Three takeaways from Michigan’s win over Prairie View A&M
Michigan cruised to a 77-49 victory over Prairie View A&M Saturday night in the inaugural Coaches vs. Racism Roundball Classic. The Wolverines held a 26-point lead with 3:30 remaining in the first half before Prairie View A&M went on a 7-0 run against a three-guard lineup to close the gap to 19.
Howard sent out the starting lineup of Jones-Brooks-Johns Jr.-Dickinson-Houstan to start the second half. They stayed in until the 13:35 mark after going on a run of their own and reacquiring a 26-point lead, at which point Howard substituted Dickinson for Diabate. Michigan’s coaching staff was free to tinker with lineups the rest of the game thanks to the players in the game managing to keep the margin hovering in the same neighborhood. Here are three quick impressions from Saturday’s win:
DeVante Jones and Moussa Diabate stuffed the stat sheet in the first half, and Eli Brooks did the same in the second half
Jones played almost 12 more minutes than in his Michigan debut because he was able to stay out of foul trouble tonight. He was efficient as the primary ballhandler and showed the ability to pass or cut to the basket. Jones finished with 10 points, 5 assists, 3 offensive rebounds, 5 defensive rebounds, a steal, and just a single turnover. He also only picked up 1 personal foul tonight while getting to the line often; he attempted 7 free throws.
Diabate can and did do a little bit of everything. He only got 8 minutes in the first half but used those to go 2-of-3 from the field, 2-of-3 from the free throw line, pick up 4 offensive rebounds and 3 defensive rebounds, and chase down a potential layup and turn it into a thunderous block. Not a bad use of limited minutes.
Brooks went 2-of-4 from behind the arc and in getting to the bucket was sent to the line for 4 free throws, knocking them all down. He also had 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the second half. The Brooks-Jones tandem is an interesting counterpoint to Michigan's forward-heavy roster.
Juwan Howard substituted much less than against Buffalo, essentially using the start of each half as a tune-up for his starters
It took about six minutes in the first half and then almost seven minutes in the second half before Howard starting swapping guys out starters. From there he made about one substitution every minute. Such is the benefit of an early season game against an outmatched opponent.
And how did the starting lineup do? They started a bit slow, opening a six-point lead in the first half before substitutions started. The second half was a different story, though. The starting five went on a 14-4 run to start the half and pushed the lead back to 26.
Michigan is not ready for a foul-a-thon
Against Buffalo Michigan was able to get to the line often, attempting 30 free throws but only making 18. The story was essentially the same tonight, with Michigan’s size and speed advantage helping them get to the line for 30 free throws. Tonight, though, they only made 16, and their only reliable free throw shooters were guard Eli Brooks (4-4) and forward Terrance Williams II (3-4). Of note, DeVante Jones was 3-for-7 and center Hunter Dickinson was 0-for-3. It’s a small nitpick at this stage of the season, but something to keep an eye on going forward.
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