The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 41 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Three Best Players 1. Sophomore guard Dug McDaniel The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder is leading the Big Ten with 36.3 minutes per game. The Wolverines are thin at the guard position, so they haven't had many other options than to play McDaniel nearly the entirety of each con- test. He's thrived in his role, averaging 18.6 points, 5.1 assists (third in the Big Ten) and 3.6 rebounds per game. Over the last seven tilts, he's exploded for three 20-plus point performances — 20 in a loss to Long Beach State Nov. 17, 20 in a victory over Stanford Nov. 23 and a whopping 33 in an overtime loss to Oregon Dec. 2. 2. Graduate forward Olivier Nkamhoua The Tennessee transfer has turned the ball over on 19 percent of his possessions, per KenPom, and been inconsistent with his shot, but he's also playing a bigger role on this team than he has in the past. Starting at power forward but seeing time at both frontcourt spots, the 6-9, 235-pounder has gone for 16 or more points in five of the last seven tilts, includ- ing a 22-point night in a loss to Long Beach State. He also posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards in a victory over Iowa Dec. 10 and is pacing the club with 7.1 rebounds per game. 3. Redshirt sophomore forward Will Tschetter If there was a ranking of Michigan's most improved players, Tschetter and McDaniel would be right up there at the top. The 6-8, 245-pound Stewartville, Minn., native has emerged as a mainstay in the ro- tation after shuffling in and out of it last season. Sophomore forward Tarris Reed Jr. has struggled at times, but Tschetter's productivity has allowed the Wolverines to piece together the front line. Tschet- ter is registering 9.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, shooting 73.9 percent from the field, includ- ing a 12-of-17 mark (70.6 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. Tschetter has hit double figures in each of the last two outings, with 17 points in a loss to Indiana Dec. 5 and 10 points in the Dec. 10 win over Iowa. He's playing both the 4 and 5 spots and is the team's best communicator on defense. Now, he's adding some punch offensively. Key Moment Michigan trailed by two points early in the second half of its game at Iowa Dec. 10, before going on an 11-0 run, fueled by 2 three-pointers from gradu- ate guard Nimari Burnett, along with a triple and alley-oop dunk by Nkamhoua. McDaniel assisted on all 4 buckets. Suddenly down nine points, 46-37, Iowa called a timeout. Minutes later, with frustration mounting, Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery was thrown out of the game following two technical fouls, amidst a 9-0 U-M surge that gave it a 20-point lead in the 90-80 win. Best Highlight McDaniel was on fire in Michigan's 86-83 overtime loss to Oregon, scoring a career-high 33 points, the most by a U-M point guard in a game this century. The highlight came at the beginning of the second half, when McDaniel nailed 4 threes within the first five minutes of action. Those were 4 of his 7 made triples on an afternoon in which he was unguardable. Bold Prediction Michigan will get off to a 3-0 start to the new year, before the schedule gets significantly tougher. The Maize and Blue are 1-1 in Big Ten play and have a chance to build some cushion with a home game against Minnesota Jan. 4, a neutral-setting clash versus Penn State at The Palestra in Philadelphia Jan. 7 and a road tilt at Maryland Jan. 11. All three of those opponents rank 74th or worse nationally on KenPom, as of action through Dec. 10. — Clayton Sayfie Through 10 games, redshirt sophomore forward Will Tschetter is averaging 9.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting 73.9 percent from the field, including a blistering 70.6 per- cent from three-point range (12 of 17). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Superlatives For U-M's Seven Games From Nov. 17 To Dec. 10