Five takeaways from Michigan’s win at Oregon

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Michigan picked up another road win on Saturday afternoon, knocking off Oregon by a final score of 81-71 in Eugene. The Wolverines didn’t play their best basketball on their trip to the Pacific Northwest, but still swept both games by double digits.

Here are five takeaways from Michigan’s win at Oregon.

1. Nimari Burnett steps up

It wasn’t the first time Nimari Burnett had played in Eugene. The 6-foot-5 graduate guard remembers Michigan’s loss at Oregon in 2023, an overtime game in which Jackson Shelstad hit a game-winning shot.

He wanted to make sure this trip ended differently.

“This is my second time here at Oregon, and the last time didn’t go so well,” Burnett explained. “But we turned that around. And that was the mindset going to the second half, getting it on defense, and kind of let my defense kind of dictate my offense, instead of vice versa. And it allowed us to get out in transition. And, you know, just for me, just being with my teammates, me cutting, knocking down shots, and just playing hard.”

Burnett finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 (3-of-7 3-point) shooting with 3 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 25 minutes. It was one of his best performances of the season, and he made plays even when the Wolverines were struggling.

“I thought in the first half he was the one who really kind of carried more than his share of the weight. I thought he was poised. I thought he was mature,” May explained on his post-game radio interview. “He made big shots, and in the second half, we talked about that group, but I thought him driving and starting some driving kicks, and that became contagious, versus trying to drive and score on two or three guys, which we did a lot in the first half.”

It was Burnett’s first game with three or more made 3-pointers since the Players Era Championship, and he continued his developing ability to get downhill and finish at the rim. He had several strong drives to the basket, a cutting dunk off of an Aday Mara pass, and several drives and dishes.