Dusty May recaps tight first-round win over UC San Diego
Technically, Michigan covered the 2.5-point spread with its three-point win over UC San Diego on Thursday night. Anyone who took the Wolverines to cover the spread would have cashed out, but it sure didn't seem as if Michigan played well enough — especially in the second half — to cover anything.
Regardless, U-M is through to the Round of 32 with its 68-65 win over the UC San Diego Tritons. Vlad Goldin led Michigan in scoring with 14 points, and Tre Donaldson and Roddy Gayle Jr. both finished in double figures, as well.
It wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing game to watch, but Michigan did what it does best: win close games.
After the game, Dusty May talked about how Michigan's experience in tight games helped them to come out victorious in this matchup.
"We take pride in that," May said. "Yeah, absolutely. We’ve been in these and you feel it. It got loud in there tonight. I was impressed with how many people were pulling against us. ... We knew they were going to make a run. I thought for a short prep time our guys did a really good job on UCSD. They just keep coming at you, keep coming at you. They believe, as well. They have older guys. Man, they put on a performance in the second half."
Of Michigan's last 11 games that have been decided by four points or less, the Wolverines have somehow found a way to go 11-0 in such contests.
"I’ve spent a lot of time the last three or four weeks trying to figure out why we’re so good in late games," May said. "Because we miss free throws, front ends. We didn’t finish well around the rim."
"Usually those things are the recipe, right? When I think about it, I look at our guys, in the last five minutes of games, their awareness, their intensity, their determination is heightened at another level. I guess that was my hypothesis a couple weeks ago. I watched it even closer because it seems like we’re in these games every single game."
"No way Vlad should have gotten those rebounds. His determination to win in crunch time is impressive. Like Tre Donaldson’s big shot. They’re not afraid of the moment."
Donaldson drilled a 3-pointer to give Michigan the lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Then, with just over 20 seconds left, Vlad Goldin corralled an offensive rebound and was fouled, which led to a pair of free throws, which the 7-foot center made.
Those were the defining moments, which were made by two of Michigan's best players.
"Obviously good players make good plays," May said. "I think the fearlessness and I think a lot of failure comes with simply being afraid of the results. We’re never afraid of the results. We weren’t scared to go home today. We were going to come in here and hoop and play our game and trust it’s enough to get to Saturday. If not, we were going to tip or cap to these guys and root like hell for them."
Michigan's performance was enough — albeit by the skin of its teeth — to get to Saturday. The Wolverines will continue their season for at least another two days. They will take on 4-seed Texas A&M on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. ET. The game will air live on CBS.
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