Why Dusty May believes Michigan was ‘disrespecting the game’ in first half at Oregon

The Michigan Wolverines survived two tough West Coast tests last week, defeating the Washington Huskies and the Oregon Ducks by 10 points in each game. Road tests in the Big Ten are never easy, and despite putting together numerous 40-point wins in the first half the season, January has been a tougher experience for head coach Dusty May and his team.

Michigan has not played its best ball since its 30-point win vs USC on Jan. 2, , and it has gutted out a few close calls. There are many factors that can be attributed to the dip in performance in the middle of the season, but according to May, one of the biggest red flags in recent weeks has been the Wolverines’ first-half play.

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Through the first two months of the season, Michigan was averaging nearly 51 points per game in the first half. Turnovers weren’t a major issue, the Wolverines were converting on three-point shots, and the depth was getting significant minutes.

However, the last four games tell a very different story. Since Michigan’s close loss to Wisconsin, it is averaging 39 points in the first half of games, along with hitting an abysmal 26 percent of its three-pointers. Additionally, the Wolverines are averaging six turnovers per first half and are getting into early foul trouble that has forced starters to spend extended periods on the bench, like Morez Johnson Jr. against Oregon on Saturday.

Speaking of that Oregon game, the Wolverines were down 41-40 heading into halftime after being up by double digits at one point. May spoke about the team’s first-half performance following the game.

“We were just flat. We weren’t playing with the physicality we needed to,” May said about his team’s first half efforts against Oregon. “…In a nutshell, I felt like we were disrespecting the game (in the first half).We weren’t playing up to our standards or our potential.”

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Oregon got busy on the offensive glass early and turned second-chance opportunities into buckets, with six…

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Publish date : 2026-01-19 21:00:00

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