Michigan Coach Dusty May Explains Why He Stuck With Elliot Cadeau Against Duke

Michigan took a hard loss to Duke on Saturday night in D.C. The Wolverines competed for the entire game, but foul issues, rebounding, and missed shots doomed Michigan from winning the highly anticipated matchup. The Blue Devils would end up getting the job done, 68-63.

Morez Johnson had a decent game for Michigan, but Yaxel Lendeborg was really the only player who came to play against Duke. The Wolverines' guards struggled with their shot. As a team, Michigan shot 24% from three, and point guard Elliot Cadeau really struggled. He scored eight points and shot 1-of-6 from deep.

Some thought backup LJ Cason should've seen more run toward the end of the game. He scored seven points and hit 50% of his shots, but head coach Dusty May wasn't thinking about taking his veteran guard out of the game.

ichigan Wolverines guard LJ Cason (2) defends Penn State Nittany Lions guard Melih Tunca. — Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

"I'm riding with Elliot. I thought he did a nice job overall," May said of his transfer guard. "I thought he was impactful defensively. Everyone on our roster could have done things better. I could have done things better, but yeah.

"Once again, we try to generate this, and if it goes in, great, and if it doesn't, then how do we figure out a way to win when it doesn't? It wasn't as if he took a bunch of shots that were ill-advised. I thought he got to the line. He had a couple bounce out. I mean it's a funny game. His layup was great basketball. Came out. We got to option two, three. We were playing well."

Need to figure out other ways to win these type of games

Cadeau definitely didn't play his best game, and aside from his missed threes, Cadeau missed a layup toward the end of the game. But coach May wasn't going to fault Cadeau for anything that happened. Instead, he looked at other areas Michigan could've improved on.

For instance, Michigan was out-rebounded 41-28 on the glass and Duke scored 18 second-chance points in the game. The Wolverines have been dominant on the glass this season, but Duke's physicality was too much for Michigan in this one.

Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) stands on the court during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers. — Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

"He goes back door. Aday makes a great pass, and the ball just squirts out. We're not going to define ourselves on that," said May.

"We've got to figure out a way all the other in-between plays because those are the ones that just happen. It's part of the game. So how do you minimize the risk of losing with all the other things, and that's what we didn't do tonight."

The Wolverines will look to bounce back on Tuesday against Minnesota. The Wolverines will host the Gophers at 8:30 p.m. ET.