Michigan’s opener brought the win, but it also put one issue right on the table before Friday’s meeting with UConn: the Wolverines have to rebound better from the guard spot.
Michigan beat Oakland 84-68 on Monday night, yet the game was far from clean. The Wolverines were without Moustapha Thiam, who sat out with an illness, and Mike Boynton Jr. said he hopes to have him back against UConn. Even with the victory, Oakland - despite being severely undersized - made Michigan work.
The biggest concern wasn’t the final margin. It was what happened on the glass.
Michigan was out-rebounded 44-42 and allowed 21 offensive rebounds to the Golden Grizzlies. Boynton Jr. pointed directly at his guards after the game, saying the effort from that group has to improve.
“Our guards have to rebound better,” Boynton said. “Roddy had one defensive rebound.
That’s not going to be good enough. Trey had four.
We need both of those guys in the 5-6 rebound range, particularly as you look ahead. UConn has always been one of the best rebounding teams, and that’s what we’ve got next.
We’ve got the film.We’re going to understand that it’s something that we’ve not been as good at so far.
“It’s like we have two really good rebounding bigs. Our guards haven’t really understood yet how important it is that they get in the fight.”
Trey McKenney, Elliot Cadeau, and Roddy Gayle Jr. combined for just seven rebounds on Monday, and that’s the number Michigan has to clean up fast. Boynton Jr. made it clear he wants more from that trio, especially with UConn coming off its own dominant rebounding performance.
The Huskies handled Gardner-Webb 86-46 on Monday and controlled the boards 46-28. Na’jai Hines led the way with 12 rebounds, while UConn’s guards also helped on the glass. Boynton Jr. said that battle could decide Friday’s game.
"Na’jai Hines and J.P. Estrella are going to be wrestling for rebounds on Friday," said Boynton Jr.
"And so between their guards and our guards, the guys who get in there the most will probably give their team the edge. Tonight, it was [Oakland’s] guards to get in there.
They were rebounding better than our guards. And so we’ve got to address that.
So it’s always a concern rebounding because it’s one of the big factors in basketball. Everybody knows it.”
Michigan also struggled from three-point range, continuing a trend that has now stretched to three straight games. The Wolverines shot just 21% from deep in their first regular-season game, and Boynton Jr. has already said Michigan will take more threes this season. That shooting slump matters, but the rebounding problem looks like the more urgent one heading into Friday.
Michigan and UConn will tip at 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT.
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