Michigan made a smashing first impression on Tuesday and the Wolverines are determined to be just as good in the second game of the season when they host Youngstown State on Friday.
Coming off an impressive performance in its season opener on Tuesday against UNC Asheville, rolling to a 99-74 victory, Michigan loved what it saw from several new players.
The most notable debut came from Olivier Nkamhoua, a transfer from Tennessee who had 25 points and seven rebounds. Nimari Burnett, a transfer from Alabama, provided 13 points.
Sophomores Dug McDaniel (22 points, eight assists) and Tarris Reed (nine points, seven rebounds) looked ready to excel in expanded roles.
“I think that meets the balance that this team is going to have to have in order to be successful,” said Michigan interim head coach Phil Martelli, who is filling in while head coach Juwan Howard recovers from an offseason surgery. “It could have been six guys in double figures, not four.”
Youngstown State, picked to finish fifth in the preseason Horizon League poll, is coming off a 72-62 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette on Monday, a game that saw the Penguins go 0-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half.
The Penguins follow the lead of senior guard Brandon Rush, who was named to the Horizon League’s preseason second team after averaging 13.9 points and shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range last year.
“Until we see what it looks like against those caliber of teams (like Michigan), I still really don’t know what we have,” Youngstown State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “So far, I like energy, I like our cohesiveness and I like our talent. I think we have a lot of talent.”
This will be the third meeting all-time between the Wolverines and Penguins.
Michigan has won the previous two meetings in 2006 and 2015.
–Field Level Media