On No. 24 Southern California’s first possession of the game, the No. 2 Michigan men’s basketball team’s junior center Aday Mara snatched away a bad pass by guard Ryan Cornish. The next time up the floor, Mara came up with another steal. On the third possession for the Trojans, graduate guard Nimari Burnett poked the ball away from USC off a catch near the charity stripe.
The Wolverines’ defense set the tone in just three possessions.
And throughout the remaining possessions Friday night, the tone stayed that way. During the entirety of the game, Michigan brought an infectious defensive energy, keeping the Trojans away from the basket and forcing poor shots. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Wolverines’ enveloping defense left USC shooting an abysmal 34.5% from the field and 21.7% from three.
“We can’t let our lack of making shots particularly affect our defensive energy and edge, and for the most part, we didn’t,” Michigan coach Dusty May said.
Including those original three possessions, the Wolverines didn’t allow a single point in just under seven minutes after tip-off. Rotating around the perimeter while closing off the paint, Michigan’s defense made it hard for the Trojans to settle into their offense. Specifically, USC couldn’t make connective passes, instead relying on hero ball.
Behind this early dominance was Mara. Beside his early steals, he affected shot after shot with his height and length. An imposing figure in the paint, Mara’s presence on the defensive end stifled interior looks, forcing the Trojans to look to attack from deep.
But USC had no luck from outside either. With Mara locking down the paint, Michigan utilized strong on-ball defense and switches in order to keep the Trojans on their toes. It suffocated USC’s ballhandlers around the perimeter, forcing the Trojans deep into the shot clock, taking desperation heaves before the buzzer went off. Even when they got off a look with time on the clock, it was seldom open.
In the first half alone, the Wolverines forced 12 turnovers, turning those into 11 points. Though it struggled to consistently make shots, those steals helped turn defense into offense as Michigan started to pull away.
“(We) definitely take pride on the defensive end,” sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. said. “We know the offensive end, we can’t really control that. … We can definitely control shots on the defensive end, our talking, our physicality, communicate with each other, hold each other accountable, switching. … Definitely take pride on the defensive end.”
Even on a night where the Wolverines didn’t shoot the ball well, it didn’t really matter. Like it has time and time again this season, Michigan’s smothering defense kickstarted another blowout, leaving the Trojans in the dust. In the second half, this strong performance on the defensive end went nowhere, as the Wolverines discontinued to lock down USC even with important defenders like graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg and Burnett out of the game with injuries.
Defense has been a hallmark of Michigan’s identity so far this season. Suffocating opponents of all kinds, the Wolverines have drowned out its competition time and time again. And Friday, the Trojans were the next victim of Michigan’s stifling defense.
