Michigan turned the ball over 21 times on Friday night, but it was able to secure a 76-64 win over TCU to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Wolverines were led in scoring by Nimari Burnett, who posted 16 points. Danny Wolf and Tre Donaldson each contributed with 14 points of their own.

Here are three takeaways from the 12-point win.

Turnovers were the story of Friday night's matchup between Michigan and TCU at Crisler Center. Much like the Wolverines' football game against the Horned Frogs two seasons ago, Michigan could not stop turning the ball over.

The Wolverines committed 16 first-half turnovers, which equated to a 42.1 percent turnover rate. For reference, Michigan posted a higher turnover percentage (42.1) than it did scoring percentage (39.5) in the first half.

Roddy Gayle Jr., Vlad Goldin and L.J. Cason all committed three turnovers in the first half.

Seventeen of TCU's 31 points in the first half came off of Michigan's 16 turnovers.

Michigan cleaned things up in the second half — it only committed five second-half turnovers — but a total of 21 turnovers isn't going to get things done for the Wolverines on a consistent basis.

They lucked out with TCU's lack of size and poor shooting, but turning the ball over north of 20 times per game isn't going to win games in the Big Ten.

Michigan finished the game turning the ball over on 30.4 percent of its possessions.

Dusty May and the Michigan coaching staff spent much of the summer raving about the three-man freshman class. L.J. Cason had particularly received a lot of hype, but Justin Pippen and Phat Phat Brooks were thought of to be integral parts of the rotation for Michigan this winter.

Cason performed extraordinarily well in Michigan's exhibition win over Toledo, scoring 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Not only did Cason show out in the exhibition, but the freshman scored in double figures in each of the team's two regular-season games heading into the contest against TCU.

Pippen and Brooks hadn't been as effective, as Cason appeared to be the most developed of the three in the early stages of the season.

However, in Friday night's win over TCU, all three freshmen were held scoreless. Combining for just 16 minutes of game action, the trio were ineffective on Friday night. Just one shot was put up between the three of them, and they combined to commit four turnovers.

With the three freshmen essentially non-factors, Michigan's rotation was only eight deep on Friday night. Michigan may need more from its freshmen — especially Cason — going forward.

If there's any player that would be 100 percent comfortable in Dusty May's system, it would be Vlad Goldin. The 7-foot-1 center played in 107 games under May at Florida Atlantic, and he started in all 39 of the team's game in the Owls' run to the Final Four in 2022-23.

However, Goldin unquestionably looks to be the player most out of place in May's system. The Florida Atlantic transfer posted just two points in Michigan's 101-53 rout of Cleveland State in the season opener. Goldin wasn't needed to do much in that contest — Michigan won by 48 — but for the 7-foot-1 center to score just two points against an undersized Horizon League team was odd to say the least.

And in Sunday's loss to Wake Forest, Goldin tallied eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Goldin totaled just eight points once again in Friday night's win over TCU, but he had some low moments. In particular, late in the second half, Goldin missed a reverse layup attempt from right under the basket with no defenders in sight.

Perhaps he's still adjusting to the speed and physicality of Big Ten play — it is just the third game of the season, after all — but his production has been low through three games this season.

---

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, @Jerry_Diorio

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