Michigan basketball continuing to subvert expectations as it advances to Sweet 16

USA Today

23-03-2025

Michigan basketball continuing to subvert expectations as it advances to Sweet 16
Any given game, you never quite know what you're gonna get from Michigan basketball or who will be the hero.
The Wolverines are inconsistent, but still have managed to win a Big Ten Tournament title as well as advance to the Sweet 16 after beating 4-seed Texas A&M on Saturday. Some games, Michigan turns the ball over way more than the average team (and the result can vary depending on the state of the offense). Other games, players will come as if from out of nowhere to have big games -- such as Tre Donaldson and his performance against Maryland.
Though the Wolverines can consistently count on centers Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, lately, the hero has been Roddy Gayle Jr., the Ohio State transfer who struggled for months and was relegated from being a starter to playing off the bench. On Saturday, Gayle had a career-high 16 points, building off his resurgence that started last week in the Big Ten Tournament, and he almost single-handedly helped the maize and blue erase the sizable deficit to beat the Aggies.
The former Buckeye went from being a much-maligned character to hearing his name chanted in Ball Arena in Denver.
"It's an amazing feeling, especially all that we've been through," Gayle said. "I feel like we're clicking at the right time, especially how we were able to finish the Big Ten Tournament. I just feel like we have a great team chemistry right now. The kind of energy that my teammates give me, I just feed off of it."
Another thing that Michigan has been fighting against has been expectations. On Thursday, facing UC San Diego, the Wolverines were a popular upset pick given how much the Tritons excel at forcing turnovers. The maize and blue did turn the ball over, but won anyway.
On Saturday, it was a different category: rebounding. The Aggies were the best team in the country when it came to snagging offensive rebounds -- another Achilles heel for the maize and blue. Yet, Michigan outrebounded Texas A&M by nine while it managed to get 16 offensive boards compared to the Aggies' 15.
For this team, the coaches had them prepared for the challenge, thus subverting expectations in a game that many deemed a mismatch due to what the Aggies do well and what the Wolverines' don't.
"Coach has given us a great understanding who they are and what they do well," center Vlad Goldin said. "We played a game before against one of the best stealing two teams, now we play against one of the best offensive rebound teams.
"Just a mindset. If we know what they do, we will have to adjust it and have the same physicality as they are."
Gayle wasn't the only scorer who greatly helped the maize and blue on Saturday.
In recent weeks, true freshman LJ Cason has come alive, and he was one of the four players who finished in double digits. Michigan isn't exactly known for its depth on the bench, and with Gayle scoring 26 and Cason scoring 11, the Wolverines had a lot more to contend with beyond typical expectations set from the regular season.
"Every time I check in, the staff, including Coach May, they encourage me and tell me to be me every time I check in," Cason said. "So I feel like that's what I did, and that's how it came out."
Up next, Michigan basketball will face 1-seed Auburn in the Sweet 16 in Atlanta. Assuredly, it will be an underdog yet again, yet, as we're learning, it's difficult to count this team out one the ball has been tipped off.