The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532537
MARCH 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 69 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL "I thought he was everywhere. His quickness, his anticipation … I don't want to say I feel bad for Michigan fans, but we haven't seen the real Rubin Jones," May said. "He's an irritant. He's a pest on defense, and he's a really good shooter. And tonight, I thought he had two open looks that once again, they're in the air, they're lined up perfectly, and they just hit the back of the rim. "It's just kind of how it unfolds sometimes, but he's really, really find- ing his way." Goldin and Wolf scored 20 and 17, respectively, in a critical 86-83 win at Ohio State Feb. 16. Two plays for Gayle following timeouts down the stretch created great looks and buckets that kept the Wolverines just far enough ahead to pull out the win. "We felt like we'd been riding Danny, and just as we were coming out of time- outs anticipating what we might see, we felt like they were going to do some- thing, whether it was trap Danny, what- ever the case," May explained. "They were going to do something out of a timeout to take away what had been our bread and butter. So, we tried to create an advantage for Roddy getting down- hill, and he made a big-time play." Gayle had his ups and downs, but the former Buckeye notched those big plays and finished with 9 points and 8 re- bounds despite being booed every time he touched the ball. After the win, May started talking ti- tle with his team in the postgame locker room, although he quickly asked them to shift their focus to the following Fri- day night's home game with Michigan State. "A lot has to go right to be in cham- pionship contention, first and foremost health," May said. "We've been rela- tively healthy all year. [Forward] Sam Walters has an injury [back] now, but other than that, we're a pretty healthy group, and that factors into it. "There's just a lot that goes into it other than playing really good basket- ball. If you look at some of the teams in our league, there are several that could be right here in position if things just flipped a little bit differently." WITH INDIANA JOB OPEN, MICHIGAN IS WORKING ON A NEW CONTRACT FOR DUSTY MAY It only took seconds before Michigan coach Dusty May, back at Indiana and in the interview room after his team beat IU at Assembly Hall, 70-67, Feb. 8, was asked about his future. The Hoosiers have a job opening after announcing they'll part ways with head coach Mike Woodson at season's end, and May — an Indiana native who grew up rooting for the Hoosiers and a student manager for Indiana from 1996-2000 under the late Bob Knight — was listed by many as a hot candidate. ❱ 2024-25 Michigan Men's Basketball Schedule Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time Nov. 4 Cleveland State W, 101-53 Nov. 10 vs. Wake Forest* L, 72-20 Nov. 15 TCU W, 76-64 Nov. 18 Miami (Ohio)# W, 94-67 Nov. 21 Tarleton State W, 72-49 Nov. 25 vs. Virginia Tech## W, 75-63 Nov. 27 vs. Xavier## W, 78-53 Dec. 3 at Wisconsin W, 67-64 Dec. 7 Iowa W, 85-83 Dec. 10 vs. Arkansas% L, 89-87 Dec. 18 vs. Oklahoma^ L, 87-86 Dec. 22 Purdue Fort Wayne W, 89-58 Dec. 29 Western Kentucky W, 112-64 Jan. 4 at USC W, 85-74 Jan. 7 at UCLA W, 94-75 Jan. 12 Washington W, 91-75 Jan. 16 at Minnesota L, 84-81 (OT) Jan. 19 Northwestern W, 80-76 Jan. 24 at Purdue L, 91-64 Jan. 27 Penn State W, 76-72 Feb. 1 at Rutgers W, 66-63 Feb. 5 Oregon W, 80-76 Feb. 8 at Indiana W, 70-67 Feb. 11 Purdue W, 75-73 Feb. 16 at Ohio State W, 86-83 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; * Deacon-Wolverine Challenge at Greensboro, N.C.; # Fort Myers Tip-Off on-campus matchup; ## Fort Myers Tip-Off at Fort Myers, Fla.; % at New York City; ^ at Charlotte, N.C.; ** at Indianapolis Dusty May has his team contending for a regular-season Big Ten title in Year 1, and the U-M administration is reportedly working on a new contract that would keep him in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL