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November 2 starts Michigan's regular season and the Wolverines have one more exhibition game to play. And it comes against one of the best teams in college basketball. Michigan will head to Grand Rapids to take on the Houston Cougars for the Wolverines' third and final preseason game.
Michigan already took care of both Eastern Michigan and Oregon State, and now the Wolverines are hoping to show they have the roster to compete with the big boys of college basketball this season.
Here's how you can see the game, along with some storylines to follow.
Roddy Gayle Jr. will finally suit up and play on Sunday against Houston, after his injunction was updated. Mike Boynton Jr. noted what his starting five was going to look like this season, and that included Gayle Jr. at the wing next to Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.
Clearly, Gayle Jr. knows what he's doing here at Michigan. He's been here the last two seasons, but this is a new team with some new pieces on it. With the regular season starting very soon, we want to see how Gayle Jr. gels with the new pieces.
Boynton Jr. has said that Gayle Jr. has been more explosive and sees the game at a different level. With being added back to the Michigan roster, Gayle Jr. could be that missing link that puts the Wolverines back into national contention.
What's Michigan's identity going to be this season? Well, Mike Boynton Jr. said the Wolverines were going to lean into their scoring this season and Michigan would likely shoot more threes this year. That's great, but the Wolverines need to be more efficient doing so.
Michigan shot 38% from three as a team against Eastern Michigan, but the Wolverines shot the ball poorly against Oregon State. The Wolverines shot 25% from deep in their second exhibition game and if Michigan is going to lean on their three-point game this year, we need to see that number go way up.
Cadeau, McKenney, and Moustapha Thiam were a combined 5-for-18 from three against Oregon State.
Mike Boynton Jr. revealed that both Jalen Reed and Ricky Liburd no longer had minute restrictions. That's great news for Michigan. Now, let's see what Liburd can do in an extended look. He could be the Wolverines' sixth man this season and will play a big role off the bench.
He saw 11 and 15 minutes, respectively, in the first two exhibition games. Liburd hasn't attempted many shots, scoring five points in total in two games. The chances are high that Liburd will see some more time on the court, and with him being tabbed as a breakout player, he's going to want to show what he can do.
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