Moustapha Thiam dominates and 3 more takes from Michigan basketball exhibition

Tony Garcia has four takeaways from Michigan basketball’s 98-93 exhibition win over Oregon State on Friday, Oct. 16 at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. Senior guard Elliot Cadeau was sensational with a team-high 27 points and eight assists for the Wolverines.

1. Moustapha Thiam continues to impress

Thiam was seen as one of the top portal centers in available in the country, and he’s showing why early in a Michigan uniform. Thiam finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists Friday.

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He had an impressive three-possession stretch early which included an and-1 on a hook shot, a defensive swat at the rim and then a 3 from the right wing on the next possession.

He found Trey McKenney on a behind-the back pass for an easy layup, dribbled between his legs before he pulled from the right wing for 3, then threw a lob to J.P. Estrella for an easy bucket.

Thiam scored on a lefty layup in the second half and affected the way the Beavers defended − on one second-half play, Cadeau was given a wide open floater because the center sagged off for fear of Thiam running behind him for an open lob. When Michigan started to pull away late, it came in large part because of slams from Thiam on lobs from Cadeau.

2. Trey McKenney could be first-team All-Big Ten

With each passing day, picking McKenney as a breakout candidate feels like taking the easy way out because in many regards he was a star last year, he just didn’t have the role of one. This year, he will, and that’s a great sign.

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The sophomore hit Michigan’s first of eight 3-pointers, a tough-leaner in the left corner less than three minutes into the game. Later, he had no problem getting to his spot on the left elbow and hitting a fadeaway midrange jumper before working off the ball and cutting from the weak side of the floor to allow thiam to hit him with a behind-the-back pass for an uncontested layup

He will, however, have to learn his importance to this team. After picking up one foul before the under-12 media…

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Publish date : 2026-10-17 01:27:00

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