Michigan Takes Down Oakland 84-68: What We Learned From the Season Opener

The Michigan basketball team is much different than last year. Coming off the national championship, the Wolverines have a new coach and a retooled roster in their quest to defend the title. Michigan hosted Oakland to begin the season and secured an 84-68 victory to start the year 1-0. This performance highlighted both strengths and weaknesses of this Michigan team that will help to shape how the season progresses.

Intriguing Debuts

Several players made their Michigan debuts on Monday, but a couple stood out. The first player worth highlighting is J.P. Estrella. The transfer forward from Tennessee looked every bit as advertised, delivering 15 points and 12 rebounds despite just playing 22 minutes due to foul trouble. The big man took full advantage of Oakland’s lack of size, dominating the offensive glass and finishing close to the basket. 

Estrella will be a major factor in Michigan's potential success this season, with his versatility being extremely valuable for the offense. He has the ability to play inside and stretch the floor, while also possessing elite rebounding instincts on both ends of the floor. To sustain the impact he has, Estrella will have to stay out of foul trouble, as the Wolverines will need him to play significant minutes throughout the season.

Freshman Quinn Costello also had a positive impact, coming off the bench to score 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Costello looked comfortable in his first collegiate game, showing no hesitation to shoot the basketball, which is something you want from a player of his talent. Costello will likely play a major role off the bench this season and will need to continue to deliver a shooting spark, as he did on Monday.

Defensive Questions

Head coach Mike Boynton was the defensive coordinator for the team last year, helping lead the No. 1 defense in the country. Against Oakland, there were moments where you could see the same defensive structure as last year, but it wasn’t as effective. It was clear that Michigan was missing the dominant interior presence of Moustapha Thiam, who was absent due to illness. Thiam will be the anchor of the defense this season, similar to how Aday Mara was last year. Without a true shot blocker on the inside, Oakland was able to attack the rim fearlessly and with little resistance.

The Wolverines also struggled to rebound the basketball on the defensive end. Oakland grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second-chance points, despite being the smaller team. 

Finally, Oakland was generating a lot of paint touches throughout the game, driving by the Michigan defenders far too easily. Thiam’s return should help in all three of these areas and allow Michigan to maintain an elite defense under Mike Boynton. However, if these issues continue, Michigan could struggle to stop the elite offenses on its schedule this season.

The Second Unit

The starting lineup against Oakland looked impressive, highlighted by returners Cadeau, McKenney, and Gayle, who combined for 94 minutes throughout the game. However, there are still questions about how the bench will look for the Wolverines this season, especially with five-star freshman Brandon McCoy out for the year.

Michigan’s bench only provided 21 out of the 84 points on Monday, with 13 of those coming from Costello. As the season continues, Michigan will need more production from the second unit, especially when dealing with players out, as was the case Monday. Since this is the first game of the season, there is reason to believe that the bench will improve, especially when the whole roster is healthy.

Looking Forward

Michigan did not play a perfect game on Monday by any means. Despite that, they secured a comfortable victory to start the season. The first major challenge for the Wolverines takes place on Friday, when the team will travel to Boston to take on UConn in a national championship rematch.

UConn is ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll, making the game a great test to see where Michigan stands this season. Michigan will need a more well-rounded performance on Friday to defeat the Huskies, and it will be interesting to see how the team responds.

The game on Friday is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.