After losing to UConn last week, Michigan Basketball had to bounce back against another high-major opponent. They took on Marquette, a program hungry to prove that last year’s lackluster campaign was a fluke. The Wolverines were on its heels early on, trailing in the first half.
However, a 13-0 run by Michigan gave them the lead, never to give it up. The Wolverines dominated the middle 20 minutes of the game, leading by over 20 points before coasting to an 84-70 win to move to 2-1 on the season. Here’s a look at some of the key takeaways from Michigan’s side.
1. Thiam/Estrella frontcourt looked the part
Due to an illness, we haven’t seen the two star frontcourt transfer pickups play fully together. But it was a fantastic game by both Moustapha Thiam (9 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks) and JP Estrella (18 points and 8 rebounds), dominating the Golden Eagles bigs for all 40 minutes. For the Wolverines, their starting lineup has to play well for them to beat good teams and when the starting frontcourt does its job, they’re in great shape.
2. Bounce back game from Cadeau
In the loss to UConn, Elliot Cadeau had just eight points on 3/11 FG shooting, along with five turnovers. He was much improved against Marquette, producing 17 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists, along with helping shut James down on the other end. How Cadeau goes, Michigan likely goes and when he’s on triple-double watch, they’ll be hard to beat.
3. Costello bounced back off the bench
To this point, it’s clear that Michigan Basketball’s bench won’t give them too much on a daily basis. The one guy who can is Quinn Costello, who went 5/6 from deep to score 15 points off bench in the win. He went 1/5 from deep in the loss to Michigan but was in double figures in both of their wins. The stretch forward is a clear impact player but the Wolverines are hoping it can occur against high-major opponents as well.
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