Michigan Basketball: 3 things we learned in Wolverines win vs Montana

Michigan basketball advanced in the NCAA tournament Thursday with a 74-55 win over Montana. Here are three things we learned as the Wolverines advanced.

People always talk about surviving and advancing in the NCAA tournament. Well, Thursday, Michigan basketball advanced, but it never had to fight for survival in what turned out to be a 19-point win.

Early in the game, Montana struggled to score against Michigan’s elite defense and that quickly allowed the Wolverines to grab a double-digit lead, thanks to a strong start from Charles Matthews and Jon Teske.

While Matthews isn’t a senior, he is among the most veteran players on the team along with Zavier Simpson and Matthews took it on himself to set the tone Thursday night in Des Moines, Iowa.

Michigan basketball had a huge size advantage over the Grizzlies and it was determined to use it. The early gameplan focused on getting the ball inside and a Matthews dunk made it 12-4 Wolverines before an Eli Brooks 3-pointer push the lead to 15-4.

UM went up by as many as 15 points in the first half, but led 34-21 at intermission. In the second half, the Griz got within eight, however, a 10-0 run sparked by a Jordan Poole three, then two jumpers, a two and a three by Matthews, pushed the game out of reach.

Michigan basketball will now prep for 10th-seeded Florida Saturday (5:15 PM EST). Yet, before looking ahead to the Gators, here is a look back at three things what we learned in the win over the Grizzlies.