At the Buzzer: Michigan 85, Wake Forest 84 (OT)

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Rapid reaction to Michigan’s 85-84 overtime win over Wake Forest.

The Moment 

It took 18 minutes and 16 seconds for Michigan to make a second-half three. But finally, senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. delivered to tie the game at 77 after the Wolverines blew a 13-point halftime lead in a disastrously cold shooting second half.

Gayle shot just 23.2% from behind the arc last season, as perimeter shooting has continuously been a point of emphasis for his development. But like he did this March, Gayle found his stroke when it mattered, pulling the game back to square — setting the game up for overtime, in which Michigan was able to scrape by.

The Takeaway

After a first half in which Michigan dominated in the paint on both ends, Wake Forest was able to completely negate the Wolverines’ size advantage in the second half, largely by exposing their inability to shoot the 3-ball.

The five that took the court at tipoff featured three bigs: junior center Aday Mara, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr., and graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg. Up by 13 points after outsourcing the Demon Deacons 22-12 in the paint in the first half, coach Dusty May rolled out the same lineup after halftime.

But Wake Forest often doubled Mara in the post in the second, forcing the ball to the perimeter on a night where the Wolverines couldn’t get anything to go away from the basket. Although May admitted in his Monday press conference that shooting wasn’t supposed to be a strength of this squad, Tuesday marked a sharp decline from the opener in which his team went 19-for-35 from three.

May wasn’t afraid to throw out different looks, big and small, whether it was just to experiment and gather more data or to feel comfortable already with his roster. Senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. — who started both exhibition games and against Oakland last week — was first off the bench. He came in for Mara, making the Wolverines significantly smaller than they were to start the game. Often Gayle was paired with freshman Trey McKenney and sophomore LJ Cason in the backcourt to split ball-handling duties.

When things came down to the wire in overtime — perhaps surprisingly with the Wolverines favored by double digits — the Wolverines went back and forth between the three-big and three-guard lineups. In both cases, Gayle was on the court for the entire five minutes. Just two games in, it’s hard to say if the size-centric lineup will be May’s go-to, but he clearly sees promise there.

The Star

Wake Forest had no answer for Mara in the paint in the first half. Mara towered over the Demon Deacon’s undersized frontcourt and his teammates consistently found him with ease on the interior. Mara finished the game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and five blocks for his first double-double at Michigan. The Wolverines also repeatedly tried to find him with lobs, making good on offseason promises.

Although Mara was quiet for much of the second half, Michigan was in its entirety, with no one standing out like Mara did in the first 20.

The Stat

Despite shooting 3-for-11 from deep in the first half, Michigan still held a significant 47-34 lead. At that point, the Wolverines were scoring often enough around the rim to make up for an off night shooting the ball. 

But when the well went dry in the second half, Michigan’s woes from range became detrimental. Shooting 1-for-13 from three let Wake Forest come back in the second half. Gayles’ big-time make with 1:44 remaining in the second half was the sole 3-pointer the Wolverines hit.

Lendeborg, not exactly known as a shooter, was particularly cold throughout the contest. Alone, he went 1-for-7 from behind the arc, with that sole make occurring less than two minutes in.

Including both halves and overtime, Michigan shot just 4-25 from three, good for a meager 16%. Without a perimeter threat of any kind on Tuesday in Detroit, the Wolverines couldn’t pull away from the Demon Deacons and instead were forced to play an extra five minutes and hold on through the final possession.

Four Factors