The Dusty May era got off to the hottest start possible on Monday night with a 101-53 victory over the Cleveland State Vikings. Danny Wolf led the way with 19 points on 8-10 shooting.
Without Rubin Jones, the Wolverines proved that they should be taken seriously as Big Ten contenders in 2024-25. Here are three takeaways from the massive blowout.
Scoring won't be a problem
It's only been three games — and two of them didn't count — but Michigan basketball has already proven that it will be scoring points (and lots of them) this season. The Wolverines dropped 92 on Oakland in the team's first exhibition game, and they followed it up with a 96-point performance in the second exhibition game against Toledo.
Neither game counted, but averaging 94 points over two exhibition games was certainly a good sign, and that trend continued for Michigan in the regular-season opener on Monday night against Cleveland State.
Led by Danny Wolf, Tre Donaldson and Roddy Gayle, Michigan was relentless in its offensive pursuit in the first 40 minutes of the Dusty May era. The aforementioned trio combined for 35 first-half points, and Will Tschetter added nine points off the bench in the first half.
The Wolverines scored 54 points in the first half, and they managed to do so by only making three 3-pointers. Eleven of the team's 54 first-half points came at the charity stripe, and Michigan shot 71.4 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes of game action.
Michigan had six players in double-figures in the 48-point victory.
However, rebounding might be one
Michigan allowed 11 first-half offensive rebounds. Despite having two 7-footers patrolling the paint, the Wolverines seemed to struggle hauling in rebounds on the defensive end. The second-chance opportunities allowed the Vikings to hang around for a brief moment early in the first half, but at the end of the day, it's nothing more than something to monitor going forward.
Despite the poor rebounding performance, Michigan rolled to an easy 101-53 victory over Cleveland State in the season opener.
Going forward, the defensive rebounding is something that needs to be cleaned up. Cleveland State hauled in 17 offensive boards on Monday night, and although the Wolverines obliterated the Vikings, it could have been an even larger margin of victory had Dusty May's squad limited the second chances.
Rebounding will be something to keep an eye on going forward.
Michigan logs a historic shooting performance in Dusty May's first game
Michigan was unbelievably efficient on the offensive end of the floor in Monday night's win. The Wolverines shot better than 55 percent in all three phases of the game.
- From the floor, Michigan shot 68.4 percent
- From beyond the arc, 55.6 percent
- From the free throw line, 59.1 percent
It was a masterful performance for the Wolverines. That level of execution is unlikely to be sustained throughout the entirety of the season, but Monday night's showing was a refreshing one for Michigan fans.
May's team executed to the tune of 1.365 points per possession, 62.2 percent scoring percentage and 28 fast-break points. It was a memorable evening for Michigan fans, who only experienced one 100-point game last season, and that was in a double-overtime contest.
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