Michigan Men’s Basketball returned to B1G play to start 2025 with a west coast trip to Southern California. Tonight they began the trip against the namesake university of that region, the USC Trojans.
SC is a solid squad, but not an A-List B1G contender, which made Michigan the favorites coming in. What unfolded was a choppy game, a tight first half before Michigan built up a large second half lead.
They proceeded to blow the lead, but then recovered with a dominant final four minutes to pull out a win that covered the KenPom spread. A bit of an odd one, but a win all the same.
From an offensive standpoint, the game had two distinct halves. There was the first half, which saw Michigan shoot the lights out from three but struggle majorly to get into the paint/get their bigs involved. And then there was the second half, which saw the perimeter shooting go cold while the bigs took over. The tone of the first half was set very quickly, as Michigan knocked the doors off from deep to start the game. Tre Donaldson hit two quick threes, followed by Nimari Burnett and then by Danny Wolf to build a 12-4 lead. Burnett would make a second three not long after to make the Wolverines 5/5 on triples to begin the game. Yowza!
Michigan’s early eruption from three gave them a sizable 15-6 lead, one that would quickly evaporate as the game settled in to a back-and-forth feel. An early development was two quick fouls on Roddy Gayle Jr., which limited him to six minutes in the first half. In Gayle’s stead came increased minutes for Rubin Jones (12 mins) and Justin Pippen (6 mins), neither of whom (nor LJ Cason, 2 minutes) added a whole lot.
[Campredon]
As mentioned previously, Michigan struggled to score in the paint in this first half, going a dismal 3/11 from two. Attempts to penetrate were stifled, strong USC defense from big Josh Cohen, plus two blocks from Kev Patton Jr. helped to keep Michigan’s twin towers quiet. Vlad Goldin and Wolf both had a point-blank miss which didn’t help either and the team overall felt disjointed. However, they were able to outshoot their problems to some extent, Wolf and Donaldson combining for two more to snatch a 25-22 lead with just under 7 minutes to play. Rubin Jones’ one productive moment on offense was a flying putback jam off a Sam Walters miss from three, which does merit some mention.
Fouls were another story of this game, a quick whistle from the referees disrupting the flow of play and giving both teams looks at the line. USC went 7/11 at the line in the first half, 3/4 from Wesley Yates III alone, who was their best offensive player in the first half. The Yates-led USC offense traded punches with Michigan for much of the first half, but the Wolverines closed well. The score was tied 36-36 with two minutes to go in the half, but Michigan ended on a 6-2 run thanks to a Donaldson dish to Will Tschetter for a corner three, followed by a Donaldson steal and pull up three in transition (Tre was 4/4 from behind the long line in the first half). Michigan actually had an opportunity to extend the lead further after Goldin drew a charge but a disappointing possession led to no shot going up and the visitors led 42-38 at halftime.
[AFTER THE JUMP: the second half]
The three point shooters led the way in scoring at halftime (Burnett/Donaldson), while Goldin had one of his quietest halves since the early season with two points. That changed quickly in the second half, as Michigan established dominance on the interior. Wolf got it going with a quick make and then Goldin converted an and-one to give Michigan a 47-40 lead. Goldin fed Wolf inside, who was left all alone, for another layup that made it 49-40. Michigan was defending extremely well at the other end and kept USC quiet while the bigs were firing on all cylinders, Wolf making a pretty spinning layup. Not long after, Wolf pulled down a defensive rebound, fired it ahead to Donaldson, who teed up Goldin for a jam.
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All in all, it was a sizzling 13-2 run to start the second half to establish a 55-40 lead. There was still 16:02 to play in the game but Michigan was feeling confident, in firm possession. It wouldn’t last long. Goldin picked up his third foul and headed to the bench, while USC began making some shots. The Trojans’ Saint Thomas connected on a three to trim the lead to 11 and then a loose ball off a Donaldson missed three created a fast-break opportunity for SC, Desmond Claude barreling down the lane into Burnett. Claude made the layup and drew contact, swishing the free throw to get the lead down to eight.
