In the team’s second home game of the week, the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines took down the William & Mary Tribe, 123-79.
The second of Michigan’s five buy games on the schedule, William & Mary (2-1) was picked to finish sixth in the CAA in the conference’s preseason poll. The Tribe entered this game ranked 173rd in KenPom after beating Bridewater VA and Norfolk State and falling by five to Florida Atlantic, Dusty May’s former stomping grounds. While it’s only a three-game sample, William & Mary entered this game ranked second in the country
in turnover percentage (10.1 percent) and fifth in the country in two-point percentage (68.4 percent); they don’t turn the ball over and make their shots from inside the arch.
This was the first time these two programs have faced each other, and William & Mary didn’t back down. The visiting team started off hot from three, but the game started to fizzle out for them when Michigan took advantage of turnovers. The Wolverines cruised in the second half with better defense and better three-point shooting.
The scoring was pretty spread out for Michigan in this one; while Moustapha Thiam and Quinn Costello led the way in scoring (16 points apiece), eight Wolverines scored in double figures. That kind of scoring distribution will lead to a lot of wins in college basketball.
Here are some takeaways from the victory.
Michigan takes command in the second half
William & Mary hung around in the first half with some solid three-point shooting, but Michigan poured it on them out of the break. The Wolverines outscored their opponent in the second half, 75-35.
What was a five-point game at the half turned into a 13-point game in a flash, as Michigan used a 7-0 run in the first few minutes of the second half to finally take command of this game.
As we saw in the key stretches of the Marquette win, Elliot Cadeau was instrumental in settling Michigan down, creating shots (11 assists) and scoring on his own (11 points) to help the home team lengthen their lead.
Michigan held onto that double-digit lead the rest of the game, scoring plenty of easy buckets inside (58 points in the paint) off of crisp passes (31 assists as a team) to make offense easy for themselves.
A good game from Roddy Gayle Jr. on both ends
Roddy Gayle Jr. got Michigan’s offense off to a great start, finishing an and-one in traffic and knocking down his first two looks from three for nine points in the first three minutes of the game.
Gayle played well in this one, finishing with 13 points on 5/10 shooting while playing excellent defense, corraling a pair of steals. He’s always had a knack for ducking in on drives and poking the ball away from shaky ball handlers, and that’s what he did today.
Wolverines thrive in transition
Michigan did what it was supposed to against a mid-major team at home; it forced a lot of turnovers, and sound passes in transition led to easy baskets to help Michigan build a cushion.
The Tribe turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, which led to 23 Michigan points. That was a huge bonus for the Wolverines on a day when the offense wasn’t executing as efficiently as you’d like in the half court.
Those baskets woke up the crowd and helped Michigan turn this one into a blowout. The Wolverines finished the game with 28 fast break points, 26 more than the Tribe.
Sloppy passes lead to early turnovers
Michigan didn’t care of the ball well to start this one, as a few sloppy passes led to six turnovers in the first nine minutes of gameplay for the Wolverines, just one less than the Tribe in that timeframe. Combine that with William & Mary making five of it’s first seven threes, and Michigan was only up by two baskets midway through the first half.
William & Mary was able to hang around early in this one in what felt like a sleepy Sunday afternoon start for Michigan. William & Mary shot 50 percent from three in the first half (7/14), and Michigan couldn’t go on a big run to combat that.
Michigan ultimately won the turnover battle (24-11,) but those sloppy passes were a big reason why William & Mary was able to hang around. A better opponent would have taken a commanding lead during that stretch.
In the two years of the Dusty May tenure, the Wolverines struggled with turnovers, but they always had another offensive gear they could go into to make up for it. Four games into the season, this team needs to prove it can get to that same gear consistently.
Ricky Liburd makes the play of the game
While he has yet to get it going from three this season (1/12), Ricky Liburd has gotten minutes this season because of solid defense and athleticism.
That athleticism was on full display in the second half, as Liburd but William & Mary’s Nilavan Daniels on a poster with an emphatic slam.
Plays like this can go a long way towards building a young player’s confidence, so hopefully Liburd can build off of this.
Up Next
Michigan doesn’t play again until this coming weekend, as the Wolverines travel to Philadelphia to take on Villanova to complete the home & home that started last season. Michigan beat Villanova last season, 89-61, with Elliot Cadeau leading the way with 18 points.
Saturday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. on Fox.
