Michigan failed to pull away from Tarleton State on Thursday night, but the Wolverines still managed to win convincingly, pulling out a 72-49 victory. Roddy Gayle Jr. Vlad Goldin and Tre Donaldson led the way for the Wolverines.

The Wolverines will fly to Florida on Saturday for the Fort Myers Tip-off, which will begin on Monday. Virginia Tech will be Michigan's first opponent.

Here are three takeaways from the home victory over Tarleton State.

It seems like it's always a different host of contributors for Michigan on offense. The Wolverines have been going 11 players deep as of late, which clearly bodes very well for Dusty May's team.

When one player has an off night, another player — whether it's a starter or substitute — seems to pick up the slack.

Michigan entered the contest against Tarleton State with four players averaging double figures and seven players scoring at least seven points per game. The depth allows Michigan to be multi-faceted on offense, which has helped them win games early on in the 2024-25 season.

Vlad Goldin got off to a slow start offensively for the Wolverines this season, but Danny Wolf was picking up the slack by scoring 33 total points in wins over Cleveland State and TCU.

And in Thursday night's win over the Texans, Wolf had a quiet night with six points, while Goldin was more productive in the scoring column, posting 12 points of his own.

When Michigan's offense it at its best, every player in contributing. But May deserves a lot of credit for establishing a deep roster in his first season in Ann Arbor. The depth could separate the Wolverines from other teams in the Big Ten.

When Tre Donaldson committed to Michigan out of Auburn in April, Michigan fans weren't exactly sure what to expect. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard averaged just 6.7 points per game with the Tigers last season and had only started 10 games in two seasons as Auburn's point guard.

Like it is for many other Michigan transfers, this year is a "prove it" year, and Donaldson has done nothing but exceed expectations.

Entering Thursday night's game, Donaldson was scoring an average of 14 points per game, dishing out 4.5 assists and hauling in 3.5 rebounds.

Through five games this season, Donaldson has reached double figures in scoring in every game. He has arguably been Michigan's best player so far this season. On Thursday night, he nearly met his scoring average with 13 points.

Donaldson has done a fantastic job running Michigan's offense, and his aggression when he has the ball in transition is evident.

Oddly enough, early Big Ten play is less than two weeks away. Michigan has the aforementioned trip to Florida in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, but the Wolverines will have five days off between their last Fort Myers Tip-off game and the Big Ten opener at Wisconsin.

Wisconsin will host Michigan on Tuesday, Dec. 3 for the Wolverines' Big Ten opener. Dusty May has talked ad nauseam about the importance of conference play. He's said every game "really" matters, but games in conference play "really, really" matter.

Four days after the Wolverines take on the Badgers in Madison, they will host Iowa at Crisler Center on Saturday, Dec. 7.

Those two games will conclude early Big Ten play, and it's imperative that Michigan gets off to a hot start in conference games. Michigan is currently ahead of both Wisconsin and Iowa in the KenPom rankings. If the Wolverines can get off to a 2-0 start in conference play, it will set them up well.

Three of the following four Big Ten games — all of which come after the New Year — will be on the road, including two on the west coast.

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