Michigan responded with a couple makes, including a Wolf –> Tschetter fast break layup, but then USC closed the gap with a 13-2 run. The crowd became a factor as momentum turned around the midway point of the second half, while Goldin picked up his 4th foul with just over 10 minutes to play. USC attacked the glass to create extra looks and began making circus shots, including a comical banked-in three at the horn from Chibuzo Agbo, at the conclusion of what had been an awful offensive possession. Claude got fouled his next time up the floor, made both free throws, and the game was tied.
This one was getting frustrating, and it didn’t help that Michigan would miss three consecutive front-ends of one-and-one opportunities, one by Burnett and two (on the same trip down the floor) by Wolf. At the same time Michigan was 0/8 from three in the second half as their red hot shooting reverted to the mean. The team was scuffling and USC took a lead on a Yates layup underneath the basket, but Gayle responded with a layup of his own to tie the game at 65. That’s where the score sat at the under eight media timeotu and not much would change over the next four minutes. Fouls were frequent, which Michigan used to finish a 10-0 run to go up 73-65, but within a couple minutes, USC had whittled the lead back down.
[Campredon]
The score sat at 73-71 Wolverines with 3:23 to play after Claude went 1/2 at the free throw line, with some Michigan fans likely getting a bit of BPONE deja vu after the way things unfolded late against Arkansas and Oklahoma. Thankfully, this one wouldn’t actually come down to the final seconds as Michigan cobbled together one last run to slam the door. A quick whistle off an attempted two-big pick-n-roll sent Goldin to the line and he hit the pair. 75-71. Michigan put together a great defensive possession to force a miss, then came up the floor and Donaldson made his first non-three of the game (first basket of any kind in the second half) on a cinematic underhand scoop from distance. 77-71.
The Trojans went back up the floor needing a make but Wolf blocked Yates’ shot from behind and the ball caromed out of bounds off the leg of a USC player, giving Michigan possession. The Wolverines brought it up, Wolf went down low to Goldin establishing position, and the big Russian finished a shot off the glass. 79-71. USC was in trouble but got an A+ look on their next possession, a layup opportunity all alone for Yates, but his shot was off the mark. Michigan came up the floor, got Wolf free, and the Yale transfer laid it in. With 1:10 to play, Michigan had a 10 point lead and that was all she wrote, the boisterous Los Angeles crowd in silence.
The final score ended up at 85-74, a double digit victory in a game that almost never felt like a game as comfortable as the score indicated. Michigan was the better team, but USC put fought a solid battle and tested the Wolverines. In total, Michigan shot 53% from the floor, with their three point numbers cooling off to a still-stellar 42% (10/24). They were 17/21 (81%) at the line, making most of their opportunities despite the three infuriating one-and-one misses. USC shot 44% by comparison, 33% from three on six fewer attempts, and missed eight free throws. Rebounds and turnovers were pretty even, so that difference in free throw and three point shooting was the difference in the game.
[Campredon]
Wolf was the MVP for Michigan in this one, 21 points on 9/12 from the floor (2/3 from three), 13 boards, 7 assists, 6 blocks(!!!), and two steals. The only knocks on Wolf’s performance tonight was three turnovers and 1/4 at the charity stripe because he was otherwise terrific. Burnett and Donaldson each added 16 points, largely from threes and free throws, while Gayle and Goldin added 12 and 11, respectively, in more limited roles due to foul trouble. There wasn’t much action from the bench tonight, Tschetter the high with five points. USC was led by Claude and Yates with 19 each and four of their five starters finished with 4+ fouls.
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Michigan is now 11-3 on the season and more importantly, they are 3-0 in B1G play. There have been some frustrating moments this season, but they all came in non-conference play. So far it’s a clean sheet in B1G play and if KenPom is to be believed, Michigan is one of the chief contenders for the conference regular season crown. One of the teams they will be competing against is UCLA, who Michigan will play for the only time this season in their next contest, staying out west in Los Angeles. The Bruins are an identical 11-3 and boasting the #4 defense in America, making this one a stiff and anticipated test. That game is scheduled for 10:00 PM EST on Tuesday night and will be broadcast on Peacock.
