ANN ARBOR — Dug McDaniel chased down a long defensive rebound and exchanged three consecutive passes with Olivier Nkamhoua, with each guy passing up a good look for a better one. Nkamhoua’s 3 missed, but Nimari Burnett grabbed the board and found Terrance Williams for a deep 3.
The shot gave Michigan a 27-point lead over UNC Asheville and represented so many of the good things Michigan showed in a season-opening blowout win: unselfishness, hustle, and impressive shooting.
A revamped Michigan basketball roster from a year ago played like a completely different team on Tuesday night.
Michigan shared the ball, got contributions from a variety of players, and dominated a reigning conference champion, beating UNC Asheville at Crisler Center 99-74.
Point guard Dug McDaniel looked like he’s made the oft-discussed sophomore leap, scoring 22 points and handing out eight assists. He was in complete control of the offense, and let the fans (and the UNC Asheville bench) know about it.
Graduate transfer Olivier Nkamhoua tallied 25 points on 16 shots, and added seven rebounds in his first game as a Wolverine. Senior Terrance Williams II, coming off a disappointing season, made 3 of 5 triples and scored 15 points.
Michigan failed to reach the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 2015, then lost its top three players — two left for the NBA and another transferred.
This year’s group — without as much individual talent — vowed to be more team-oriented, to play with and for each other. Tuesday only provided 40 minutes of data, but showed Michigan can be that type of team. Michigan hosts Youngstown State on Friday.
The Wolverines looked connected on both ends, assisting on 20 of their 38 made shots, making 12 3s, and holding UNC Asheville to 40-percent shooting. The Bulldogs are a mid-major team, but they won the Big South regular-season and tournament titles last year and are predicted to repeat. They have the reigning conference Player of the Year in Drew Pember. He led the Bulldogs with 19 points on Tuesday but shot just 4 of 10 from the field and was limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble.
For Michigan, grad transfer Nimari Burnett didn’t force anything, did a little bit of everything, and scored a casual 13 points. Tarris Reed Jr., listed as “questionable” on the new Big Ten-mandated pregame availability reports, started, played 20 minutes, and also took what came to him (which on this night was only four shots, all of which he made). Will Tschetter (eight points) came off the bench and made both of his 3-point attempts.
Michigan led by 16 at half and came out of the break with a McDaniel 3 before Burnett converted a steal into an and-one. Just like that, Michigan was up 22. Pember picked up his fourth foul with 18:35 left and sat for a stretch.
Five minutes into the half, McDaniel and Nkamhoua had the unselfish exchange mentioned at the start of this story, giving Michigan a 67-40 lead.
The Wolverines looked in sync from the start. McDaniel drained Michigan’s third 3 of the night to make it 13-6.
Pember was whistled for his second foul — with Burnett defending — with 13:22 left and went to the bench. Pember returned a few minutes later, picked up his third foul, and sat again. He and Nkamhoua began their college careers as teammates at Tennessee for two seasons, and it was unfortunate — though ultimately beneficial for Michigan — that Pember was so limited on Tuesday.
Michigan led 21-14, with six different Wolverines scoring and six assists on the nine baskets.
Williams’ 3 capped a 10-0 run that gave Michigan a 31-16 lead with nine minutes to go in the half.
The lead ballooned to 20 after McDaniel’s nifty assist to Williams for a transition layup. McDaniel then threw an alley-oop from halfcourt, just along the sideline, that Nkamhoua caught and dunked. Michigan led 48-27, and UNC Asheville called timeout with 2:08 left in the half.
The Bulldogs scored the next five to cut Michigan’s margin to 48-32 at half, but couldn’t maintain any of that momentum. Michigan walk-on Cooper Smith scored his first career points on a nifty left-handed layup for Michigan’s final points of the night.
Michigan led by at least 20 for the final 17 minutes and won its 21st consecutive season opener. The program’s last loss to open a season came in 2002, when the Wolverines began 0-6.
This year, Michigan did not receive any votes in the preseason top-25 poll and was picked to finish 11th out of 14 Big Ten teams in an unofficial media poll. It’s way too early to declare those prognosticators wrong, but Michigan couldn’t have asked for a better opening statement.