Dusty May insists that No. 2 Michigan has not yet reached its peak.
“We’ve played well, but this team still has another gear that we can shift into and take it to another level,” the Wolverines coach said. “There’s no doubt.”
That could be scary news for upcoming opponents.
Michigan (11-0) will look to remain unbeaten when it tips off against McNeese (10-2) on Monday evening in Ann Arbor, Mich. It will be the first game in eight days for the Wolverines and the first in two weeks for the Cowboys after both teams enjoyed a lengthy holiday break.
Michigan is coming off a 102-50 win over LaSalle on Dec. 21. The Wolverines have topped 100 points in each of their past two games, and they boast six players who are averaging double-digit points.
Yaxel Lendeborg leads the way with 15.6 points per game. Morez Johnson Jr. is next with 12.6 and 7-foot-3 Aday Mara rounds out the top three with 10.7. Mara, a transfer from UCLA, has converted 50 of 75 shots (66.7%) from the floor and averages a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game.
The other Wolverines scoring in double digits are Trey McKenney (10.6), Roddy Gayle Jr. (10.4) and Elliot Cadeau (10.1), who is first on the team in assists (5.8).
“I think we have really good shooters, but most importantly, we’re taking good shots and we’re working together to generate good, quality shots,” May said. “… We’re all fighting for a team identity, and there’s no personal agenda in our locker room, and that’s why we’ve been able to play the type of basketball we have over the last month.”
McNeese is off to a strong start under first-year coach Bill Armstrong, who took over after Will Wade left to coach NC State. The Cowboys have won four in a row and have victories over George Washington, Murray State and Rhode Island.
Larry Johnson leads McNeese with 16.6 ppg on 59.7% shooting and rebounds (4.5). Tyshawn Archie (13.5) and Javohn Garcia (12.7) also are scoring in double digits.
The Cowboys have also excelled on the defensive end, averaging 11.4 steals and 4.4 blocked shots per game.
Johnson said he and his teammates were eager to take on one of the nation’s top teams.
“You want to play in these games to see how you stack up against them,” Johnson said. “You want to play against the best and beat the best.”
May said the Wolverines could not afford to take the game against McNeese for granted.
“They should be an NCAA Tournament team,” May said. “They’ve been top-50 (team) in the metrics because they were able to win some really good neutral site games against Atlantic 10 schools and whatnot.
“Those teams will present a number of challenges and maybe they aren’t the challenges that we’ll see in Big Ten play because of size and strength, but if we continue to perform like we have, we’ll see a team very similar to McNeese and LaSalle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. So we’ve got to be able to refer back to what we’re learning.”
