5 takeaways from Michigan Basketball’s statement win against Gonzaga

The No. 7 Michigan Wolverines can call themselves tournament champions. The Wolverines won $1 in NIL at the Players Era Festival after defeating No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs, 101-61.

These teams could very well meet again in the Final Four. Gonzaga entered this game ranked No. 1 on KenPom. Fun fact: This game had a 90.4 Thrill Score on KenPom’s FanMatch, making it the highest-rated non-conference game in KenPom history. In other words, KenPom projected this to be the most exciting game of the season, because it’s between two of the four highest-rated teams in the country.

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Picked to win the West Coast Conference for the seventh time in eight seasons in the conference’s preseason poll, Mark Few’s squad already boasts double-digit victories over No. 8 Alabama and Creighton. Graham Ike and Tyon Grant-Foster give the Bulldogs one of the best one-two punches in the country, with Ike being a legit National Player of the Year to headline a group with a lot of depth.

Coming off of blowout victories over San Diego State and Auburn, this was the toughest test that’s been thrown at Michigan all season long, especially with this being the third game in three days. But a quick start in this one helped give Michigan a double-digit cushion that ballooned into a 20-point margin, and then a 30-point margin, and then a 40-point margin to help the Wolverines demoralize the Bulldogs. An impressive 45-12 run sealed the victory and showcased U-M’s true potential offensively.

In three dominant wins with a combined margin of victory of 110 points, Michigan proved to the college basketball world that they are a force to be reckoned with. Forget winning the Big Ten; this team flipped a switch the last few days and looked like a National Championship contender.

Here are the takeaways from another convincing win, and perhaps the best win on Michigan’s resume by the time the regular season ends.

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Setting the tone to kickstart the blowout

Perhaps Michigan’s biggest strength all tournament long has been getting off to great starts, and that continued early in this one.

Gonzaga called a timeout just 3:11 into the game after Michigan went on an 8-0 run to get off to a 13-3 lead. Per the TNT broadcast, it was the largest deficit the Bulldogs have faced at the Players Era Festival. That lead continued to get bigger, with the Wolverines taking a 27-10 lead after a Will Tschetter three with 12:48 left in the first half, and threes from Trey McKenney and Nimari Burnett making it 33-14 midway through the half.

The lead got up to as high as 24 in that first half, with Gonzaga — who entered this team ranked No. 1 in KenPom — looking completely discombobulated. The Wolverines were red hot, shooting 61 percent from the field and 57 (!!) percent from three in that first half. Michigan starts out with the three-big lineup — which is hard for any team to adjust to — and just when you get used to it, Gayle subs in and changes the pace.

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As we’ve seen in this tournament setting, when teams have even less time to prepare, these fast starts give the Wolverines a huge advantage. I’d imagine that advantage will still be there come March.

More defensive dominance

Michigan entered this game as the No. 1 defense on KenPom, and they certainly lived up to that building.

The Wolverines were playing with controlled aggression and forced the Bulldogs to only shoot 33.3 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three in the first half. As Grant Hill laid out on the broadcast, Gonzaga was never able to get comfortable with Michigan’s size and foot speed. It didn’t get much better in the second half, as Gonzaga made just 34 percent of its shots, and just looked distraught in every facet on the offensive end.

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If Michigan’s defense continues to be this good, it’s offense doesn’t even need to be elite for this team to be one of the best in the country.

Lendeborg was HOOPING

Ever since the second half of that Middle Tennessee game where he took charge offensively, Yaxel Lendeborg has played like the National Player of the Year candidate he was billed as by national pundits when he committed to Michigan out of the transfer portal.

Lendeborg hit his first two threes — a skill NBA teams wanted him to improve on — and finished the first half with a game-high 15 points, dictating the pace of play, scoring around the rim, and occasionally directing traffic in Michigan’s fast-paced offense.

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Lendeborg finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists, and continued to look like one of the best players in the sport. He also had the play of the game with this reverse slam.

He’s asserting himself, he fits in beautifully with this roster, and he helps lift this team to some high heights.

Mara is Money

The seven-foot-three Spaniard was part of Michigan’s fast start, scoring eight of Michigan’s first 27 points and just dominating around the rim, scoring out of the post and dunking with authority. He finished this one with 13 points to go along with four rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks.

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Gonzaga has good size, but they didn’t have an answer for the big man early. I mean, how are you supposed to guard this guy?

The scary part for other teams is that he also guards the rim incredibly well, and he’s not even the main option offensively. I’m trying to stay grounded, but this team has me thinking about a deep March run with the way they’ve played in this tournament.

Foot came off the gas in that second half

One critique of this stellar performance: Michigan came out of the second half playing sloppy. Granted this was the second half of the team’s third game in three days, but Michigan turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes of the half.

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U-M kept the 20-point margin through this rough patch, so there wasn’t much to worry about. That said, you never want to see lapses in focus, because those lapses can turn into upsets come conference play.

Up Next

The Wolverines are off for a while, and won’t play again until they host Rutgers next Saturday to tip off Big Ten play. That game on Saturday, Dec. 6, is set to start at 4 p.m. EST on Big Ten Network, and Maize N Brew will be on sight to cover it.