Heading into the No. 7 Michigan men’s basketball team’s exhibition matchup against Cincinnati, coach Dusty May didn’t care whether his team won or lost. May views the two power-conference exhibitions as a chance to expose weaknesses and play against anyone other than themselves.
The Bearcats gave them that exposure and more. The Wolverines showed some glaring weaknesses but also had many bright spots in their 100-98 loss to Cincinnati.
So now that we have our first taste of action for the 2025-26 Michigan team, UM Hoops has five key takeaways from its exhibition loss.
Michigan converted at the line in a whistle-happy game
During the entire game between Michigan and Cincinnati, there were a total of 83 free throws. South Dakota led the nation in free throws per game last year at 28.9. If the Coyotes played themselves, it still would have been 25 shy of Friday night’s contest.
Only six college basketball games had more than 83 free throws in a regulation game last year, and four of those were played before Thanksgiving.
For a team that likes to get in transition, having the stoppage of play to spend time at the line was almost a blessing in disguise.
“I don’t know if anybody else felt the same way I did, but those foul calls kind of helped me out a little bit,” graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg said. “I was gassed.”
Due to the fast-paced nature of the game on both ends — 84 possessions matched Michigan’s season high last year — having the extra time to settle down served as a pro for some of the new players in the program, not used to the speed of May’s offense. Collectively as a team, Michigan went 41-48 from the line, a respectable 85.4%.
“I was actually pleased that we made as many free throws as we did,” May said. “I thought we shot it well from the line. It’s another thing in practice, you never can tell because we’ve shot it well at the line in five-on-five live play.”
