Dusty May explains benching Michigan starters quickly vs. Miami-Ohio

After Michigan‘s fourth turnover against Miami (OH) on Monday, Wolverines head coach Dusty May benched his entire starting lineup. After the game, May pulled back the curtain on his bold decision.

“It just was a feeling,” May said. “It was just, ‘Hey, let’s get these next guys in there and give them a shot, see if they can start a spark.’ It wasn’t as if all five of the first five were not playing hard or playing lazy or anything like that. It was just the feel, the urgency wasn’t there.

“Sometimes, the second unit, their job is to come in and simply provide that spark. Obviously, there’s five players on the court at all times, so sometimes one or two maybe have a miscommunication and the other three are affected by it. That’s the beauty of our team. We have unselfish guys. I think they trust each other. They believe in each other. I thought everyone contributed this way.”

Michigan hadn’t even played a full three minutes when May made the call but his decision certainly seemed to wake the team up. The Wolverines immediately went on a 7-0 run and ultimately walked away with a comfortable 94-67 victory.

The team still committed 18 turnovers in the win and Miami (OH) scored 14 points off the Wolverines’ mistakes. Nonetheless, when Michigan was able to successfully run its offense, it rarely failed to find a basket.

In the win, Michigan shot an astounding 58% from the field and 48% from beyond the arc. Four players scored double figures for the Wolverines, led by Nimari Burnett‘s 18-point performance.

Dusty May is excited to see what his team is capable of when they can clean up a few of their lingering issues.

“The thing that excites me and our staff the most is that we don’t feel like we’re playing very well up to our standards,” May said. “We don’t feel like we’re playing anywhere nearly as well as we’re going to, and so that’s what makes it exciting that we have such a high ceiling with this group, and so we’ve got to push different buttons, better buttons, and what keeps me up at night is the same thing.”

With the triumph, Michigan improved to 3-1 on the season. Its sole loss this season came against Wake Forest in narrow 72-70 fashion. Up next, the Wolverines will square off against Tarleton State at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network.