ANN ARBOR, Mich. — This time it’s for keeps.
On Friday, Michigan basketball unofficially kicked off the 2022-23 season, with an exhibition win over Ferris State, but on Monday, the Wolverines opened up the season by hosting Purdue Fort Wayne.
It wasn’t perfect, but the maize and blue showcased a solid team on both sides of the court — though with some growing pains.
Purdue Fort Wayne jumped out to an early lead, 6-2, but Hunter Dickinson flexed, as he’s wont to do, helping Michigan regain the lead. They wouldn’t look back from there.
The game continued with the Wolverines extending the lead enormously, with PFW battling back a little. Michigan pulled away in the second half, getting up to a 24-point lead. However, the Mastodons still kept battling back to pull within 12. But then freshman Jett Howard came alive, going on a scoring spree while getting a block on the other end. Michigan ended up winning, 75-56.
Here are our five takeaways from the first game of the season.