Michigan men’s basketball clawed its way to a hard-fought 98-93 exhibition win against Justin Joyner’s Oregon State Beavers Friday night in Ann Arbor, barely sealing the deal in the final minutes. It was a proper test for the Wolverines, especially with Joyner, a former Michigan assistant for two years, knowing their coaching staff and returning players inside and out.
Scraping By Against Some Serious Size
This wasn’t some walk-in-the-park scrimmage, even if it was just an exhibition. Oregon State rolled into town packing some serious height with three seven-footers on their roster: Peteris Pinnis at 7-foot-2, Dennis Evans at 7-foot, and Xavion Staton at 7-foot-1. Michigan actually held a double-digit lead for a big chunk of the first half, but the Beavers weren’t backing down. They started knocking down some tough threes and cut that lead all the way down to just three points by halftime. The second half was a total back-and-forth battle, the kind that makes you chew your nails off.
Cadeau Went Off When It Mattered Most
If you thought Elliot Cadeau was quiet in the first half, you barely saw him. Dude came alive in the second, scoring eight of Michigan’s first 14 points right out of the gate. For the first five minutes of that half, he either scored or dished out an assist on every single Michigan bucket. Cadeau and the Wolverines just kept chipping away at the Beavers at the free-throw line, too. Oregon State racked up seven fouls in the first eight minutes of the second half, putting Michigan squarely in the bonus. Then Cadeau hit a deep three, found Thiam for a couple of alley-oops to help Michigan get a late second-half cushion, and kept getting finishes around those towering defenders to finally seal the deal. He ended up with 27 points, and Trey McKenney dropped 18 points, with those two seriously carrying the Wolverines offensively.
Look, it’s just an exhibition game. Coaches are out there experimenting with lineups, not trying to win at all costs, so you gotta take the results with a grain of salt. Michigan’s transition defense wasn’t exactly stellar, their offense lacked flow in stretches, and they forced a few too many threes. But hey, they still got plenty of open looks and made a good amount of them. Plus, they did a decent job with the ball, only logging seven turnovers all game, with just four in the first half. This group is clearly still working on building chemistry, which is totally normal for mid-October against a team projected to finish mid-pack in the Pac-12. There’s a lot to iron out, but Michigan still has a few weeks before these games actually count for their record.
So, while it was just an exhibition, it showed us what Elliot Cadeau is capable of when the game gets tight. Michigan’s got some time to polish things up before the season officially kicks off. We’ll be watching to see how they look once every game actually starts to count!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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