At the Buzzer: Michigan 86, UCLA 56

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Rapid reactions to Michigan’s 86-56 win over UCLA.

THE MOMENT

Michigan put it into gear right away in the second half after going into the locker room following a disappointing stretch. Graduate guard Nimari Burnett connected from three — after going 0-for-4 in the first — for a 5-point lead that grew rapidly.

Burnett’s three kicked off a much more efficient shooting half and set the tone for a huge offensive stretch for the second-ranked Wolverines. The Wolverines turned that hot start into a 46-18 dominant showing in the second half.

THE TAKEAWAY

UCLA was able to keep the game within reach for a decent while — and had a promising run to head into halftime down just two. But failing to ever actually overtake the lead at any point and falling behind big early in the second half, the Bruins were never really in a position to upset Michigan. Against a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten opponent, the Wolverines controlled as expected.

Digging a little deeper, however, the game probably didn’t play out how Michigan drew it up. Junior center Aday Mara’s day didn’t resemble a revenge game, with nine points and eight rebounds, but Michigan made sure to get him his highlights down the stretch.

In general, the Wolverines’ size wasn’t utilized a ton, not nearly as much as it was last year against the Bruins with Vlad Goldin. This time, it was depth and balance, with all nine rotation players scoring and four in double figures. 

Probably most concerning for Michigan was its performance on the glass, on both ends. Saturday marked the end of a nice stretch of offensive-rebounding performances — an area coach Dusty May has repeatedly said his team can be elite in — for the Wolverines. The undersized Bruins are poor on the defensive glass and Michigan did not take advantage in the slightest. Then on the other end, UCLA put up a solid 36.1 offensive-rebounding percentage, leading to 18 second-chance points.

But away from the glass, the Wolverines excelled where they needed to. The Bruins failed to force turnovers and Michigan eventually kicked into gera with a near flawless offensive performance in the second half.

THE STAR

It was a quintessential Yaxel Lendeborg game. He was involved so frequently on both ends of the floor and steadily filled up the stat sheet as a result.

While Michigan struggled on the offensive glass, he still picked up two. With eight total rebounds, pairing with a game-high 17 points, he came up just short of the double-double. That scoring came from around the rim, from the line, and from deep as Lendeborg just looked very comfortable scoring all game. His back-to-back threes in the second half helped turn the game for good. Two blocks and a steal on the defensive end rounded things out nicely.

Sophomore guard LJ Cason also deserves recognition for putting together another really excellent scoring performance following his showing in Evanston earlier this week.

THE STAT

Michigan’s 30.4 offensive rebounding percentage — which was heavily inflated in garbage time. It didn’t matter Saturday, but the Wolverines deviated from their recent upward trajectory in this department. Offensive rebounding is going to be important in many of Michigan’s bigger games, like the next two. 

Saturday’s effort on the offensive glass is definitely something May will be looking to clean up right away. Then again, the Wolverines won by 30 points and barely missed in the second half — this could certainly be an outlier.

FOUR FACTORS