Michigan basketball overpowers Oakland in Mike Boynton Jr. U-M debut

Michigan basketball opened the 2026-27 season the way it closed the previous one: with a victory.

The stakes certainly weren't as high as April's NCAA Tournament win over UConn, but Mike Boynton Jr.'s debut as Michigan coach was still a success, with the Wolverines eventually finding their rhythm with separate 13-4 and 9-0 spurts in the second half, fueling a 84-68 win over Greg Kampe's Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Crisler Center on Monday, Nov. 2.

Michigan, which is planning a 3-point-heavy offense this season, was cold all night beyond the arc, going just 6-for-33 (18.2%). But the Wolverines controlled the transition game (outscoring OU, 19-0, on fastbreak points) and made the most of their second chances, rebounding 41% of their misses for 23 second-chance points.

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Michigan came out of the break sloppy, with four turnovers and a 7-2 OU run in the opening five minutes of the second half. Finally, true freshman Quinn Costello hit a deep 3 from the right wing that helped turn things around, and he scored eight of U-M's next 10 points to build a 14-point lead.

While Oakland hit shots early, U-M's defense was solid. Michigan forced the Golden Grizzlies to play one-on-one instead of generating offense through movement; OU had just five assists on 20 made shots. It's a big reason Oakland had a 9:31 stretch in the second in which it went 1-of-15 from the floor, which gave U-M room to separate, even with Oakland in the double bonus for the final 10 minutes of the game.

Oakland got as close as seven behind a 7-0 run with 8:34 to play, but U-M responded with a 9-0 spurt of its own, highlighted by an Oscar Goodman Euro-step layup in transition to pull away for good. Still, Oakland outrebounded Michigan, 44-41, and grabbed a shocking 21 offensive rebounds.

Then again, Michigan was without its best rebounder in Moustapha Thiam (flu), and Tennessee transfer JP Estrella played more than half the game in foul trouble.

McKenney and Gayle tied with a team-high 17 points and despite the limited time, Estrella (who fouled out in 22 minutes) had a double-double (15 points and 12 rebounds) while Costello chipped in 13. Chris Fields Jr. led Oakland with 18 points, followed by Nassim Mashhour with 16.

Up next is the real test, a national title game rematch with UConn at TD Garden in Boston on Friday (8 p.m., ESPN).

It was over when ...

Estrella came soaring in for an offensive rebound, put the ball on the deck and then kicked out to the right corner for a Kenny Noland 3-pointer with 11:44 remaining as the exclamation point in a game-swinging 13-4 run that forced an Oakland timeout. The Grizzlies never got within two scores again.

Player of the game: JP Estrella

With Thiam sidelined, Estrella moved to center and feasted against an undersized Oakland team. He showed some mobility getting to the middle of the zone and finishing with hook shots, but generally just used his size to grab rebounds and clean up around the glass. He had a double-double less than 15 seconds into the second half and his court presence was notable − Michigan was plus-25 when he was on the court and outscored by nine in the 18 minutes he was on the bench.

Trending up: Defense

Michigan stifled Oakland for much of the game, holding OU to just 0.971 points per possession. The Grizzlies made 12 of their first 25 shots, then went cold in part because of Michigan's stout defense, hitting just three of their next 22 attempts. Kampe's team finished 20-for-63 (31.7%) and, at one point, missed 11 consecutive 3s. The Wolverines had 10 steals and forced 15 turnovers.

Trending down: Sickness

Thiam's absence was a bummer, given U-M is still learning how to play with him. While it led to U-M using some lineup combinations it wouldn't normally, the end result didn't hurt the Wolverines down low. Michigan found ways to pick through OU's zone all night, outscoring the Golden Grizzlies, 48-24, in the paint. IThiam should be back for Michigan's next matchup, vs UConn in Boston on Friday.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball overpowers Oakland in Mike Boynton Jr. U-M debut