Last night was by no means pretty, but I was pretty happy with the performance. There were stretches where Michigan couldn't find their jumper and normally, this would be a cause for concern. Last night, it wasn't.
Rather than sit around on the perimeter and launch threes, Michigan made a concerted effort to get to the rim. This effort paid off as Michigan took 29 free throws, hitting 23 of them. While there were stretches without field goals, Michigan was able to stay in front because they did work at the free throw line. This is the type of ugly game I wanted to see them come out of with a win. Oregon had one guy foul out and had three other guys with four fouls. They may have to win a game or two like this as the season progresses and it was important for them to prove to themselves that they can win this way.
On the other side of the ball, I don't think you can really complain when you hold your opponent to under 40% from the field, but at the same time, the second chance opportunities. The announcing team kept referring to Oregon as "undersized" and while that may be true, Michigan plays very small or soft. I wasn't at all surprised by Oregon's success on the glass given the hungry nature of their game. It was just hustle and physicality and desire. Michigan really needs to figure out how to get it right on the defensive boards because teams like Sparty, Ohio State, Indiana, and Minnesota won't relent. Arizona won't relent. Oregon had 18 offensive rebounds and that's what kept them in the game. That's unacceptable. Holding the other team to a low FG percentage and limiting chances go hand in hand. The volume of opportunities made up for Oregon's poor shooting display.
Player of the game for me was Ricky Doyle. I, admittedly, am developing a man crush on the kid. He's ugly. His game is ugly. But he gives the team some physical energy that it really needs. I don't know if he will be the starting big man by the end of this year, but he was a very nice spark of the bench. It was much needed. He took charges, he got a couple key rebounds, and made shots. May be it was his kind of game, but he took full advantage of it.