Hunter Dickinson saves Michigan Basketball from massive upset

Michigan basketball nearly suffered a massive upset at the hands of Oakland, but thanks to Hunter Dickinson, the Wolverines were able to pull out an 81-71 win.

Few expected an Oakland team that just lost by 50 a few days ago to push Michigan basketball to the brink of disaster but that’s what happened inside the Crisler Center Sunday.

Oakland had limited practice time before opening its season as a tournament hosted by Xavier and went 0-3. The Golden Grizzlies also really struggled to score but their zone defense gave Michigan basketball fits and that allowed them hold a two-point halftime lead.

But even with 5-6 minutes left, Oakland was still in front. But thankfully for Michigan basketball, Hunter Dickinson was there to save the day.

The 7-foot-1 center didn’t start the game but he sure as hell finished it.

After not scoring in the first half, Dickinson took over in the second half and overtime, pouring in 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He also dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds.

Simply put, without his effort, the Wolverines who made just 8-of-27 attempts from 3-point range, wouldn’t have won the game without their fabulous freshman.

Isaiah Livers had an up-and-down night but he connected on a pair of 3-pointers in overtime that helped put the game on ice, including one with less than a minute left.

Shooting the ball, Livers was outstanding making 8-of-12 shots for 22 points. The senior also made four shots from beyond the arc and blocked four too.

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Outside of Livers and Dickinson, not much worked for Michigan on the offensive end of the floor. Chaundee Brown who hit five 3-pointers in the opener, was 1-of-10 from deep and 2-of-14 overall as he scored just five points.

Franz Wagner had an equally tough night and scored just six points on five shots. He was 2-of-5 from the field and missed both 3-pointers. He is now 0-of-6 from three this season.

The biggest issue for Michigan though was the 20 turnovers it committed. The Wolverines shot 47 percent and held Oakland to 37 percent for the game, so the only thing that explains the close game was the turnovers and the Grizzlies ability to turn them into points.

Mike Smith got into early foul trouble and that hurt the Wolverines, who really had issues against the zone defense. The truth is they got good looks, they just didn’t knock them down.

In the end though, they didn’t need to because of Hunter Dickinson.