Michigan Wolverines: 3 Thoughts On Win Over Detroit

The Michigan Wolverines got more than it bargained for when hosting Detroit on Thursday night. The Titans, led by Wolverine legend Juwan Howard‘s son Juwan Jr., went into halftime with a lead and kept within striking distance until the closing minutes of the contest. Unexpected close games like these are always great ways to learn about how teams handle pressure, and the Wolverines definitely handled it well. Here are three things you can take away from tonight’s game:

Michigan’s veterans will be key early on

The Wolverines went into the half trailing Detroit 29-28 thanks to hot shooting from the Titans and a slow start from the Michigan starters. Freshmen Mark Donnal and Kameron Chatman were benched in favor of upperclassmen Spike Albrecht and Max Bielfeldt. Michigan eventually wore the Titans down with tough defense and great tempo with the freshmen on the bench.

Donnal and Chatman’s ineffectiveness against a team that is projected to finish third in a mid-major league has to be concerning for Michigan as it prepares to take on Oregon, Syracuse, Arizona and SMU in the next month. Albrecht and Bielfeldt might not be introduced with Caris LeVert, Zak Irvin and Derek Walton at the beginning of the game, but they’re going to be on the floor a lot during crunch time while the youngsters get used to playing at the D-1 level.

The Wolverines shouldn’t lose a head-scratcher this year

Last year, Michigan lost an early-season contest to Charlotte in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. At the time, Charlotte seemed to be on its way to a respectable season, sitting at 5-1. But the 49ers went on to post a 17-14 record and a losing record in Conference USA play. Michigan, without the services of preseason All-American pick Mitch McGary, went on to finish the regular season in the AP Top 10. The Wolverines advanced to the Elite Eight before losing a heartbreaker to Kentucky.

Detroit was aï¿½team talented enough, but at the same time obscure enough, to knock off the Wolverines and make the nation take notice. Low-major programs Nichols State, NJIT and Coppin State are unlikely to challenge Michigan. On the other hand, Oregon, Syracuse, Arizona and SMU are all too high-profile to catch anybody’s attention by knocking off John Beilein’s squad. An early December matchup with Eastern Michigan is the only realistic opportunity to drop a guarantee game before conference play.

You really shouldn’t slap the floor against Michigan

After Detroit bounced back from a 9-point deficit to tie the game, Titans players slapped the floor to prepare for a vital defensive possession. Caris LeVert was fouled on the play, and converted a free throw to give Michigan a lead it would never surrender. The Wolverines scored the next 10 points and didn’t let Detroit close the gap to single digits until the final 30 seconds of the game.