Preseason games are supposed to reveal problems, and Michigan got a hard look at one of its biggest on Sunday against No. 10 Houston.
The No. 16 Wolverines entered the matchup already carrying some defensive questions from their first two exhibition games, but the Cougars made the issue impossible to ignore. Michigan showed it could bother Houston at times, especially in the first half, yet the second half offered a clear reminder that interior defense remains a work in progress.
“I’m not sure we could have played somebody better going into the season,” Michigan coach Mike Boynton Jr. said Sunday. “Their style was going to expose some of the things that we need to address if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to compete at the highest level.”
That issue had been lurking already. In a 25-point win over Eastern Michigan, the Wolverines separated themselves largely by making 10 more 3-pointers than the Eagles.
But inside the arc, the defense was loose. Eastern Michigan hit 60% of its 2-point shots, and it repeatedly found clean looks at the basket when junior center Moustapha Thiam was on the bench.
The Eagles also outscored Michigan in the paint, a sign that the Wolverines’ defense is not yet playing with much physical bite.
A week later against Oregon State, the same flaw was exposed more sharply. The Beavers put up 92 points and shot 67.7% on 2-point attempts, taking advantage of shaky protection around the rim even as they also leaned on outside shooting.
“This team will have to find a way to be effective defensively by being more disruptive from a perimeter standpoint,” Boynton said Oct. 16 after Oregon State. “It’ll look a little bit different this year.”
The departure of former All-Big Ten defenders Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara is part of the picture, but Sunday also showed that the interior group may need extra help early in the year.
Houston put that to the test. Michigan’s best stretch came in the first half, when it held the Cougars to six makes on 23 2-point attempts. Even then, Houston still controlled the glass and reached the free-throw line 16 times.
The second half was more troubling. Houston shot 57.7% on 2-pointers after the break, pushing Michigan’s interior defense right back into the spotlight.
With the season opener against Oakland now approaching, the Wolverines’ ability to tighten up inside the arc has become one of the most important items on the to-do list.
“I don’t want to pretend like it was like some great performance by anybody, staff included,” Boynton said Sunday. “We know what the bar is as we head into the season.”
Michigan has the personnel to get closer to that standard. But after Sunday, the message was clear: the Wolverines’ defense still has real ground to cover.
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