Against the No. 2 Michigan men’s basketball team, No. 24 Southern California started 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes for just the second time this season. The move might have been a signal that the Trojans were looking to counter the Wolverines’ giant, 7-foot-3 junior center Aday Mara.
But Mara wasn’t the Michigan big that hurt USC on Friday night. Mara was held relatively in check, but his frontcourt partner sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. exploded. Johnson was dominant offensively for the Wolverines (13-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten), scoring a career-high 29 points to lead them past the Trojans (12-2, 1-2), 96-66.
Early on, the Michigan defense set them up for success. While the Wolverines gradually got into an offensive rhythm itself, it snuffed out any potential Trojans spark. By the time USC finally got on the board six and a half minutes into the game, Michigan had already jumped out to an 11-0 lead.
The Wolverines held on to a lead of around 10 points for much of the first half. Johnson stayed quiet early on, but got going as the game did. Johnson worked in the post, using his size and strength to get rebound positioning, close-range looks and to draw fouls. He shot 7-for-7 from the field and 7-for-8 from the line in the first half for 17 points.
Three of those seven first-half field goals came in a blur, helping Michigan extend its lead. Late in the half, after a layup from Johnson underneath, junior point guard Elliot Cadeau stole the ball and passed to Johnson for another bucket in transition. Immediately after, Johnson grabbed a steal of his own near mid-court and found Cadeau, who threw it back to Johnson for a thunderous alley-oop.
The Cadeau and Johnson mini-run, spanning just 50 total seconds, gave the Wolverines a 17-point lead. At the half, Michigan led 49-31.
Johnson carried his momentum into the early second half. He hit four free throws, an alley-oop dunk and his second career 3-pointer in the first seven minutes for a new career high of 26 points. The Wolverines’ lead was more than 25 by that time, and no other Michigan player had more than eight points.
Johnson put in work on the defensive end too, recording two steals. He didn’t record a block in the game but, along with Mara and graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg, the Wolverines’ bigs consistently made shots at the rim difficult and forced the Trojans into more mid-range shots than they would’ve liked. As a team, Michigan held USC to a season low of 66 points.
Johnson added a few more in the late stages of the game, capping off his career night with 29 points on 10-for-12 shooting. Mara and Lendeborg, two of the Wolverines’ usual top scorers, combined for just 13.
In yet another blowout win — this time over a ranked opponent — Michigan didn’t need everyone on top of their game. It can win in so many different ways, and it continues to prove that throughout its undefeated start.
Most recently against the Trojans, the Wolverines’ weapon of choice was Morez Johnson Jr.
