Dusty May happy to see Michigan ‘grind out’ road wins in Big Ten

To succeed in conference play, a team must have grit. Michigan head coach Dusty May believes his team is gradually figuring out how to win tough games in the Big Ten.

“I think our first 10 wins, we won all of them with — I think they were all sizable point differentials if I remember correctly,” May said. “Now, the last couple have been one-possession games, two-possession games. You’re going into tournament formats. You’re going into very meaningful games in February, March.

“We have to be able to grind some out. We have to be able to win some with our scoring. We have to go win some with our defense. Tonight, Rutgers was extremely aggressive. They were quicker to the ball on the glass. I thought that was maybe the biggest disappointment of the game, that they were able to handle us.”

While Michigan didn’t secure each of its first 10 wins in blowout fashion, it came close. All but two of the Wolverines’ first 10 wins this season were by double-digit margins of victory.

Alas, like most teams, Michigan had to adjust during conference play. Games were closer and toughness was a necessity. Specifically, Michigan showed it still had room for growth when it fell 94-91 to Minnesota in overtime on Jan. 16.

Now, Michigan has won three of its last four games by 3.66 points per game. Most recently, the Wolverines escaped from Rutgers with a nail-biting 66-63 victory.

Danny Wolf led the charge for the Wolverines, tallying 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks against the Scarlet Knights. Vladislav Goldin didn’t trail far behind, finishing the game with 14 points of his own.

Of course, Michigan wasn’t perfect in the win despite playing well. As May mentioned, the Wolverines particularly struggled on the glass, allowing Rutgers to record 15 offensive rebounds compared to their mere five.

While Dusty May wasn’t entirely satisfied with his team’s performance, he was proud of their resilience in the final minutes of the game.

“But I do think down the stretch, the last five minutes, when it was winning time, I thought Danny Wolf and our guys went and got some big rebounds,” May said. “I thought we communicated our switch as well and forced relatively tough shots.”

Michigan will look to build on its win streak on Wednesday when it squares off against Oregon at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network.