MBB Posts Season-Low in Turnovers, Dominates Tarleton State 72-49

ANN ARBOR, MI – Michigan men’s basketball (4-1) handled Tarleton State (1-5) on Thursday night at the Crisler Center with a 72-49 win. It was the last home game for the Wolverines until their Dec. 7 interconference matchup with Iowa. 

“It’s nice to finish our homestand with a win. In another game that I feel like we learned something about ourselves,” head coach Dusty May said after the game. “This was a game we needed. Coach (Billy) Gillispie – he gets his guys to play extremely physical. They play with great passion and energy. For where we’ve been and what we’ve struggled with, it allowed us to really put an emphasis on taking care of the basketball, meeting passes and whatnot. Our ball security came a long way in the last few days.”

With about five minutes gone in the first half, Tarleton State went on a 8-0 run to grab its first lead of the game. It ended up as the only lead the Texans got, as Michigan made adjustments on both ends of the floor. 

Game of Adjustments

Halfway through the first half, Michigan began quickly swinging passes around the perimeter after driving to the lane. This created gaps in the Tarleton State perimeter defense, and the Wolverines took advantage of almost everything. The maize and blue shot 50% from the field in the first half, largely because it was able to get the ball into the paint and convert. 

Michigan’s defense also stepped up towards the end of the first half, as it ended on an 11-2 run. The Wolverines began to set traps for the ball handler at halfcourt, which usually resulted in a turnover. The maize and blue turned the ball over just 11 times against the Texans. Michigan hadn’t finished a game with less than 16 turnovers before Thursday night.

Center Vlad Goldin had 12 points, which is the most he’s scored since he put on a Michigan uniform. However, he seemed to miss multiple opportunities for a bucket, and he pulled in just three rebounds. The season-high in points is a positive sign, but it’s still a far cry from what Michigan fans likely expected. 

May said the ball just hasn’t rolled his way yet.

“As far as not converting around the rim, it’s tough. These are shots he normally converts,” May said. “They’re not dropping. I think it’s like everything else in sports. (Like when) you hit a line drive and it’s right at the shortstop in baseball. You do the right thing and it just doesn’t drop. I think he wishes he had a couple of those possessions back. But we’re not going to spend a lot of time and energy worrying about those shots going in; We want to generate those types of shots again and again and again.”

Michigan Stat Leaders

Points: Roddy Gayle Jr. – 16

Rebounds: Danny Wolf – 6

Assists: Tre Donaldson – 5

Steals: Nimari Burnett & Rubin Jones – 2

Blocks: Vlad Goldin – 3

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