New season, same matchup.
Seven months after playing for the national championship, No. 16 Michigan (1-0) and No. 4 UConn (1-0) meet again in the much-anticipated nightcap of the Basketball Hall of Fame Series doubleheader on Friday in Boston.
The game marks a step up in class for both teams after the Huskies cruised past Gardner-Webb 86-46 and the Wolverines took down Oakland 84-68 in their season openers on Monday.
“Those are the games that are easier on coaches, I think,” UConn’s Dan Hurley said of bringing his team to a stage like TD Garden. “Coaching games like (Monday)…you’re so on edge that your team is just not going to be ready to play because they’re not going to have the same respect for the opponent. … Obviously, couldn’t have more respect for Michigan and the great players.”
Of course, so much has changed since the Wolverines hoisted the trophy after a 69-63 win over Hurley’s Huskies on April 6 in Indianapolis.
UConn had to replace two first-round NBA draft picks in Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban. Michigan had to replace three lottery picks in Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara – not to mention head coach Dusty May, who left for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks while top assistant Mike Boynton Jr. was promoted to head coach.
The Wolverines shot 43.7% overall and just 7 of 34 from 3-point range against Oakland. Without the presence of 7-foot-2 Cincinnati transfer Moustapha Thiam, who missed the game due to an illness, they allowed the Golden Grizzlies to claim 21 offensive rebounds.
“There’s no secret about who we have next,” Boynton said. “We have to get quite a bit better.”
Boynton is hopeful Thiam will be good to go by Friday.
“He had a bit of a temperature, so we thought it’d be best (Monday) to let him rest,” he said. “Hopefully he’s in practice Wednesday, Thursday, before we head up there.
Fifth-year senior Roddy Gayle Jr., who matched Trey McKenney with a game-high 17 points against Oakland, looks forward to the challenge of the Final Four rematch.
“We got a taste of how they’re going to play last year in the championship game,” he said. “But being able to really play an important game the second game of the season, looking at a Final Four team, kind of understanding what it takes to be at that level this early in the season, I feel like it’s a really big stepping stone for us.”
UConn rolled out a deep lineup in its opener, with four double-figure scorers helping a 51.7% shooting performance compared to Gardner-Webb’s 25.5%.
Preseason All-Big East selection Braylon Mulins scored a game-high 20 points, while sophomore transfers Nik Khamenia and Na’jai Hines posted 14 and 12, respectively, to match their career highs. Hines also pulled down 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double.
Freshman Colben Landrew came off the bench to score 11 points.
“The best thing about this team is gonna be the balance,” said Hurley, who won his 200th game with the Huskies. “Coming out of (Gardner-Webb), we’re just figuring out what the rotation’s gonna be. … We’re still kind of giving people a look, and now whoever’s earned that top eight, top nine potentially, those will be the people that play in Boston.”
In the national title game, Elliot Cadeau scored a game-high 19 points to earn Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors. McKenney posted nine points and eight rebounds to help Michigan. Mullins was the top performer among UConn’s returnees with 11 points, seven boards and two assists.