Miami (Ohio) and Michigan will have identical records and identical motives when they collide Monday night in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Both the RedHawks and Wolverines have relatively new rosters, so in addition to each having 2-1 records, they’ll want to continue to find an identity and continuity as the non-conference season progresses.
Featuring a roster with seven new players, Miami is coming off an 88-70 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday.
Miami head coach Travis Steele said limiting turnovers and getting back on defense will be the biggest keys for his team against the Wolverines.
“I’ve got to see us take care of the ball,” he said. “I think that’s where it starts, valuing the ball. When we’ve done that, we’ve looked pretty good on offense. Pass the ball, don’t overdribble it and run our offense. No. 2, can we keep them off the glass? They’re going to be pretty big. We’ve done a pretty job of that so far this year, on the defensive glass specifically. And then can we get back in transition defensively? They play really fast, so we have to be really disciplined how we crash the glass, how we sprint back and how we build walls around the ball. We have to make them play halfcourt offense.”
The RedHawks are led by forward Kam Craft, whose 19 points per game average ranks second in the MAC. He is averaging 3.7 3-pointers made per game.
Michigan, which has 12 new players on this year’s roster, is coming off a solid 76-64 win over TCU on Friday in what could be a decent NCAA Tournament resume win by season’s end.
Michigan won despite committing 21 turnovers, but head coach Dusty May hopes that’s just part of the process of integrating a large number of players at the same time.
“As long as we’re being conscious about learning and getting all these things into our long-term development, then all of these games will pay dividends later and help us win those games when they really, really matter,” May said. “They really matter now, but when they really, really matter.”
The leading scorer for the Wolverines is Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson, averaging 13.3 points per game. The guard also leads the team in assists (4.7).
This will be the first meeting between the programs since 2006. The Wolverines lead the all-time series 5-1.
–Field Level Media
