Michigan Men's Basketball kicked off their 2022-23 season with a comfortable victory over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons 75-56, covering both the Vegas and KenPom line. Hunter Dickinson and Jett Howard powered the Wolverines with dazzling offensive performances while the Michigan defense showed reasons for optimism in holding the opposition to just 30% shooting from the field. Fourteen Michigan players got to play in front of the favorable Crisler Center crowd and Juwan Howard's squad got the start to the season they were looking for. 

Purdue Fort Wayne opened the game on a positive note, holding Michigan to just two points in the first three minutes of action before the Wolverines really got going. The score was 8-4 with 15:17 to go in the first half when the eruption occurred for the Maize & Blue, cobbling together what would be 20-0 run that lasted 4.5 minutes. Two three pointers from Joey Baker propelled Michigan over that stretch while Hunter Dickinson and Jett Howard added points of their own. If there was any optimism for a titanic upset early on in the game, that mostly went away after the stretch of dominance for Michigan. 

During the first half we got a glimpse at several of the top young players on the Michigan team in their first career NCAA games. Tarris Reed made his impact with a thunder-block inside, though he struggled on the offensive end. Dug McDaniel forced a steal, and the Howard brothers connected as Jett passed to Jace for an open three pointer, which the elder brother knocked down. The bench was rocky in the late first half, as Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 7-0 run, cutting the margin back down to nine and requiring Juwan Howard to re-insert Dickinson. Within a few minutes of his return to the floor, the lead was restored to 37-22. The Mastodons did go on their own run before the buzzer but a pretty set play for Jett Howard, drawn up by his father in a timeout, made the score 40-28 at the break. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The second half was more of what we saw in the first half. Michigan tightened their grip around the game with a 10-3 run to get things going, which pushed their lead up to 19 (the largest of the night). It was a 3 from Howard, a beautiful Jaelin Llewellyn pass to Kobe Bufkin for a dunk, and a pair of Dickinson slams (the latter an and-one) that did the job for Michigan, while their defense again suffocated Purdue Fort Wayne for a chunk of the game, forcing a series of missed three pointers.

A comic blowout would continue for several minutes after that. Among the most memorable plays in this stretch was a dazzling layup from Dug McDaniel, going coast to coast, beginning the possession with a behind the back dribble. The Wolverines throttled the Mastodons all the way up until the score was 59-35 with 12:44 remaining in the contest, when Howard again subbed out Dickinson. This stretch with the junior big man on the bench went even worse than the first, as Michigan would not score for six minutes without Dickinson. The defense continued to hold up alright, allowing Purdue Fort Wayne to whittle the lead down to 12 but no further. Dickinson re-entered and made a layup, but it was answered by a bucket at the other end. 

The score at that point sat at 61-49 with 6:32 remaining and while no one was truly worried, it was a bit closer than most Michigan partisans would have preferred. Jett Howard decided to remove whatever doubt about the outcome there was and put his signature stamp on the game by engineering a personal 8-0 run in the span of 80 seconds. He made a three, swatted a shot on the defensive end, finished a layup in the lane, and then after a Michigan defensive stop, nailed another three. The score was now 69-49 with under four minutes left and it was officially KenPom time. KenPom time was rather unmemorable but freshman Gregg Glenn got his first NCAA points and delivered an assist to Will Tschetter, giving the sophomore PF his first points of the season. When the final horn sounded, Michigan had won 75-56. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Dickinson led the team with 22 points and he looked like his usual self. Dominant in the paint, HD shot 9/11 from the floor, made all four of his free throws, and nabbed 12 boards in 27 minutes. Jett Howard appeared to be the other end of a possible 1-2 punch, nearly matching Dickinson's statline with 21 points. His shot looked fluid and crisp, canning 5 of 10 from beyond the arc and he added three buckets from inside the arc. Michigan will need more from Howard on the glass (two rebounds in 31 minutes) but as a shooter and ballhandler capable of carrying a heavy load for the Michigan offense, the freshman looked the part. 

Jaelin Llewellyn was rather quiet in his first game as a Wolverine, scoring just two points on 1/5 shooting (0/3 from three) but the transfer PG did have a few moments where he appeared to be a capable distributor, with two pretty assists collapsing the defense with penetration and finding the open cutter. Defensive agility for Llewellyn is something to watch, though. Kobe Bufkin only had eight points after a strong exhibition showing, but did not look like a glaring issue defensively or with his reads in the ballscreen game. Terrance Williams II played 28 minutes yet did not make a massive visual or statistical impact. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Off the bench, Michigan's second unit left a lot to be desired as a group but there were some flashes. Joey Baker shot 3/6 from deep and appeared to be a natural perimeter shooter who will be a weapon on the kickout. Jace Howard had issues with fouls but making a three was a positive indicator for a player who has struggled mightily with offense in his collegiate career. Tarris Reed and Dug McDaniel each had brief flashes but looked rough on the edges offensively. 

As a team, Michigan shot 47% from the floor and held Purdue Fort Wayne to a measly 30%. A majority of Mastodon field goal attempts were from distance and for a Michigan squad that is aiming for defensive improvement, it was a solid first showing. Rebounding does seem to be a potential area of weakness based on this performance, as Purdue Fort Wayne dominated on the offensive glass, owning OREBs 15-4. That said, a 7-2 advantage in steals for Michigan was a first sign that an emphasis on forcing more turnovers could be bearing some fruits. 

Michigan begins the season 1-0 and will be back in action on Friday night against the intra-county rivals, the Eastern Michigan Eagles. EMU features one-time star recruit Emoni Bates and it will be a matchup not lacking in intrigue. The game will be played in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena, tipping off at 9:00 PM EST and broadcast on ESPNU. There is no content after the jump.