Michigan Basketball: 3 keys for the Wolverines against Holy Cross

Michigan Basketball opens their season with an easy win against Norfolk State. Will they have the same result against Holy Cross on Saturday in another warmup for their National Championship rematch with Villanova next week?

Matchup: Holy Cross Crusaders (1-0) at  Michigan Wolverines (1-0)

Date and time: Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET

TV schedule: BTN Plus

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

Michigan came out of their game against Norfolk State with some positives but still with things to work on. The defense for Michigan was again great as they did not give up a point for the first seven minutes and then only gave up 13 in the first half as they went into the break with a 19 point lead.

As good as their defense looked, their free throw shooting looked just as bad. They shot just 13-29 from the charity stripe including Charles Matthews going 0-5. Free throw shooting was an Achilles heel for the Wolverines last year and after just one game it appears that it could be again this year. Yes, it is way to early to make a judgment, but this was not a good start.

A bright spot for the Wolverines was Jon Teske stepping up with 13 points. He is tasked with picking up the slack from the departure of Moe Wagner who left for the NBA draft last year. Teske showed signs of being able to break out last year, but this year he is in the starting lineup and he needs to be a big contributor for the team to be successful.

Overall Michigan did not shoot the ball well, as they only hit 37% of their shots against the Spartans. That may work against teams from mid-major conferences, but when the competition gets tougher they must shoot better.

Let’s look at some keys for Michigan to not only win this game but feel good about the way they played after their opening night.