The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2024 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL right now, we think it's going to help us improve." The Wake Forest game was a perfect example of that, and a reason why the semi-neutral site games can build a muscle memory for down the road, as well. Michigan was happy with the look it got, even in defeat. "It felt like an NCAA Tournament game," May said. "You're in a big arena with a different backdrop and the light- ing's different and you're playing a really good team. That was like a tournament game where you're at a venue where the other team brought a lot more fans than you, so it just had a different feel, a dif- ferent type of energy. "It's on national television, so all those things are great. Now next year, they'll come to Detroit, and we'll have a chance to play in a different environment, dif- ferent type of game, so it just made sense on a lot of fronts, and we want to play as many of these power level teams as we can, because it's a different game." — Anthony Broome WILL TSCHETTER'S HIGH ENERGY SETS EARLY TONE Redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter scored 15 points in the 101-53 win over Cleveland State in the season opener, which was the first official reg- ular-season game that flexed the type of offensive firepower this team is capable of. "We said it coming into the season that it was going to be fun to play and fun to watch, and I feel like through our two exhibitions and then the other night on Monday, it has kind of been pretty on par," Tschet- ter said. "It's pretty position- less with our players. I think we have a lot of versatility, and that kind of plays into our of- fense. Coach May is really good at being able to adapt to the players he has. And that's just kind of what he saw. It's what's worked." One of the highlights of the night was a fast-break dunk with 4:35 remaining where Tschetter picked up a loose ball near midcourt, drove to the basket and launched from just outside the key to finish over a Cleveland State defender. Apparently, those plays have been plentiful in U-M practices. "It didn't surprise me, since I've seen him get up," sophomore forward Sam Walters said. "But, I will say I have joked with him a little bit, the dunk he missed in the exhibition, I was not proud of him for that one. "So, I was happy he got one back. I was screaming because I was excited, it was a pretty athletic play. I've seen him do some stuff like that in practice, so I'm happy he was able to redeem himself. I haven't let him live the first one down." Tschetter is an energy guy through and through, and the new coaching staff has appreciated what he adds to the roster. "If you had 12 guys like Will out there, we might look like a football team dur- ing practice, flying around, running into each other," assistant coach/general manager Kyle Church said Nov. 8. "He embodies team energy about as much as anybody can. He's fantastic as far as bringing it every single day, being so positive with his teammates, giving us a guy to point to for the younger guys, to say 'Hey, this is what it should look like.'" — Anthony Broome ❱ 2024-25 Michigan Men's Basketball Schedule Date Opponent (TV) Time Oct. 20 vs. Oakland+ (Exhib.) W, 92-48 Oct. 25 Toledo (Exhib.) W, 96-92 Nov. 4 Cleveland State W, 101-53 Nov. 10 vs. Wake Forest* L, 72-20 Nov. 15 TCU (FS1) 6 p.m. Nov. 18 Miami (Ohio)# (BTN) 6 p.m. Nov. 21 Tarleton State (BTN) 8:30 p.m. Nov. 25 vs. Virginia Tech## (FS1) 6 p.m. Nov. 27 vs. South Carolina/Xavier## (FS1) TBA Dec. 3 at Wisconsin (Peacock) 9 p.m. Dec. 7 Iowa (FS1) 2 p.m. Dec. 10 vs. Arkansas% (ESPN) 9 p.m. Dec. 18 vs. Oklahoma^ (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Dec. 22 Purdue Fort Wayne (B1G+) 1 p.m. Dec. 29 Western Kentucky (BTN) 8 p.m. Jan. 4 at USC (FOX) 8 p.m. Jan. 7 at UCLA (Peacock) 10 p.m. Jan. 12 Washington (BTN) 2 p.m. Jan. 16 at Minnesota (FS1) 7 p.m. Jan. 19 Northwestern (BTN) 2 p.m. Jan. 24 at Purdue (FOX) 8 p.m. Jan. 27 Penn State (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at Rutgers (FOX) 3:30 p.m. Feb. 5 Oregon (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at Indiana (CBS) 1 p.m. Feb. 11 Purdue (Peacock) 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at Ohio State (CBS) 1 p.m. Feb. 21 Michigan State (FOX) 8 p.m. Feb. 24 at Nebraska (FS1) 8 p.m. Feb. 27 Rutgers (Peacock) 9 p.m. Mar. 2 Illinois (CBS) 3:45 p.m. Mar. 5 Maryland (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Mar. 9 at Michigan State (CBS) 12 p.m. Mar. 12-16 Big Ten Tournament** TBD All times Eastern; + Detroit; * Deacon-Wolverine Challenge, Greensboro, N.C.; # Fort Myers Tip-Off On-Campus Matchup; ## Fort Myers Tip-Off, Fort Myers, Fla.; % New York City; ^ Charlotte, N.C.; **Indianapolis Redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter scored 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench in the 101-53 win over Cleveland State Nov. 4 PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL