DETROIT — With a new coaching staff and overhauled roster, Michigan delivered an efficient, clean, and dominant performance in its first chance of the season.
The Wolverines blew out Oakland 92-48 on Sunday evening at Little Caesars Arena in a men’s basketball charity exhibition game. The game didn’t count, but it was the first look at head coach Dusty May and the new-look Wolverines.
Final: Michigan 92, Oakland 48
Record: 0-0 (this one didn’t count)
MVP: Roddy Gayle Jr. (13 points, four assists)
Unsung hero: Tre Donaldson (nine points, eight rebounds, six assists)
Arch nemesis: The foul line (Michigan made 9 of 18 free throws)
Top highlight: Late in the first half, Roddy Gayle Jr. found Vladislav Goldin cutting baseline for an alley-oop, with Goldin dunking through a foul to give Michigan a 44-26 lead. It was an example of Michigan’s unselfishness and quick ball movement.
Rhyme time: On this day in Detroit there wasn’t much parity // The game didn’t count, but Michigan did it for charity
Michigan started Tre Donaldson, Rubin Jones, Roddy Gayle Jr., Danny Wolf, and Vladislav Goldin, all of whom are transfers in their first year with the program.
The Wolverines shot 51 percent from the field and 15 from 35 from 3. They led by double digits midway through the first half, pushed it to 22 by halftime, and kept rolling.
May deployed a nine-man rotation, just as he said he would. Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter, two of the three returners from last season, were the first Wolverines off the bench, replacing Jones and Goldin. Sam Walters, an Alabama transfer, was next, followed by L.J. Cason.
Michigan got balanced scoring, with Tschetter (15 points), Gayle (13), Wolf (11, with 13 rebounds) contributing. Walters’ 12 points came on four 3s from the right corner, none of which even touched the rim. Donaldson, the starting point guard who transferred from Auburn, tallied nine points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Phat Phat Brooks, the reigning Mr. Basketball in Michigan, checked in with 6:59 left. He threw down an emphatic fast-break dunk in the final minutes. The remaining scholarship players, freshman Justin Pippen and fifth-year senior Jace Howard, were held out with injuries. May emptied his bench in the final minute.
Proceeds from the game supported Forgotten Harvest, a food bank in Detroit. The teams visited the nonprofit’s warehouse leading up to the game. The lower bowl at Little Caesars Arena was half full.
Oakland, which won the Horizon League and stunned Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, was picked fourth in the league’s preseason poll this season. Jayson Woodrich had 18 points to pace the Golden Grizzlies, who shot just 27 percent from the field, including a dismal 2 for 30 from deep.
The Wolverines were hot from the opening tip. Against Oakland’s zone, Michigan’s first points came on an alley-oop from Donaldson to Goldin. Donaldson was at the other end of a lob a couple of minutes later — he was fouled before he could convert the dunk — an example of the versatility of this Michigan team.
Walters checked in and promptly swished a corner 3. Cason, a freshman, got first-half run, ripping the nets on another corner 3 to give Michigan a 24-12 edge nine minutes in.
Walters’ third 3 from the same spot on the floor made it 37-22 Michigan with four minutes left in the half; a moment later, he picked up his third foul. Donaldson’s breakaway layup pushed the lead to 18.
Gayle’s fast-break pull-up 3 beat the buzzer and made it 48-26 at half.
Michigan finished with 21 assists and 14 turnovers, with the ball rarely sticking in one player’s hands for long.
With 12:19 left in the game, Burnett blocked a jump shot, which Donaldson corralled and, in one motion, passed ahead to Burnett, who was fouled at the rim. He missed both free throws; the Wolverines shot just 9 of 18 from the line, a lower percentage than their shots that involved defenders.
Walters and Donaldson connected on consecutive 3s, Gayle scored on a fast-break layup, and Wolf’s bucket capped a 12-0 run to make it 72-40 with 8:21 left.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel sat courtside near the the Wolverines’ bench. Michigan will play its second and final exhibition on Friday at home against Toledo.
