Michigan basketball gets reality check in exhibition loss vs Houston
· Yahoo Sports
GRAND RAPIDS − Michigan basketball writer Tony Garcia offers three observations from the Wolverines' 83-66 loss to Houston in its final exhibition, the Battleground 2K26, at Van Andel Arena on Sunday, Oct. 25.
1. Michigan may lives and die by the 3
Mike Boynton Jr. said the Wolverines were going to take even more 3s than last season. That said, even he likely didn’t care for the ratio in the first half — 20 3s compared to just seven 2-point shots.
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The real issue was U-M wasn’t hitting them, making just five of 20 before the break. The Wolverines couldn’t find any consistency against Houston and in fact, didn’t make back-to-back tries from the field until Roddy Gayle Jr. hit a 3 and J.P. Estrella threw down a dunk with 15:47 left in the second half.
U-M found more balance in its shot selection after the break, attempting 10 shots from inside the arc compared to 13 3-pointers, but as a team finished 9-for-33 (27.3%) on 3-pointers. Trey McKenney and Quinn Costello both made just 2 of 7 shots, while the four bench players not named Oscar Goodman made zero of their seven combined shots.
Goodman finished 2-for-4 while Gayle, who has struggled with his shot at times the past two years, was 2-for-5. Many seemed forced, like Noland’s attempt in the second half and another by Thiam early on. There were fewer inside-out 3s and transition looks than last year – U-M lost the fast break battle 15-9 – which is where the Wolverines made their hay last year.
2. Rebounding an issue in exhibition
For the second game in a row, Michigan was out-rebounded, this time 42-31.
It’s not an indictment to lose the battle of physicality against Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars, but it’s one of the areas that is notably different from last year. Instead of Yaxel Lendeborg at the 3, it’s Gayle. That’s not a knock on Gayle, he can do things on the perimeter, but the strength of this team is in the backcourt and on a day where shots aren’t falling, losing on the boards looms larger.
It could have hurt even more. The Cougars won the offensive rebounding battle, 13-7, but didn’t capitalize frequently on second-chance points with just a 9-8 edge. Much of that happened because two of the Wolverines’ best players on the glass, Thiam and Estrella, were frequently in foul trouble as they combined to grab 14 of U-M's 31 rebounds.
If players like Ricky Liburd, Costello, Goodman and Jalen Reed are going to see legitimate minutes for this team on the wing, Michigan will need the power forward spot to combine for more than three rebounds.
3. Foul trouble changes the dynamic
Michigan fell behind 24-14 early in large part because Thiam picked up two fouls less than seven minutes into the game. Five players had two or more by the end of the half and it’s not a problem U-M can afford in the same way it could last year. They don't have McKenney, L.J. Cason or Gayle coming off the bench this year.
This game was called extremely tight, with 50 total fouls, and Michigan had guys it couldn’t afford pick them up. Elliot Cadeau picked up his third less than a minute into the second half, then a fourth just more than three minutes after he subbed back in and he had to miss seven of the final 11 minutes of action.
Estrella and Thiam both picked up their fouls less than 30 seconds apart before the first media timeout in the second half, while Gayle also had three just more than five minutes into the second half. As a result, Liburd, Noland, Goodman and Reed played a combined 32 minutes in the second half.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball gets reality check in exhibition loss vs Houston