Michigan showed some fight in its Battle 4 Atlantis opener against Memphis but couldn’t erase a 16-point deficit against the Tigers.
The Wolverines turned the ball over on 39% of their first-half possessions and allowed Memphis to close the half on a 13-4 run, a spurt aided by Dug McDaniel sitting on the bench with two fouls for the final 3:55
Even after that disastrous first half, Michigan battled back. The Wolverines threw out a 2-3 zone that changed the pace and clawed within one point in the final four minutes. They had a pair of shots on a late possession to take the lead, but Terrance Williams II and Dug McDaniel missed their chances, and Memphis wing Jaykwon Walton answered with a 3-pointer on the following trip.
Memphis looked like the deeper and better team, but even on a poor night, the Wolverines had their chances to steal the game. Instead, they are left to spend the night about the possessions they might want back.
“Two losses in a row. We all own it,” Phil Martelli said after the defeat. “We all have a play that we did not execute or a call that we did not make. Pick yourselves up, and then together we move forward to play tomorrow.”
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