Michigan basketball sprinted out to a 10-0 start. They piggybacked off that and went into the locker room up by 14. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones picked up his fourth foul when the Tritons made their move. With two and a half to go Tyler McGhie put UCSD up two. Moments later Tre Donaldson took it upon himself to nab the lead back with a clutch 3-pointer. McGhie got one more try, but the ball hit off the iron and clanked out. Michigan survived.
So here are three takeaways from the first round win over a game UCSD club.
1. Michigan's perimeter defense was tested again
On Sunday Wisconsin shot 3-pointers like they were going out of style. Thursday night UCSD went 7-30 from deep but missed their most important one to tie it. Over the two-game stretch, Michigan's defense gave up a ton of threes, but neither the Badgers nor Tritons could connect with them to save their lives. The two were a combined 20% from three land.
Michigan's next opponent, Texas A&M is good for the third fewest three pointer jumpers made in the SEC, one attempt less than the Wolverines made in the Big Ten this season.
The Wolverines were 15-30 from inside the separation line. Michigan's bench outscored UCSD's 24-4. Despite leading Michigan basketball in scoring, Vlad Goldin and his running mate didn't dominate like some thought they would. UCSD's game plan worked swimmingly, even without their best player on the floor.