Conclusions: Burnett and McDaniel are outstanding as Michigan destroys St. John’s in New York.
The Wolverines maintained their strong start to the season on Monday night, taking on a gifted, young St. John’s team at Madison Square Garden to kick off the 2023 Gavitt Games between the Big Ten and the Big East.
In the opening game of the 2023 Gavitt Games, which will match the Big Ten against the Big East, the Wolverines maintained their stellar start to the season by defeating the gifted, young St. John’s team at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
The Wolverines maintained their strong start to the season on Monday night, taking on a gifted, young St. John’s team at Madison Square Garden to kick off the 2023 Gavitt Games between the Big Ten and the Big East. Michigan (3-0) easily defeated the Red Storm, 89-73, after taking a commanding lead in the first half and making it into a farce in the second.
Dug McDaniel led the Wolverines with 26 points, seven assists, and six rebounds, continuing his impressive season. Michigan also saw Terrance Williams II and Will Tschetter both score in double figures, and Nimari Burnett scored 21 points in just the first half. Four different Michigan players made multiple 3-pointers, and the Wolverines won 36–28 in paint points.
Burnett took the court on Monday after witnessing teammates Dug McDaniel, Olivier Nkahoua, and even Will Tschetter light up the scoreboard with 20 points apiece in Michigan’s opening two games. Three seconds after tipoff, the guard scored the first basket of the game and was just getting warmed up. Burnett led the Wolverines with two three-pointers and three paint buckets in the first 4:25 of the game, finishing with 12 points on five shots.
In his first 15 minutes and 8 shots on the court, he scored a career-high 21 points, adding two more 3-pointers, a free throw, and a late jumper. It’s reasonable to wonder where Michigan would have ended up if Burnett hadn’t played his best half of his career, given that other players had more subdued first halves. The Wolverines were fortunate not to have to worry about that.
Rather, the former Chicago top-40 recruit appeared to be a player who could actually provide Michigan with some serious scoring punch this season. Many predicted Burnett, who has a 6-foot-8 wingspan and excellent athleticism, to be a fantastic multi-positional defender for the Wolverines this season. However, Burnett’s scoring potential was viewed with less optimism after injuries and depth charts ended his careers at Texas Tech and Alabama.
But on Monday, the 6-foot-4 guard demonstrated that he is a capable scorer from outside the arc as well as close to the basket.
Dug continues to dazzle and dish.
You may be a week late if you’re only now referring to Dug McDaniel as one of the Big Ten’s most impressive breakout players. In Michigan’s victory, the sophomore point guard scored 38 points on 28 shots and added 12 assists.
praised since the summer for his commitment and attention to detail during the offseason, having started the first two games.
On a larger platform, though, and up against a skilled Big East backcourt, McDaniel kept introducing himself to the world of college basketball. McDaniel’s goal came after more than eight minutes of play, but the Red Storm found it difficult to score after that.
he. The sophomore, mostly through sheer acceleration, blasted past St. John’s press defenses with ease and created lanes to the basket.
In addition to surpassing his career-high of 23 points from last week, he also contributed some crucial assists with a total of seven. Even with
McDaniel was probably the game’s most valuable player despite Burnett’s career night, registering a plus-28 plus-minus in his 38 minutes of play.
There was cautious optimism following last week that the Michigan team this year could fare much better than anticipated. Numerous publications picked the Wolverines to finish 11th in the Big Ten and didn’t even project them to make the NIT, much less the NCAA Tournament.
However, following facile victories over Youngstown State and North Carolina-Asheville, some questioned whether the talk in the summer and fall about this year’s team being more experienced, balanced, and at ease in the field was accurate. And Michigan demonstrated that on Monday. Though it’s unclear if St. John’s, which is in its first season under Rick Pitino and has added a lot of players through the transfer portal, will develop into a strong team, the Wolverines defeated a high-major opponent handily on the road.
Aside from a few early blunders by both teams, Michigan played disciplined, mostly error-free basketball, changed the game’s direction with a near-perfect 22-5 run early in the second half, and maintained composure despite the Red Storm’s fast-paced style of play. The road environment wasn’t as hostile as it will be for other teams later in the season, and St. John’s will undoubtedly appear more formidable in the winter than it did in its second game after adding nine transfers. However, the Wolverines appear to be a team that can cause a lot of noise in the Big Ten this season with every game that goes by.
It’s evident after three games that Michigan can score a lot of points. This season, the Wolverines have scored 89 points or more in each of their three games, and five players are currently averaging at least 11 points per game. Michigan is shooting over 41% of its threes and appears to be at ease playing quick, balanced offense.
