Clayton Sayfie of On3 said beforehand that Michigan basketball would struggle with Oregon State, and that's exactly what transpired on Friday night inside the Crisler Center. Four-star guard Dylan Ziegler was in attendance and got a great bird's-eye view of how well Michigan's guards can be the focal point of a Mike Boynton offense. Even though it doesn't count, winning these types of games will help come March.
Here are three takeaways from the Wolverines 98-93 win over Oregon State.
3 takeaways from Michigan's win over Oregon State
EC3 was in midseason form
Michigan's senior point guard, Elliot Cadeau, poured in a career-high 27 points for the defending champions. As a junior, he never scored more than 20 points in a game and is on pace to lead this team as the primary ball handler. His counterparts Trey McKenney and Moustapha Thiam were very involved in the box score as well. Thiam enjoyed a double-double performance, while McKenney has been Michigan's leading scorer through two exhibition victories.
Justin Joyner was acknowledged before the game with his championship ring
Former assistant under Dusty May, Joyner had his team ready for battle and almost spoiled his homecoming to Ann Arbor. Four of his players were in double digits and felt the praise that their coach was receiving from the Wolverine faithful in the stands. Oregon State is being picked right in the middle of the revamped Pac 12 conference, but could be ahead of schedule under Joyner, if they play like they did against Michigan nightly.
Still no Roddy Gayle in the lineup
Michigan basketball is still waiting for clarity about Gayle's status. They want to be 100% sure that he can play, so they don't commit any violations. In his absence, Kenny Noland played well off the bench, and Ricky Liburd got the start for the second consecutive outing. Missing Gayle hurt Michigan, especially on the defensive end of the court. 93 points is the most they have given up since that stupefying home loss to Wisconsin in January, when they were raining threes out of nowhere.
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