The Michigan Wolverines remained undefeated with a 112-71 win over the McNeese Cowboys behind a dominant defensive performance and six double-figure scorers. Here are five takeaways from Michigan’s emphatic
win to wrap up the 2025 calendar.
Dusty May’s team doesn’t take any opponent lightly
It’s very common for highly ranked teams like the Wolverines to take lesser opponents for granted, which often leads to slow starts and in some cases, surprising upsets. Michigan doesn’t take any opponent lightly though, coming out for every game with the same mindset, no matter the opponent.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back, increasing the lead to as much as 90-39 and cruising to a ninth straight win by double digits.
Size advantage will overwhelm most Big Ten opponents
Michigan’s starting front court will have a significant size advantage against most opponents this season — highlighted by 7-foot-3 Aday Mara, 6-foot-9 Morez Johnson Jr. and 6-foot-9 Yaxel Lendeborg — and that should overwhelm most teams during Big Ten play.
McNeese was no match at the rim, as Michigan’s front court dominated offensively and defensively, recording a major advantage in paint points (54-20), second-chance points (24-12) and rebounds (55-32). That size advantage will definitely be a difference-maker in the Big Ten.
Morez Johnson Jr. deserves more national recognition
Lendeborg and Mara receive a lot of national recognition and deservedly so, but Johnson should get more of the spotlight, too. In addition to being an elite interior scorer, he is a great rebounder, a versatile defender and has played at an All-Big Ten level this season. Johnson was essentially a man among boys on Monday, racking up a team-high 23 points to go with 11 rebounds on 8-for-12 shooting from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
Roddy Gayle Jr. continues to be an unsung hero
With such a talented roster and so much depth, Roddy Gayle Jr. has continued to fly under-the-radar for most of the season, but he’s clearly an unsung hero on both ends of the floor. Gayle does a lot of the dirty work — constantly playing with great effort, defending at a high level and crashing the offensive glass. All that hard work paid off with one of his most productive games this year, finishing with 10 points and tying a season-high with seven rebounds in the blowout victory.
Aday Mara desperately needs to improve free throw shooting
Mara has been one of Michigan’s best players, averaging 10.9 points, and a team-high 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. However, Mara’s career-low free throw shooting (42 percent) has been worrisome and it was on full display against McNeese as he shot just 3-for-10 from the charity stripe. His inability to consistently knock down free throws could come back to bite the Wolverines at the wrong time so in order to avoid that, Mara must show massive improvement as the regular season progresses.
Up next
The Wolverines are set to resume Big Ten play against the USC Trojans on Friday at 7 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
