Studs and Duds From Michigan's Disappointing Loss in National Championship Rematch Against UCONN

The Michigan Wolverines went to the TD Garden in Boston on Friday night to take on the Connecticut Huskies in a championship rematch from a season ago.

The Wolverines were looking at their first big test of the season after Tuesday night’s victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

Unfortunately, this year’s version of a game against UCONN did not resemble the one from April. Michigan struggled with turnovers and poor three point shooting en route to a 85-77 loss.

Here is a closer look at our studs and duds from Friday’s game.

Stud: Second Half Trey McKenney

Michigan was behind by 13 points at halftime in large part due to Trey McKenney’s absence from the scoring sheet in the first half. McKenney was blanked in the first half by the Huskies’ defense combined with his own poor shooting from the floor.

He came alive in the second half to help the Wolverines attempt a comeback. He scored 22 points on 8-11 shooting in the second half. That included four 3-pointers to help Michigan cut their deficit to single digits.

#Michigan needs this version of Trey McKenney all season, but showed he can turn it on at anytime https://t.co/NluqhGHUjT
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) November 7, 2026

The problem? As McKenney started scoring, the rest of the team took a backseat. There was a point late in the second half where McKenney had more points than the rest of the Michigan team. Ultimately the rest of the Wolverines caught up, scoring 25 in the second half. Most of that came after the game had already been decided.

Despite the struggles from everyone else, McKenney did give his team a chance to mount a comeback. Now, he needs to find that level of consistency that all the great players have.

Stud: JP Estrella

It’s been a good start to the season for JP Estrella. He had a double-double in his first game as a Wolverine, and nearly found another one on Friday with 19 points and nine boards. Estrella was 6-7 from the floor and 7-8 from the free throw line.

On a night where not much went right for Michigan’s front court, Estrella was a positive. He’s been the best new addition to the team in the young season.

Stud: Roddy Gayle Jr

How big of a development has it been early in the season for Michigan to have Roddy Gayle Jr. available to them? Gayle’s future with the team was uncertain throughout most of the offseason but he has been a godsend since being allowed to step on the floor.

Gayle scored 18 points in 31 minutes and was 6-6 from the free throw line. He was 0-3 from the 3-point line which looks like it might be a point of contention for the team this season.

Defensively, Gayle has always played with a high motor, which is something Mike Boynton Jr. is going to appreciate more as the season goes on. The Wolverines might need Gayle to step into a more assertive scoring role early in the season as some other players find their footing.

Dud: First Half Trey McKenney

Friday night’s game was a tale of two halves for Michigan’s star in the backcourt.

McKenney was terrible in the first half, scoring zero points as Michigan fell behind by 13 going into the break. He went 0-7 from the field, including missing two free throws after Dan Hurley was tagged with a technical foul.

McKenney and Cadeau are expected to carry the scoring load early in the season. Last year, the Wolverines could afford for either of those guys to be a role player. They cannot afford that now. That’s a heavy burden to ask a sophomore to carry, but McKenney certainly has the chops for it. Cadeau does too.

McKenney will bounce back and play well in bigger games as the season progresses, but he did not do that in the first half on Friday night.

Dud Elliot Cadeau

It’s early in the season so there’s no real reason for concern just yet, but Elliot Cadeau is not off to a good start this season. Cadeau and McKenney are the two men expected to carry the scoring load to start this season. McKenney was only good for half of the game as noted above, and Cadeau struggled shooting from the field again. He was 3-11 with just eight points. He had three assists and five turnovers. He spent most of the second half in foul trouble before fouling out.

Nov 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; /Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) passes the ball against the UConn Huskies during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cadeau had an up-and-down year a season ago, but Michigan could afford that with the scoring prowess they had all over the court.

They cannot afford that now. Cadeau needs to kick it into gear.

Dud Moustapha Thiam

Tough luck to land on this list for Thiam, who made his Wolverines debut on Friday night, but he looked a step slow most of the night. He only played 15 minutes and was 1-3 from the field as a scorer. He had two turnovers and four fouls.

Thiam will get a grace period early, especially since he spent Tuesday night laid up with an illness that knocked him out of the game.

Michigan’s next big matchup will come Wednesday against Marquette. The Wolverines will need Thiam to be much better before things shift into conference play.

Dud The Bench

Michigan’s bench left a lot to be desired on Friday night. Of the five reserves who saw game action, only two made shots from the floor, with Ricky Liburd knocking down a garbage time 3-pointer late in the game to save him from a goose egg.

Kenny Noland only played six minutes and had just one assist. Jalen Reed played four minutes and had an empty stat sheet.

Quinn Costello shot 1-5 from 3-point range, which is something Michigan desperately needed. The Wolverines shot 7-28 from the 3-point land on Friday night as a whole. That’s not going to cut it.

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