5 Immediate Takeaways From Michigan Basketball's Shorthanded Loss to Lithuania's B Team

One day after suffering a loss to Lithuania's national team, the Wolverines took the court to play the B Team.

Michigan was short-handed in the game, already being without Jalen Reed, Ricky Liburd, and Lincoln Cosby, who all missed the first game of the foreign tour. And on Monday, Michigan was also without Trey McKenney and Moustapha Thiam.

The Wolverines hung around and played tough and were right in the game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. But playing all their freshmen and with key veterans sitting, Michigan fell to the B Team, 82-77, to fall 0-2 in the foreign tour.

Here re a few takeaways from the game.

Michigan looked shorthanded

The Wolverines didn't have either Trey McKenny or Moustapha Thiam in the starting linuep, nor did Michigan have Ricky Liburd for the second game in a row. Which meant the Wolverines had to rely on a lot of youth.

Michigan started a lineup that consisted of Elliot Cadea, Brandon McCoy Jr., Oscar Goodman, J.P. Estrella, and Quinn Costello.

The Wolverines' bench provided only seven points in the game, six of those coming from Joseph Hartman. Michigan lost by just five points and if the Wolverines had their normal lineup, a different outcome could've happened.

Quinn Costello should have some role this season

Quinn Costello didn't shoot the ball as well on Monday as he did on Sunday, but his shooting stroke is pure. On Sunday, he scored a team-high 17 points coming off the bench.

On Monday, he started for the short-handed Wolverines and scored nine points while knocking down 27% of his three-point attempts.

Looking ahead to the season, Costello can play three different positions. Mike Boynton Jr. had three bigs on the court for a few different times that consisted of: Costello, J.P. Estrella, and Marcus Moller. With Costello being a dead-eye from deep, the Wolverines can get creative with how they use him this year.

Even if Kenny Noland and Roddy Gayle Jr. get to play, Costello should still see some action.

Elliot Cadeau can take over games, but he has to stay out of foul trouble

Not having Trey McKenney on the court allowed for Elliot Cadeau to have an even bigger role on the offensive end of the court. He quickly had 10 points for Michigan, knocking down a pair of triples.

But just like on Sunday, Cadeau found himself in foul trouble. He saw limited minutes in the second half against Lithuania's national team, fouling out in the fourth quarter, and on Monday, he found himself with four fouls in the fourth quarter.

Cadeau is explosive on the offensive end of the court and has developed his three-point shot, but once the real season begins, Cadeau has to be careful on the defensive end of the court. Playing smart is going to be key.

He would foul out again for the second game in a row. He led the Wolverines with 19 points.

More J.P. Estrella was good

J.P. Estrella was one of four starters who found themselves on the bench early against Lithuania's national team. Fouls were a major issue for the Wolverines, and while a few found themselves in foul trouble again on Monday, Estrella saw a lot more minutes.

E3 | LTU-B 64, UM 57

JP Estrella has a team-best-tying 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. He's shooting 7-for-11 from the field through three quarters. pic.twitter.com/z8RGm4mmIC
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) August 24, 2026

And that was a good thing. The Wolverines made sure that Estrella touched the ball early and often. He has a better stroke from three than anticipated and he should get some opportunities to shoot from long range this season.

He was active on the glass, grabbing seven rebounds. Estrella scored 17 points in the game as well.

Brandon McCoy Jr. has the ability, but needs reined in

Brandon McCoy Jr. looked the part, mostly, on Sunday. He was tasked with handling the basketball more than Michigan wanted him to with both Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney getting into foul trouble. McCoy Jr. found himself in trouble with turnovers.

Too tough 😤💪 pic.twitter.com/dyMKzTs51c
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) August 24, 2026

McCoy Jr. turned the ball over three times on Monday, and he didn't find himself in the same situations, but he did shoot just 33% from the field, firing up 15 shots. McCoy Jr. is a supreme talent, and while the Wolverines were shorthanded, his shot selection was very suspect.

Luckily, these are all coachable points and when the season starts, McCoy Jr. should be able to learn from this trip.

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