Michigan basketball's second-half woes lead to home loss to McNeese State, 87-76
On Thursday, Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard stressed the importance of taking each opponent seriously on the schedule, no matter the school or conference, ahead of the nonconference finale against McNeese State.
That message didn't translate to the court on Friday night, as the Wolverines (6-7) fell to McNeese State, 87-76, at Crisler Center.
It is U-M's second home loss to a mid-major team this season, also falling to Long Beach State in November. It is the third straight season Michigan will enter the Big Ten schedule coming off a loss (UCF in 2021, Central Michigan last season).
Michigan had no answer for McNeese State's defense, which threw nearly every coverage at the Wolverines to force 15 turnovers, leading to 20 points for the Cowboys. McNeese shot 47.6% (30-for-63) from the field, fueled by 42 points in the paint compared to Michigan's 14, and pulled down 10 offensive rebounds against the bigger Wolverines.
Michigan trailed by three at halftime, despite 10 first half turnovers, by shooting 10-for-19 from 3-point range in the first half. U-M only turned the ball over five times in the second half, but shot 31.3% from the field (10-for-32) after halftime, including only three made 3s on 16 attempts (18.8%). For the game, Michigan shot 29.3% from the field (22-for-56).
Terrance Williams II led U-M with 20 points on 5 of 9 shooting, with four 3s. Dug McDaniel and Olivier Nkamhoua both scored 17 points and took turns dictating the offense. McDaniel scored 12 in the first half on four 3s, but was 2 of 11 in the second half, and also had eight rebounds and five assists. Nkamhoua didn't score in the first half after sitting the final 12 minutes with two fouls, but was the only Michigan player that had more than five points in the final 20 minutes. Will Tschetter was the only other scorer in double figures with 11 off the bench.
Not a second-half team
The offensive woes allowed McNeese to build a double-digit lead, as the Cowboys continued to bully their way to the rim. McNeese shot 55.6% from the field (15-27) and 50% from 3 (4-8) in the second half, which allowed them to go up double-digits and maintain the lead.
The teams traded buckets in the first six minutes of the second half as the lead hovered around five points but McNeese pulled ahead 56-46 with 13:16 left after two live-ball turnovers from Nimari Burnett and Nkamhoua led to five straight points for McNeese's Shahada Wells, who finished with a game-high 30 points and 10 rebounds, before Nkamhoua answered with a corner 3.
Nkamhoua cut the lead to five on two separate occasions with a layup and a pair of free throws which made it 60-55 with 9:38 left. McNeese answered with three more layups and a trip to the line, interspersed by a Williams three, to lead 68-58 with 7:11 left.
McNeese pushed the lead back to 10 points on a DJ Richards Jr 3 with 4:51 left, which was answered by a pair of free throws from Youssef Khayat to cut the lead to 73-65, but that's the closest Michigan would get. McNeese's Christian Shumate, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, threw down a powerful one-handed tomahawk dunk, followed by a Javohn Garcia 3 to make it 78-65. McNeese hit its free throws down the stretch to shut the door and drop Michigan below .500.
Hot from 3 in a sloppy first half
Michigan shot a blistering 52.6% (10-19) from 3-point range in the first half but found themselves behind 40-37 at halftime because of turnovers and struggling inside the arc on both ends. Michigan turned the ball over 10 times, leading to 11 points for McNeese, and were outscored 22-4 in the paint. Michigan only attempted five two-point shots in the first half, making two of them.
Michigan started the game with two turnovers in the first three minutes to fall behind 7-3 which prompted an immediate timeout from Juwan Howard. Michigan came out of the timeout turning it over two more times, but took a 12-9 lead by the 15-minute mark thanks to a 9-0 run on a three straight made 3s, two from Burnett and one from McDaniel.
The Wolverines built the lead to 17-13 with 14:22 left in the first half but gave up an ensuing 7-0 run largely fueled by turnovers to fall behind 20-17. Michigan broke the drought with a Williams 3, cutting the lead to 22-21 at the 10:34 mark.
McNeese State's swarming defense continued to cause fits for Michigan, who turned it over two more times and missed six straight field goals over the next four minutes. The Cowboys went on a 13-3 run to increase the lead to 35-23 with 5:47 left in the first half.
Michigan answered with a 14-1 run over the next four minutes to briefly take a 37-36 lead. Williams made Michigan's first field goal in over six minutes with a 3 from the wing, followed by a layup and 3 from Will Tschetter. McDaniel and Williams hit back-to-back 3s on the next two possessions, all while Michigan's defense forced 10 straight missed shots for McNeese, to go up by one. McNeese made a pair of layups in the final minute of the half to hold a 40-37 advantage at the break.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball upset at home by McNeese State, 87-76
