Michigan had the ingredients for a comeback Friday night, but UConn kept finding answers.
In a national title game rematch, the No. 4 Huskies outlasted No. 16 Michigan 85-77, handing the Wolverines a loss after Michigan spent much of the night digging out of an early hole and then chasing the game again after halftime.
Michigan got the opening punch when guard Elliot Cadeau slipped a pass to center Moustapha Thiam for an alley-oop slam just seconds into the game. UConn answered quickly, ripping off a 7-0 run to grab control early.
Cadeau helped keep Michigan afloat in the first half. He knocked down a three-pointer and added a pair of layups as the Wolverines trimmed the margin to 13-9. Roddy Gayle Jr. also gave Michigan a lift, finishing an and-1 layup to keep the pressure on the Huskies.
Gayle stayed aggressive, too. He forced a steal and scored on the other end, then added another and-1 to pull Michigan within 27-25 with 6:29 left before halftime.
But that was the last real push before UConn took over. Michigan went more than four minutes without a point while the Huskies closed the half on a 13-3 run and turned a tight game into a 43-30 halftime lead.
The Wolverines’ first-half issues were hard to miss: 11 turnovers and just 1-for-8 shooting from three-point range.
Michigan came out of the break with a quick strike, as Cadeau found forward JP Estrella for a layup on the first possession of the second half. UConn didn’t blink. The Huskies answered with an 8-0 burst and stretched the lead to 52-35, forcing Michigan to chase again.
The Wolverines did make a run. Quinn Costello hit a three-pointer and Trey McKenney finished inside to cut the deficit to 58-42 with 13:36 left. That basket was McKenney’s first of the night after he started 0-for-8 from the field.
Once he got one to fall, McKenney caught fire. Over the next three minutes, he buried three straight three-pointers and helped Michigan hang around as UConn led 64-55.
Michigan kept battling, and McKenney added a mid-range jumper, but UConn had another answer in reserve. The Huskies put together an 11-4 run to push the margin back to double digits and lead 75-61 with 5:26 remaining.
That was enough. UConn closed it out for the 85-77 win, getting a measure of revenge in the rematch.
McKenney finished with 22 points, while Estrella added 19 points and nine rebounds. Gayle scored 18, and Cadeau finished with eight points and three assists.
Michigan dropped to 1-1 and will return home to face Marquette on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on FS1.
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J.P. Estrella and Roddy Gayle Jr. also made meaningful contributions, which mattered in a game that asked Michigan to answer when UConn pushed the pace and the pressure. The result still counts in the loss column, but the performance offered a glimpse of what this group can be when it is balanced and aggressive, and now the attention shifts to a home date with Marquette. [Read more 🡒]