No. 16 Michigan closed its exhibition schedule with an 83-66 loss to No. 10 Houston on October 25 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. The result did not count on the official record, but the game provided a clear measuring stick against a perennial contender under Kelvin Sampson. Houston controlled the glass (42-30), dominated the paint (26-14), and limited Michigan to 34 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent from three. Roddy Gayle Jr. led the Wolverines with 14 points in his first appearance after being cleared for a fifth season. Moustapha Thiam added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Elliot Cadeau finished with nine points and three assists. Trey McKenney scored eight.
Michigan finishes the three-game exhibition slate at 2-1 after earlier wins over Eastern Michigan and Oregon State. The regular season begins Monday, November 2, when the Wolverines host Oakland at Crisler Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. Coach Mike Boynton Jr., in his first season after Dusty May’s departure to the NBA, viewed the Houston game as a useful test rather than a setback. “We wanted to test ourselves against somebody that was at that level,” Boynton said afterward. “If they were in our league, they’d be picked at the very top… so we know what the bar is.”
Three specific areas stood out from the box score and the flow of the game. Each one will matter once the results begin to count.
1. Consistency Against Physical Frontcourts
Houston’s size and physicality exposed gaps that were less visible against Eastern Michigan and Oregon State. The Cougars outrebounded Michigan by 12 and nearly doubled the Wolverines’ points in the paint. Michigan’s interior options—Thiam, JP Estrella, and others—spent stretches in foul trouble. Estrella finished with seven points, six rebounds, and three blocks, but early fouls limited his availability. Thiam was productive when he stayed on the floor, yet the overall rebounding margin and paint scoring reflected a team still adjusting to the contact level that top programs bring every night.
Boynton noted that Houston’s style would reveal exactly the issues Michigan must address. The Cougars did not change their approach based on who was on the floor or the score; they simply continued to play through contact and pursue the ball. Michigan had stretches where it competed, including a 15-1 run in the first half that briefly produced a lead, but those stretches were not sustained. Against Oakland, which is not expected to match Houston’s physical profile, the immediate priority is limiting offensive rebounds and staying out of foul trouble so the bigs can remain on the court for longer stretches. The non-conference schedule later includes UConn, Marquette, and Villanova, all of which will test the same areas. Establishing a baseline of physicality and positioning in the opener will make those later tests more manageable.
2. Shot Selection and Offensive Rhythm
Michigan attempted 33 three-pointers and only 17 two-point shots. The team made nine threes (27.3 percent). Only Cadeau and Gayle converted three or more field goals for the game. The Wolverines hit consecutive field goals only twice all afternoon and never made three in a row. In the first half alone, Michigan took 20 threes against seven two-point attempts and made just five from beyond the arc. The offense never settled into a sustained rhythm.
Gayle’s 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including two threes, showed that efficient scoring is available when the ball finds the right hands. Cadeau’s three assists and McKenney’s contributions from the perimeter added secondary production, but the overall distribution left the offense dependent on long-range makes that did not come consistently. Boynton has indicated the team intends to take volume threes, yet the Houston game illustrated the cost when those attempts are not paired with enough high-percentage looks inside or when the spacing is disrupted by pressure. Against Oakland, Michigan can focus on better balance—using the pick-and-roll actions involving Cadeau and the bigs that have shown promise in earlier exhibitions—while still looking for open threes. Generating more consecutive makes and reducing the stretches without a field goal will keep the offense from stalling for multiple possessions at a time.
3. Defensive Discipline and Avoiding Extended Foul Trouble
Michigan was whistled for 25 fouls. Houston attempted 29 free throws. Several of those fouls came early and involved the frontcourt, forcing Boynton to adjust rotations and keep key pieces on the bench for stretches. The first half saw Michigan commit six fouls in the opening seven minutes. Later sequences included technical fouls and overcorrections after missed rotations. Houston converted those free throws into steady points and used the resulting tempo to push the lead into double digits in the second half.
The defensive effort was not without positives—Michigan forced turnovers and generated steals—but the foul rate allowed Houston to extend possessions and settle into its preferred pace. Boynton emphasized after the game that the team showed good basketball in spurts but needs to sustain it for full halves against elite opponents. Oakland will not present the same defensive challenge, yet the habits formed in the opener will carry forward. Reducing unnecessary reach-ins, improving help-side positioning, and keeping the interior players available will limit free-throw opportunities for opponents and keep Michigan’s preferred lineups on the floor longer.
Looking Ahead to the Opener and Beyond
The Houston exhibition does not change Michigan’s official record, but it supplies concrete data points for the staff before the November 2 opener. The roster includes returning pieces from the national championship team such as Gayle, along with transfers and younger players still developing chemistry. Brandon McCoy’s season-ending injury removed one backcourt option, placing more responsibility on Cadeau, McKenney, and the remaining guards. The early non-conference schedule—Oakland, then a neutral-site game against UConn, followed by Marquette and additional high-major opponents—will continue to test the areas highlighted against Houston.
Boynton has described the current group as talented and capable of competing at a high level once consistency improves. The exhibition slate was designed to surface those areas of inconsistency before the results matter. The 83-66 margin against a top-10 team showed both the gap that still exists and the stretches where Michigan can compete. Closing that gap begins with the three areas that were most evident in Grand Rapids: better physicality and rebounding against strong frontcourts, more balanced and efficient offensive possessions, and cleaner defensive discipline that keeps key players on the floor. Those adjustments will determine how effectively Michigan defends its national title once the regular season begins.
