No. 7 Michigan routs Oakland on Big Ten banner-raising night

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Nov 3, 2025

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Wolverines hung a banner and then hung over 100 points in a record-setting performance in Monday’s season opener.

After commemorating its 2025 Big Ten tournament championship during a pregame ceremony, No. 7 Michigan set a program record with a 69-point first half and rolled past Oakland, 121-78, at Crisler Center.

Morez Johnson Jr. tallied a career-high 24 points – and tied his previous high of 20 points in the first half alone – to lead seven double-digit scorers for Michigan, which shot 64.3% from the field (45 for 70) en route to winning its 23rd consecutive season opener.

The Wolverines shot a scorching 71.1% (27-for-38) in the first half and used a massive 20-0 run to build a 31-point halftime that the Golden Grizzles never came close to climbing out of.

It didn’t help that Michigan didn’t let its foot off the gas in the second half and continued to overwhelm Oakland on both ends of the floor as the margin swelled.

Freshman Trey McKenney (21 points) started a 17-2 spurt with a 3-pointer and ended it with an and-1 layup that came with the lights shutting off inside Crisler Center. Aday Mara (12 points, 12 rebounds) had three blocked shots in the span of four possessions. Michigan pulled ahead 100-57 with 9:31 to play.

Michigan took its largest lead, 106-60, at the 7:47 mark when McKenney drained his fourth of six 3-pointers. The Wolverines led by at least 38 points the rest of the way as they emptied their bench down the stretch.

Will Tschetter scored 16, Nimari Burnett 14 and Roddy Gayle Jr. 11. Burnett and Tschetter made four 3-pointers apiece and combined for nearly half of Michigan’s 19 made deep balls.

Yaxel Lendeborg, who had his right shooting hand/wrist taped during pregame warmups, was a late scratch from the starting lineup and was replaced by Johnson. He chipped in 12 of Michigan’s 55 points off the bench and made all four of his shots.

Isaac Garrett scored 20 and Buru Naivalurua added 18 for Oakland, which was outscored 46-26 in the paint and outrebounded by a 40-22 margin.

In a matchup between two teams picked to finish second in their respective conference’s preseason polls, Michigan had little trouble finding a rhythm against Oakland’s zone defense and made its first seven shots during a blistering 13 for 16 start from the field.

Mara and Johnson feasted around the rim and overwhelmed the Golden Grizzlies. Mara threw down a pair of dunks off lob feeds from Elliot Cadeau (12 assists) on Michigan’s first two possessions. Johnson made plays when he got the ball in the middle of Oakland’s zone, from finishing a driving layup off a spin move to finding Mara for another easy bucket underneath.

The Golden Grizzlies had little answers for Johnson in particular, and he terrorized them on both ends during a 20-0 flurry over a four-minute span that turned a four-point Michigan lead into a 24-point cushion.

Johnson cleared out space and moved a defender under the rim for an uncontested dunk. He blocked a shot in the paint on one end that led to a pair of Will Tschetter free throws off a fast-break opportunity. He emphatically swatted a 3-pointer to force a shot clock violation.

By the time Johnson threw down a dunk to cap the huge run, he was responsible for half of the 20 points as Michigan took a commanding 34-10 lead with 11:57 left in the first half.

Oakland cut the deficit to 18 before Michigan widened the margin, made its final eight shots of the half and made program history in the process. A short hook shot by Mara at the 1:05 mark broke previous first-half record of 66 points set against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 12, 1987. Johnson added another layup in the final minute for good measure as the Wolverines took a 69-38 lead into the break.

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