Michigan basketball fans had to stay up late on Monday night, but the Wolverines made it worth their while in a blowout win over San Diego State (94-54).
That win puts Michigan into a tie for first place in The Players Festival. The standings have a tiebreaker using point differential and Michigan matched Tennessee with a plus-20 point win. So if the Wolverines beat Auburn on Tuesday (8:30 PM EST) they should be in a good shape to play in the championship game.
The Aztecs had only played three games before this season, so who knows where it will count down the road, but San Diego State entered the night 42nd in the Kenpom rankings, and Michigan basketball ran them off the floor.
This game wasn't even competitive, at least not for very long. The game bascially ended when Roddy Gayle scored a bucket, then got a steal for an and one. Elliot Cadeau started burying pull-up 3-pointers, including one that got a shooter's roll.
That kind of summed up the night. Everything went Michigan's way. It wasn't luck, though. We said in the preview that 2-point shooting would determine the outcome. Well, with about seven minutes left, the Aztecs were shooting 25 percent on twos. Michigan basketball was shooting 69.
The Wolverines won the 3-point battle, the turnover battle, had more rebounds, more blocks, more steals, more assists, and more free throws.
It was a complete and total domination. This was the kind of effort Michigan basketball fans have been watiing for and here are the gut reactions.
Elite defense
This is nothing new. Michigan basketball had the No. 6 adjusted defense according to Kenpom coming into the game. The way the Wolverines stymied everything San Diego State tried to do was impressive. This was a team shooting 41 percent from 3-point range.
The Wolverines switched basically everything, outside of drop coverage with Aday Mara. Morez Johnson and Yaxel Lendeborg are nightmares, and the three-big lineup is coming together.
When your three-man is a 6-foot-9 Defensive Player of the Year from a season ago (American), that's a pretty good place to start. Whether it was Mara and Johnson changing shots or the guards playing stellar defense, even forcing double-digit turnovers with on-ball pressure, the defense dominated from start to finish.
The offense was great, but the defense is what could get this team to the Final Four.
The three-big lineup is starting to work
It was clunky at times, but remember, people said that Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf playing together wouldn't work.
Michigan doesn't have the same lineup, however, when you have 6-foot-9 Yaxel with Morez Johnson and Aday Mara, you replicate the big-on-big screen. Michigan got some buckets on it in the first half, including a 3-point shot for Will Tschetter.
If Michigan needs spacing, it can go to Tschetter. Yaxel showed off his playmaking skills, too. He only attempted seven shots but scored 15 points, dished four assists, and had six rebounds. He was Michigan's leading scorer, but five different scorers reached double figures. Johnson had 13 points and six boards. He and Mara combined for 20 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, and a steal.
Michigan is nearly impossible to beat when it hits threes
The Wolverines made 19 3-pointers in the first game against Oakland. They didn't make more than five in any of the next three games, two of which were closer than they needed to be. They made 11 on Monday night, shooting 33 percent.
Michigan can win without shooting well. That's a great sign for the postseason. But when the Wolverines do shoot it well, especially from deep, it feels nearly impossible to beat them.
Teams will struggle scoring inside. This could be the best defensive team in college basketball. Yet, it's also capable of scoring 100 points on any given night, which is the kind of combination that gets people talking about winning the national championship.