-point defense each of the past five years; this is a great early test for Thiam against a physical interior.
UConn dominated Gardner Webb on Monday, which says absolutely nothing, as the Runnin Bulldogs project to be one of the worst teams in the entire country. Still, one thing to always watch with Hurley’s squad is tempo, as the Huskies’ offense will be very methodical, leading to opponents getting frustrated with the ball themselves. Michigan must be patient and find the right look, as chucking up threes did not work so well in the opener.
Can the defense stand its ground?
The national championship squad was built on a ridiculous two-point differential that featured the second-lowest two-point accuracy by opponents (on the fourth-farthest average distance), while the Michigan offense was the exact opposite. There is going to be a dropoff in this department on both ends of the floor, but rim protection is something to keep an eye on early.
Performances over the preseason showed a heavy regression when it came to defending twos (including an influx of fouls), and while this was not the end of the world against Oakland, UConn offers patience and ball movement that often ends up in a quality look. There is no Mara to worry about in the paint on Friday, putting a lot of pressure on Thiam, and even Estrella and Reed, to make things difficult inside.
As good as Mullins and Silas Demary (and Khamenia) can be from range, it is the interior defense I am most curious to see. The personnel is different, but I think back to how Duke kept winning inside last February, especially when it came to rebounding. Michigan obviously was fine against UConn in April, but do not expect a defensive performance to that level given what we have seen so far.
