Michigan basketball opens national title defense with victory over Oakland

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Nov 2, 2026

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Wolverines opened the Mike Boynton Jr. era and began their national title defense on a winning note.

In the season opener against Oakland that wasn’t exactly a work of art and was riddled with whistles after halftime, Michigan took care of business with an 84-68 victory at Crisler Center on Monday.

Trey McKenney and Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 17 apiece and J.P. Estrella had 15 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out for Michigan (1-0).

The Wolverines were without starting center Moustapha Thiam (illness), but still led much of the way against an Oakland team that returned just two players who saw action last season and was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll.

Michigan led by 11 at halftime but got off to a sloppy start during a foul-filled second half, with four turnovers and one bucket in the first five minutes. To make matters worse, Estrella picked up his third foul at the 18:11 mark and McKenney followed suit four minutes later.

Despite all that, Michigan kept Oakland at bay. The Golden Grizzlies had similar turnover issues and made just one basket over a nine-minute stretch as the Wolverines began to add separation.

Freshman Quinn Costello keyed a 13-4 spurt. He knocked down two 3-pointers. He caught an airballed shot and scored on a putback. Michigan took a 62-47 lead with 11:44 to play.

After the Golden Grizzlies pulled within seven during an 8-0 run where they snapped a seven-minute field-goal drought, the Wolverines quickly pushed it back to double digits with a 9-0 spurt. McKenney made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot. Oscar Goodman had a Euro-step finish in transition. Michigan led, 71-55, with 6:10 to go.

The Wolverines never let the lead dip below 13 points the rest of the way as they coasted to the finish line.

Costello scored 13 of the bench and Goodman had six points and five rebounds in his first career start in place of Thiam. Michigan outscored Oakland 48-24 in the paint but shot 7 for 34 from 3-point range.

Chris Fields Jr. scored 18, Nassim Mashhour 16 and Ryder Bradley 12 before he fouled out for Oakland (0-1). The Golden Grizzlies shot 31.7% from the field (20 for 63) and 23.1% from 3-point range (6 for 26) and turned 21 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.

Against Oakland’s funky zone defense, Michigan had some trouble early on and primarily found success inside in the first half, especially with Estrella. He scored three times at the rim, including once on a putback and once by getting behind Oakland’s defense on a fast break, as the Wolverines took a 10-5 lead five minutes into the contest.

Michigan got off to a shaky start from deep and on defense. The Wolverines missed eight of their first nine shots from 3-point range. The Golden Grizzlies, meanwhile, attacked the basket with no fear and made three early deep balls, with two from Bradley during a 13-3 run that gave Oakland an 18-13 lead.

The Wolverines responded by ripping off a 16-1 burst and holding the Golden Grizzlies without a basket for six minutes. Gayle sparked the run with a short shot in the paint, a blocked shot at the rim and an assist to Goodman for a fast-break layup during a string of eight unanswered points.

McKenney added a 3-pointer and a three-point play following an offensive rebound. Estrella took advantage of a mismatch down low for another bucket. Michigan pulled in front 29-19 at the 6:22 mark.

After Oakland had a stretch where it made six of seven shots to cut the deficit to four, Michigan closed the half by scoring the final seven points — the last on a Gayle dunk off an alley-oop feed from Elliot Cadeau — and took a 47-36 lead into the break.

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