Michigan and No. 22 Xavier made good strides through the grind of their first games in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Both programs are feeling positive as they get ready to meet in the title game Wednesday night in Fort Myers, Fla.
Xavier (6-0) beat South Carolina 75-66 on Monday with five players scoring in double figures.
“I think we took a step forward,” Musketeers coach Sean Miller said. “I think our bench can play better. … I know they can give us more and we’re going to need more from them (vs. the Wolverines).”
Michigan (5-1) beat Virginia Tech 75-63 in the first semifinal on Monday with a boost from Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 20 points. The Wolverines overcame a small deficit in the second half.
Gayle has given Michigan a lift at times.
“Roddy is stringing together some consistency,” coach Dusty May said. “He has been awesome in practice. He’s a great leader, and when he speaks, his teammates listen, because he’s about the team. And he deserves the success.”
Michigan has tried to find diversity on offense because the team is prone to attempt lots of 3-point shots. The Wolverines’ ability to work for other looks against Virginia Tech was notable.
“I still don’t think we converted as well as we’re going to in the future around the rim, but credit our guards, our bigs did a nice job of long roll and putting pressure, and our guards found them several times,” May said. “Credit for that camaraderie and teamwork.”
Michigan post player Danny Wolf has had three games with 10 or more rebounds. Still, there’s an emphasis on better rebounding overall from the team.
“We shouldn’t be getting outrebounded by these teams. We all know that,” May said. “But sometimes it’s quickness, sometimes we’re in different positions than we’ve been. But overall we have a group that wants to get better and they compete at a high level. It’s not bad for us to have that in our locker room as a little bit of a care for motivation.”
For Xavier, Miller said he saw better commitment to teamwork in the South Carolina game.
“We don’t need everybody on our team auditioning to have a 20-point game,” Miller said. “We need balance. We need to know: ‘This is our role.'”
Zach Freemantle led the Musketeers in both scoring (16) and rebounding (nine) against the Gamecocks. Dailyn Swain also stood out with 14 points, six rebounds and five steals.
Michigan had a big fan turnout for the semifinal. There are plenty of ties to Florida for the team, particularly with May coaching at Florida Atlantic prior to this season.
“Wolverine Nation, they turned this into a home game,” May said after the semifinal. “A couple of the workers outside said that they felt like this was the best crowd they have seen, and they’ve had some schools that really travel well in this event.”
But Xavier tends to have rabid basketball fans, and that should make for an electric atmosphere for the tournament final. The Musketeers fed off that in the South Carolina game.
“We have a great crowd that travels wherever we go and I’m thankful,” Freemantle said.
Michigan and Xavier have a common opponent in Wake Forest. Michigan fell 72-70 to the Demon Deacons at a neutral court not far from Wake Forest’s campus, while Xavier won a home game against Wake, 75-60.
–Field Level Media
