Dusty May admits Michigan players, coaches still adjusting to Big Ten officiating

The Michigan Wolverines took a close and physical game from the Penn State Nittany Lions on Monday night. It was a game that head coach Dusty May felt came down to Michigan’s defensive intensity in a game where they were allowed to play physically.

Notably, May feels that a major part of the adjustment comes in games as different nights see different Big Ten officials call a game differently. That means that they need to adjust on the fly.

“We’re still adjusting to how the Big Ten games are being called,” Dusty May said. “Because each night’s a little or a lot different and so we’ve decided that we have to play with more physicality and if they’re calling it then we’ve got to have the mental fortitude to just back it off and play smarter.”

For Dusty May, this is his first season with the Wolverines. In his time as a coach, going back to his first assistant job in 2005, he’s never coached in the Big Ten, though he did notably go to school at Indiana where he was a student manager under Bobby Knight. Still, even with the conference’s officiating being new to him, May doesn’t want to worry to much about what he had heard about it.

“You hear scuttlebutt, you hear — no. Throw it up, let’s play we’ll adjust to how it’s being called,” May said.

Unsurprisingly, given the coaching change, May is far from the only new figure on the Michigan basketball team. He also leaned on the Transfer Portal, bringing in six transfer players while five left the program. Only one of those transfers into the program came from a Big Ten school. The Wolverines also added three freshmen in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

In the win over Penn State, Michigan shot nine free throws while the Nittany Lions took 16. In total, there were 31 fouls called on both teams and the defensive intensity from the Wolverines helped force 18 Penn State turnovers, largely deciding the four-point game.

That game came after Michigan recently played a game against Northwestern that saw 46 fouls called. Part of a shift like that can come down to the opponent and how the game is played. At the same time, part of why a game is played more physically or less does come down to how teams approach playing in the game.

Next, May and Michigan will turn their attention to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are looking to turn things around in Big Ten play after a 3-6 start while the Wolverines are hoping to prove they’re a real threat as they sit at 7-2 in the Big Ten.