After taking down Eastern Michigan this past Sunday, the Wolverines came back to Crisler Center to take on Oregon State for their second exhibition game of the season. Michigan welcomed back former assistant coach Justin Joyner, who took the head coaching position with the Beavers.
It was a back-and-forth game, but Michigan came out on top. Despite Trey McKenney fouling out of the game with five fouls, the Wolverines managed to take down Oregon State, 98-93. Roddy Gayle Jr. didn't play for the second game in a row, and the Wolverines are hopeful they get things cleared up with his eligibility very soon.
Here are three stats that popped out from the Wolverines' win.
Moustapha Thiam will be Michigan's rebounding
Entering Friday, we wondered how Michigan would fare with Oregon State's size. The Beavers have three players over seven feet and Joyner started two of them. Michigan was out-rebounded 37-29 in the game, and that will be something to monitor when the Wolverines play bigger teams.
Center Moustapha Thiam led all players, grabbing 10 rebounds in the game and he is going to eat up boards. As we saw overseas, the Wolverines struggled to grab rebounds once Thiam suffered an early injury.
Michigan has J.P. Estrella and Jalen Reed, but neither are going to rebound like Thiam. Keeping the big center healthy is important, or Michigan could get eaten up by bigger teams on the glass. Thiam impressed against Oregon State, scoring 19 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Elliot Cadeau can take over games
It was a first half to forget for Elliot Cadeau. Both he and Trey McKenney were in foul trouble and Cadeau scored just one point in the first 20 minutes. But the second half belonged to Cadeau, while McKenney remained in foul trouble.
Cadeau scored 26 points in the second half to lead all scorers with 27. He only made one three-pointer, but Cadeau was active, getting into the lane and drawing fouls. He made 11-of-13 free throws in the second half and he dominated the game.
Oregon State had opportunities to win the game, but Cadeau put the Wolverines on his back, and his 27 points show how much of a scoring role he will have for this team in 2026-27.
Opportunistic from turnovers
Turnovers were always an issue for Michigan last season. It never truly bit the Wolverines in the butt, since Michigan won the national title and all, but the Wolverines found themselves in turnover trouble early and often.
Against Oregon State, Michigan turned it over just seven times. It was the Beavers who had the problems. Oregon State turned the ball over 17 times and Michigan scored a whopping 31 points off turnovers.
Michigan was very opportunistic and made the most of the Beavers' woes. The Wolverines have scorers on this team like McKenney, Cadeau, and Thiam, but Michigan will have to rely on its defense more this season than last year. Capitalizing on turnovers will only make things easier for Michigan.
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