The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543210
64 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2026 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL the group to flex its muscle after a pair of top-10 wins on Jan. 27 and 30 against Nebraska and Michigan State, respec- tively. All there is to do after an impressive stretch is focus on what is next, and the Penn State win was a thorough and un- selfish performance after a six-day lay- off between games. And there was no letup when U-M started to empty the bench late in the game. "I thought we played with a great deal of maturity," head coach Dusty May said after the game. "We had 17 out of our 19 baskets in the second half that were assisted, and 31 out of 40 in the game. I think that's a testament to a group that respects and values each other and is putting the team on the same plane as themselves. "Our young guys play good basket- ball. They had an opportunity to play extended minutes and they did a really nice job." May, who was spotted in Detroit days earlier at the NBA contest between the Pistons and New Jersey Nets, said he was struck by the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed and how it approached its business in a 130-77 victory. "I went to the Pistons' game the other day, and they had a big lead and they went to their bench early, their third- string guys, their two-ways," May said. "And I'm sitting there watching, think- ing, 'Wow.' When your 13th man comes in and it looks a lot like your top three, your top four guys — the way they play, the way they compete — every posses- sion matters. I thought that's a testa- ment to a real, healthy culture and guys who love playing ball. And I thought we looked like that tonight. "A proud moment to see our young guys out there competing and playing a good brand of ball." It would have been easy to coast into a game they likely would have won by double digits after a few days off in an emotion-filled week. But the Penn State result was born out of the work and the rededication to the Michigan standard more than anything else and grabbing the baton from the championship-level effort in East Lansing. "We had such a workmanlike ap- proach," May said of the days leading up to the Michigan State game. "There was a lot of discussion on what we needed to do better. Every game, we take a couple of themes that these things have to im- prove. But we didn't make that game bigger than what it was. "It's tied with five minutes left [in East Lansing]. If they beat us, then we know our road would be more difficult. But at the end of the day, it was a road game in the Big Ten. If we lost, we still had nine more games to make up for it. We take a lot of pride in our temperature not really changing that much." Graduate guard Nimari Burnett, who exploded with 31 points in the Penn State win after playing only four sec- ond-half minutes at MSU, was in Ann Arbor for some rougher days. Now in his third season with the program, his 8-24 debut season is in the rearview mirror. "It's amazing," Burnett said after the game. "I joke with my fiancée and Will [Tschetter] and Roddy [Gayle]. Roddy wasn't here, but he played against us when we were 8-24, and I was like, 'Roddy, we still beat y'all though.' But the tables have turned, and it's a credit to Dusty, the staff and trusting us to play good basketball out there. "Dusty also recruited a bunch of un- selfish guys who are willing to win and do whatever it takes to win. And we all have that in common. We love to see each other succeed." U-M has pushed back against the narrative that the team is made up of highly paid mercenaries out of the transfer portal. Burnett and the pro- gram see their bond as players who came together to chase championships, not money. "It's super rare," Burnett said, "espe- cially in the NIL era. It's important to understand what's most important, and that's winning. Everything else takes care of itself after that." — Anthony Broome Graduate wing Nimari Burnett went off for 31 points in the Feb. 5 blowout win against Penn State, going 7-for-10 from three-point range. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL