Three takeaways: Michigan blitzes St. John's at Madison Square Garden

The high-powered Michigan basketball offense hit the road for the first time this season as the Wolverines traveled to Madison Square Garden in New York to take on St. John's. It was the biggest test of the season to this point for the Phil Martelli-led Michigan team, but the Wolverines passed comfortably.

Nimari Burnett exploded for 21 points in the first half, and Michigan pulled away from St. John's in the second half.

Here are three takeaways from Michigan's 89-73 statement win.

Last season, Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin did a lot of the heavy lifting for Michigan. The trio combined to average more than 46 points per game, and if any of the three players had an off night, it was unlikely Michigan would come away with a victory.

This year, though, Michigan is apparently much deeper and has many more weapons on the floor. Through four games this season (including the exhibition win over Northwood), Michigan has had five players — Tray Jackson, Dug McDaniel, Olivier Nkamhoua, Will Tschetter and Nimari Burnett — score at least 20 points in a game.

The likely contributors of McDaniel, Nkamhoua and Tarris Reed have all performed well, but players like Tschetter, Burnett and Jackson performing extremely well on a semi-consistent basis is something that will help propel Michigan toward a hopeful NCAA Tournament appearance.

In the latest AP Poll that came out on Monday afternoon, Michigan came in unranked, but the Wolverines earned two votes. St. John's, which Michigan disposed of rather easily on Monday night, was also unranked, but the Red Storm earned 47 votes.

AP Polls tend to mean absolutely nothing, especially this early in the year, but Michigan proved on Monday night that it's worthy of a top-25 ranking.

The Wolverines have done everything that could be asked of them to this point in the season, and they score at a clip not many teams in the nation can match.

Michigan's defense could use some work — St. John's had plenty of open looks from distance in the first half — but it's clear U-M is on track to vastly outperform the expectations that were set for them before the season began.

Because the Big Ten is in a little bit of a down year — only three of the conference's teams are currently in the top 25 — Michigan could potentially fight for a top-four spot in the league and a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

That moment is still four months down the road, but Michigan certainly looks like a team worthy of competing near the top of the Big Ten.

Monday's battle between Michigan and St. John's featured two of college basketball's all-time great coaches. Phil Martelli and Rick Pitino led their respective squads, but Martelli ended up besting Pitino for the first time in his career — they had faced off twice prior.

Michigan does have really good talent all around, but Martelli has clearly done a fantastic job leading the Wolverines in the absence of Juwan Howard.

His length of time spent coaching at St. Joe's has undoubtedly helped him fill in for Howard during this unprecedented time.

At this point in time, there shouldn't be any rush for Howard to make an expedited return to the sidelines — Martelli clearly has Michigan clicking right now.

Martelli will lead Michigan next week to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Wolverines memorably won the tournament back in 2019. Prior to that tournament, Michigan will host Long Beach State on Friday, Nov. 17.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @lucasreimink

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram