When Michigan won the national championship last season under Dusty May, Mike Boynton Jr. was the assistant coach who spearheaded the defensive performance.
So it’s no surprise that with Boynton now running the program after May’s departure to take over the Dallas Mavericks, the emphasis is on playing solid defense.
The 20th-ranked Wolverines (2-1) looked sharp on that end in Wednesday’s 84-70 win over Marquette and will aim for the same result Sunday in another nonconference contest in Ann Arbor against William & Mary (2-1).
Michigan held the Golden Eagles to 35.2% shooting — including 13 of 38 on 2-point attempts. Not only did the Wolverines play solid first-shot defense, they crashed the glass and finished with a 45-33 advantage on the boards.
“We’re gonna guard no matter what,” Boynton said. “And on nights we make shots, hopefully our margins are a little bit bigger. On nights we don’t, we win by a little bit less. It’s gonna be a staple of who we are, as long as I’m in charge here.”
Boynton also wants his team to make a lot of 3-pointers. That didn’t happen until the second half against Marquette, when the Wolverines drilled 9 of 16 to blow open a competitive game.
The presence of JP Estrella inside helped. He finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, drawing multiple defenders at times and giving teammates some clean looks from the arc.
Estrella is averaging 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting 75.0% from the field.
“He’s been rock-solid in his performances all three games,” Boynton said. “His physicality, his ability to kind of be versatile in the way we use him defensively … really, really impressive.”
While Michigan seeks consecutive wins for the first time, William & Mary looks to bounce back from a 95-90 loss Wednesday at Florida Atlantic. The Tribe led 42-39 at the half and got a team-high 21 points off the bench from Brian Carter Jr., but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Owls.
The Tribe tied a program record for fewest turnovers in a game with three and forced 18, cashing them in for 23 points. But they also allowed the Owls to sink 13 of 28 3-pointers while making only 5 of 27, which basically decided the outcome.
Coach Brian Earl hopes his team’s shooting can improve as the season progresses.
“We work on it, we run up and down the court and we shoot when we’re tired (at practice),” he said. “The more you go out and play in games, the more it feels comfortable. These guys like playing fast and playing for each other.”
William & Mary is getting a lot of production out of its bench. In three games, the Tribe’s reserves have scored a whopping 178 points, including 52 at Florida Atlantic. Carter leads the team with 16.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Will Feagles contributes 11.0 points.
The Tribe were picked to finish sixth this season in the Coastal Athletic Association.
–Field Level Media
