Michigan basketball got a rude awakening from UConn in a national-title rematch that the Huskies controlled from the opening tap.
Trey McKenney put in a great effort in the second. He looked like the Big Ten Player of the Year candidate we expected him to be, but the Wolverines struggled to shoot the ball in the 85-77 loss. Foul trouble was an issue, too.
It's just one game, though. UConn is ranked fourth. This is a national title contender. Michigan might not be that this season without Dusty May and three first-round picks. That's Ok. It can still be a really good team and last night, well, there's no need to overreact.
Here are the buckets (winners) and bricks (losers) from Michigan's loss to UConn.
Bucket: Trey McKenney
It was a slow start, but McKenney came alive in the second half, connecting on three 3-pointers in a short stretch to get Michigan basketball back in the game.
McKenney ended up making four treys total, scoring 22 points. He was 8 of 18 from the field. He also came up with just one assist, but's that also how UConn defends. The Huskies force you to make one-on-one plays as much as possible.
It was good to see McKenney step up in the second half. If he had started the game better and been more efficient, Michigan might have had a chance at the end.
Brick: 3-point shooting
Michigan fired up 21 bricks from beyond the arc. The Wolverines shot 21 percent in their opener from 3-point range and followed it up by shooting 25 percent. We said in the preview that Michigan would need to shoot in the mid-30s to win this game. That didn't happen. Only three players outside of McKenney made a three and those players were a combined 3-for-13.
The Wolverines simply have to shoot the ball better.
Bucket: J.P. Estrella's offense
Estrella put together another really solid game. He looks like an All-Big Ten forward. The 6-foot-11 big man scored 18 points and went 6-for-6 on 2-pointers. Estrella also dished out three assists and played 31 minutes, although he did have four fouls.
Estrella grabbed three offensive rebounds. He has proven to be just like Morez Johnson in that department. He's not an elite shot-blocker, but his ability to finish around the rim has been impressive. He also earned eight free-throw attempts and made seven.
Brick: the defense
UConn scored 1.12 points-per-possession. The Huskies did what they do to a lot of teams: made 3-point shots efficiently and rebounded the ball well, grabbing exactly 1/3 of their missed shots.
Four of their five starters made 3-point shots. Michigan did a solid job around the rim. UConn only shot 43 percent. However, they got 36 free throw attempts, made 30 and won the game there.
The officials weren't great. But you don't get 36 free-throw attempts by accident. It was a reminder that even though this is the same defensive scheme, it won't work the same without three of the best defenders in college basketball.
Aday Mara, Morez Johnson, and Yaxel Lendeborg, each would be the best defender on this team. This should still be a solid defense, and maybe once Moustapha Thiam gets going (13 minutes) it will be closer to that, but the Wolverines didn't do enough to disrupt the Huskies.
The Wolverines did limit them to nine assists, though. They just need to avoid foul trouble, which has been an issue in games one and two.
Brick: The officiating
You can't blame the officials for Michigan losing, but they didn't help. UConn was the more aggressive team. They only had nine assists, so part of the gameplan was just being tough and attacking the rim without a true rim protector for most of the game.
The Huskies weren't overly successful. They did get to the free-throw line a lot, though. Both coaches got technicals and it just wasn't a clean game for an officiating perspective.
It felt like they were watching a Big Ten conference game and from an officiating perspective, that's not what you want.
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