The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2023 BY CHRIS BALAS M edia picked Michigan men's bas- ketball to finish 11th in the Big Ten this year, to which many of the Wolver- ines took a "we'll show you" attitude. They appear to be on their way to proving the prognosticators wrong. U-M stunned Rick Pitino's first St. John's team 89-73 at Madison Square Garden Nov. 13, opening as much as a 26-point lead behind a career-best 26 points from point guard Dug McDaniel. The sophomore averaged 21.3 points per game in wins over the Red Storm, UNC- Asheville and Youngstown State to lead Michigan in the early going. "Let's understand something — [Mc- Daniel] played 38 minutes and played awesome," Pitino said. "He had 7 as- sists and 2 turnovers, 2 steals. He was brilliant … "They played like a team that's in Jan- uary, and we played like a team in early November. Watching them, I thought they were a great basketball team. All the credit goes to Michigan. We knew they were one of the best shooting teams in the country. What we didn't expect was to get dominated by their point guard the way he dominated us tonight. That's a credit to him — he's a terrific little player. Their backcourt dominated our backcourt. They played intelligent basketball." Senior shooting guard and Alabama transfer Nimari Burnett got U-M off and running in the game, scoring 15 of the Wolverines' first 16 points on his way to a 21-point showing, also a ca- reer high. He averaged 11.3 points in the first three games, shooting 46.2 percent from long range, and scored inside and out against the Red Storm. Tennessee transfer and forward Olivier Nkamhoua was second on the team with a 17-point scoring average through three games while adding 7 boards per game, senior forward Terrance Williams II (12 points vs. St. John's) third with a 13.3 average, and redshirt sophomore for- ward Will Tschetter — perhaps Michi- gan's most improved player so far — a surprising fourth with 12.7 points per game. Nkamhoua put up 25 in the opener with UNC-Asheville, a 99-74 win over a really solid mid-major, and Tschetter scored 20 in 18 minutes in a 92-62 win over Youngstown State Nov. 10. Associate head coach Phil Martelli continued to coach the team in place of Juwan Howard, who underwent heart surgery Sept. 15 and has continued to rehab. Howard was initially expected to miss eight to 12 weeks, though he trav- eled with the team to New York and was present during shootarounds according to the broadcast. "I continue to attend cardio rehab three times per week," Howard said in a statement shared via FS1. "I feel myself getting stronger week by week. I can't wait to return to the sidelines." His team was undoubtedly mak- ing him proud in his absence. Martelli talked about creating memories for the kids, and the St. John's win in the Gar- den will be one to remember, he said. As for the players themselves — they were thrilled, of course, but nowhere near satisfied after three games. "We don't really pay too much atten- tion to [preseason rankings]," McDaniel said after the game (and before it, he and his teammates wore the "Michi- gan –Vs– Everybody" shirts the football team has made famous). "We don't pay attention to the outside noise. It's kind of fun being underdogs." If they continue to play like they have, however, they might be favorites in many games the rest of the year. "They can really shoot and pass," Pi- tino said. "They're going to have a great season. They're really good. I don't fol- low the Big Ten too much, but there's not too many teams better than Michi- gan, I can assure you of that." Senior shooting guard and Alabama transfer Nimari Burnett got U-M off and running versus St. John's, scoring 15 of the Wolverines' first 16 points on his way to a career-high 21 points, all in the first half. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Rout Of St. John's Has People Talking About Michigan Hoops