On the back end of a two-game west coast road trip, Michigan basketball followed the game script that many previous games have followed in the 2024-25 season. The Wolverines built an 18-point lead with about three minutes left in the first half, but the cushion crumbled just a few minutes into the second half.
But Michigan, despite many of its key players being in foul trouble late in the game, was able to pull away when it mattered most to put UCLA away, 94-75.
Here are three takeaways from the 19-point victory.
There are no words to describe Area 50-1
There are no more adjectives to describe the dominance of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin. The Area 50-1 duo have blossomed as the best front court in the conference and potentially one of the best in the country.
Wolf is a bona fide NBA prospect, and Goldin has improved more than anyone else on Michigan's roster this season.
On Tuesday night, the duo combined for 48 points — 36 of which came from Goldin — on 17-of-25 shooting and 13 rebounds. Just one game after Wolf put together a masterpiece against USC, Goldin was unstoppable in the paint against the Bruins of UCLA.
It seems a breakout performance from at least one of the big men in every game is inevitable for Michigan at this point in the season.
Vlad Goldin dominates with career-high 36 points
Goldin's dominance deserves its own takeaway, because the FAU transfer has grown his game immensely during his short time in Ann Arbor. Transferring up a level of play is never easy for any player, but Goldin — and Wolf for that matter — have made it look as seamless as possible.
Goldin outperformed his previous career-high by 10 points, and he was huge trouble for the Bruins all night long.
He shot 13-of-18 from the floor and converted on nine of his 11 free throw attempts.
The 7-foot-1 big man was one of four Michigan players to commit four fouls in the contest, but it's safe to say Goldin made the most out of his 32 minutes on the floor.
Tre Donaldson steps up when it matters most
A clear turning point in the game was when Michigan big men Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin were both on the bench with four fouls. The Wolverines, which led by about a half dozen during this turning point, needed some sort of offense to maintain a lead.
With Wolf and Goldin both on the bench, Michigan had no post game and had to resort to scoring strictly from the perimeter.
That's exactly what happened, as Tre Donaldson connected on critical 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to extend Michigan's lead from six to 12.
Wolf and Goldin re-entered the game a few minutes later to put the finishing touches on things, but Donaldson's two key 3-pointers were as big as any triples the Wolverines have hit all season.
And with Roddy Gayle Jr. out with knee soreness, 20-point, seven-assist, six-rebound night was as clutch a performance as Michigan has seen all season.
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