A missed free throw invited groans. They rumbled through the first Crisler Center crowd as what should have been a joyous evening veered toward peril.
No. 6 Michigan basketball had blown a tire in the second half against Buffalo, the plucky MAC favorites who whittled a 24-point deficit to five with under six minutes remaining. A glorious first half in which the Wolverines shot 57.6% from the floor and registered 11 assists on 19 field goals gave way to foul-induced slop: a five-minute stretch in which they scored just 3 points and, later, a four-minute stretch with a single basket. The absence of point guard DeVante’ Jones, whose third foul sent him to the bench with 17:23 remaining, probed the depth of Juwan Howard’s club at the most important position.
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But just as the game began to teeter, as a season-opening upset seemed possible, Michigan’s offense surged to life. A missed free throw by Jones gave way to a 3-pointer by Terrance Williams II and a dunk by Hunter Dickinson, a mid-range jumper by Brooks and another 3 from Caleb Houstan. The Wolverines survived their opener with a 12-2 spurt in the final minutes as they pulled away from a game opponent. Williams and Dickinson, who finished with a game-high 27 points, combined to score 23 of Michigan’s 37 points in the second half to secure an 88-76 win that was every bit as challenging as the final score indicates.
“Obviously you don’t want to lose the lead and make it close,” Dickinson said. “Juwan probably got a couple more gray hairs from that. But I think it was a good test for us, a good showing of resilience because we are a younger team. I feel like things like that will definitely help us down the stretch in terms of the tournament and later in the Big Ten season.”
Five-star men
In a lauded recruiting class with obvious comparisons to the Fab Five, Howard’s prized signees were Houstan and Diabate, a pair of five-star prospects already on the radar of NBA scouts. The smooth-moving, silky-shooting Houstan carved out a place in the starting lineup as a prototypical small forward, while Diabate was the first player off the bench and split minutes between power forward and center.
Their wide-ranging influence Wednesday affirmed the lofty expectations. Just as Houstan did in Friday’s exhibition against Wayne State, after which Howard said he resembled a seasoned veteran, the freshman from Canada oozed cool on the offensive end. The breadth of his offensive arsenal ranged from a spinning layup following a pump-faked jumper to an old-fashioned three-point play in transition. He splashed a 3 after a give-and-go with Diabate and later found the big man with a beautiful assist after curling around two screens, capped by a thunderous dunk.
Houstan scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists despite battling foul trouble for much of the first half.
“It’s easy for him to get hot because he’s just a couple shots away from really heating up,” Dickinson said. “He’s such a great shooter, and I think the way our offense is designed, the pressure we put on (opposing forwards), he’s going to have a lot of those open shots. And he’s a great shooter so he’s going to knock them down for us. I think he’s got a really good opportunity to score a lot for us and do a lot for us.”
An envy-inducing combination of size, quickness and athleticism push Diabate into the upper echelon of two-way players. His influence on defense was obvious, evidenced by his ability to switch screens and alter shots that ignited fast breaks on a night when the Wolverines were potent in transition. The repertoire he flashed on offense, where his vision to pass out of double teams and willingness to put the ball on the floor, seemed well ahead of schedule.
“Love it, love it,” Howard said. “Doesn’t surprise me at all because that’s the kind of player he is. He brings energy, effort, toughness.”
He stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in just 16 minutes.
“Moussa played great,” Dickinson said. “Obviously he’s just so active out there. Really great defender and then offensively he’s so gifted. I think he’s just a mismatch problem for a lot of teams, and he’s able to guard one through five. He’s such a special piece for us that I think as the season goes on, he’s going to keep getting better and better. I can’t wait to see him at the end of the season how good he is.”
Odds and ends
Sophomore guard Zeb Jackson was the only scholarship player unavailable for Wednesday’s game as he remained sidelined by a non-Covid illness. Jackson, who was on the bench with his teammates, missed last week’s exhibition as well. … Prior to tipoff, the Wolverines enjoyed a banner-raising ceremony to commemorate last year’s Big Ten title. Players and coaches also received their championship rings.
Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13. Send questions for his next U-M mailbag.
