The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 31 at Rutgers, Indiana and Ohio State, along with a get-even 75-73 victory at home over the Boilermakers Feb. 11 and a takedown of Ohio State in Columbus, 86-83, five days later. At that point, expectations rocketed right off the chart. The Wolverines, at 12-2, led the Big Ten and were a game up in the loss column on second-place Michigan State. May's close-victory Houdinis — winners of no fewer than 10 Big Ten games by four points or fewer — saw a chance to seize hold of the conference like a grizzly bear secur- ing a salmon. Michigan State headed for Crisler Center, having gone 3-3 in the half-dozen games leading up to the showdown. A handful of conference games re- mained thereafter, but many considered this in-state battle to quite possibly be for the Big Ten championship. THE SLIPPERY SLOPE Michigan couldn't hold serve at home, bowing to the Spartans, 75-62. Some of the issues holding back the Wolverines even in the close victories were on full display in the backyard bas- ketball brawl. MSU outrebounded the Wolverines, 34-25, and doubled Michi- gan's output on the offensive glass, 14-7. Tom Izzo's crew held the upper hand in turnovers, 15-11, and shockingly, the Big Ten's worst three-point shooting squad at that point came alive. The Spartans connected on 9 of 22 from long range, Michigan struggling to a 5-of-21 performance. Those stat cate- gories — along with MSU's exasperating advantage in securing balls up for grabs — made all the difference. Moreover, the showdown seemed to set the tone for the remainder of the regular season. Michigan State didn't lose again, win- ning at Maryland on a buzzer-beating half-court shot, and routing the Wol- verines in the regular-season finale, a chippy 79-62 victory in a raucous Bre- slin Center. Michigan secured two more victories — an ugly 49-46 road win at Nebraska and an 84-82 cliffhanger at Crisler when grad guard Nimari Burnett knocked down a clutch 30-footer at the buzzer to beat Rutgers. Those wins kept the Wolverines in the hunt for the title, but what followed turned those hopes to ashes. U-M closed out the regular season with home losses to Illinois (93-73) and Maryland (71-65), prior to the finale in East Lan- sing. All of it left critics questioning Michigan's chances in the tournaments to come, and the Wolverines question- ing themselves a bit. Part of it obviously involved a back- loaded schedule, with two games in the final six with the eventual Big Ten champs, plus the battle with Maryland. That didn't preclude some self-exami- nation in the days leading up to March Madness. CAUSES AND CONCERNS May's first Michigan team featured a pair of skyscrapers, 7-foot-1 grad cen- ter Vladislav Goldin and 7-foot junior forward-center Danny Wolf. Those two performed well enough to earn All-Big Ten honors, with Goldin named first- team by the media and second-team by the coaches and Wolf earning sec- ond-team from both camps. Goldin led U-M in scoring, averaging 16.7 per game while shooting a team-best 64.2 percent from the field. Wolf proved a dynamic ball handler, scorer and passer, averaging 12.9 points and a team-lead- ing 9.7 rebounds per game. Beyond them, Michigan's backcourt came under some scrutiny down the stretch. Junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. — a transfer from Ohio State — was moved out of the starting lineup in favor of grad transfer Rubin Jones. Gayle appeared to lose confidence from long range over the course of the season, connecting on only 19.7 percent of his three-point shots. Junior guard Tre Donaldson — Michigan's third-leading scorer (11.5) and assist leader (122) — struggled at times, giving way to freshman L.J. Ca- son during the season finale in East Lansing. The Wolverines went on a 14-0 rally with Cason on the floor — not enough on a day when MSU built a 25-point lead prior to the run, but attention-getting nonetheless. May didn't want to get too pointed in his analysis just prior to the Big Ten Tournament. But he did acknowledge Michigan's guard play needs to be a sig- nificant part of the package in rallying to some tournament success. "I don't want to put that pressure on: 'If we lose, it's because of our guards,' or 'If we win, it's because of our guards,'" May said. "We need to play much better as a unit, and if we keep advancing and play many, many more games, it's going to be because we had good guard play and we had good play up front. "It's just letting those guys know that they have a big role on this team, and we believe in them and need them," May said. "Because if they don't, then we're not going to play very much longer. Our success is dependent upon them having a very big role on this team." Either way, the Wolverines enjoyed a very big first season under May, given the circumstances. His contract exten- sion prior to the first MSU showdown ignited considerable rejoicing among the Michigan fan base. But in the fickle world of fandom, most entered tour- nament time hoping for a more upbeat ending. ❑ Michigan Seeks A New Start To a man, Michigan looked forward to tournament time as a fresh start following an uneven fin- ish. The Wolverines wound up tied for second in the Big Ten with Maryland at 14-6, behind Big Ten champion Michigan State at 17-3. After a 12-2 conference start, that finish proved less than satisfying. Now, another chance beck- oned. "I'm super excited for the tournament," grad guard Nimari Burnett offered. "I feel like we can really make some noise this year. We've got the group than can do that. "I think we're going to be inspired and excited to go out there on the floor and give it our all. When the moment comes, we'll be ready." After the conference tourney in Indianapolis, they'll meet teams in the NCAA Tournament that don't have them scouted to the last man on the bench. That in itself could inject new life into the Wolverines. "No doubt," Burnett said. "There are all different challenges, and things to be excited about. The game of basketball presents different challenges, some beautiful opportunities and really good op- ponents. I'm excited for those moments." — John Borton