Lionel Messi has sent a special message to Argentina fans at the end of what has been another “unforgettable year” for the all-time great.

Slowly but surely, Michigan basketball’s identity appears to be taking shape, both for better and worse.

The good news: The Wolverines remain efficient shooting the ball. Michigan generated a number of clean looks as it made 58.3% of its attempts from the floor (35 of 60), including 48.3% (14-for-29) on 3-pointers, and all but four of its points came in the paint, beyond the arc or at the free throw line.

The bad news: The Wolverines’ general sloppiness doesn’t, at this point, seem like a one-off occurrence. U-M once again had double-digit turnovers less than 15 minutes in, turned it over a dozen times by the break and finished with 18.

That may matter some day but it didn’t against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, as Dusty May’s Wolverines ran away with a 94-67 win.

GIVE IT AWAY: Michigan basketball, Dusty May ‘not going to panic’ over early turnover troubles

Though the game finished as a double-digit affair, it was far from it for some time. The Wolverines trailed by three with less than five minutes left in the first half before they made their final five shots — two dunks, two layups and a 3-pointer — before the intermission, as part of a closing 17-6 spurt.

Out of the break, the Wolverines poured it on. In the first two minutes, Roddy Gayle Jr. found Nimari Burnett for a transition basket, followed by, on the next possession, Burnett finding Gayle on the run for a corner 3; U-M started on an 8-0 run to go up by 16.

Four Wolverines scored in double figures, led by Burnett with 18, Tre Donaldson with 16, L.J. Cason with 11 and Gayle with 10, while Danny Wolf just missed a double double, with nine points and nine rebounds.

The Wolverines are back in action on Thursday at home against Tarleton State.

Hockey-style change creates spark

Michigan’s start was about as sloppy as can be.

After Vlad Goldin missed an opening layup, U-M allowed an offensive rebound and 3-pointer before Wolf then committed a turnover on the other end. After yet another Wolf turnover, Goldin and Burnett had back-to-back turnovers. Each led to runouts and layups, as Miami took a quick 7-5 lead.

May, upset by the sloppy start, opted for a hockey-style line change, pulling all five starters at once. U-M responded with a Will Tschetter turnover on its first possession, the team’s fifth in less than four minutes.

Every time Michigan looked like it was going to start pulling away, such as after its 7-0 run after Cason hit a layup and pair of free throws and Sam Walters hit a transition 3, the RedHawks responded and remained within a possession.

U-M led 15-9 and held Miami to a 4-for-14 start from the floor (1-for-6 from 3) shortly before the RedHawks got hot. Michigan’s lead got up to 20-14 before Miami hit seven of its next nine attempts from the floor, which included making five of seven 3s.

Kam Craft and Eian Elmer hit back-to-back long balls before a Craft bucket gave the Redhawks the lead, and then a Walters handoff to Wolf was stripped to make it 27-24. But U-M closed the half with five straight field goals and ended the first 20 minutes shooting 59.3% (16-for-27) from the floor and 42.9% (6-for-14) on 3s.

Pick up where they left off

While Michigan opened the second with eight points, its defense tightened and forced Miami to miss its first eight shots of the half.

When Travis Steele’s group scored its first second-half point — hitting one of three free throws 4:09 into the frame — it did little to slow U-M’s momentum, with Donaldson adding a pair of transition layups. The Redhawks finally broke through from the floor with a Peter Suder three-point play and 3-pointer sandwiched around a Cason 3, but it was too much Michigan.

In all, Michigan went on a 43-18 run in 13:29 of action after falling behind by three in the first half.

Michigan dominated the boards 44-23, boosting the rout. Likewise, U-M won the second-chance points battle (11-8), was tops in fastbreak points (18-11), had more bench points (33-24) and even tied on points off turnovers (14-all) despite committing five more turnovers than the RedHawks.

Northern Illinois wasn’t able to follow up on its upset of Notre Dame early in the season, falling behind in the MAC conference race, but has a chance to play spoiler in the league. 

The Huskies will take on Miami (Ohio) in Tuesday night MACtion with the RedHawks looking to make a bid at a second straight league title. However, NIU has been elite on the defensive side of the ball all season and winners of two in a row. Can the Huskies snap Miami’s five-game winning streak and soil its hopes of a repeat? 

Here’s how to bet the marquee matchup of the Week 13 opening slate.

Spread

Moneyline

Total: 41.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Northern Illinois

Telly Johnson Jr.: With Antario Brown out last week, Johnson was the leadback for the Huskies in the team’s win against Arkon. Brown is not on the depth chart this week, so it appears he won’t go, meaning Johnson will likely be called on to lead the run-first Huskies offense against Miami’s stingy defense. 

Miami (Ohio)

Brett Gabbert: The senior quarterback continues to show out as MAC play continues, tallying 15 passing touchdowns with only one interception in league games. Since the loss to Toledo, the RedHawks have won all but one game by double digits and are starting to look like the MAC Champion from a year ago.  

This game is likely going to be dictated by both team’s defense, among the best in the MAC. 

Both units are top 40 nationally in EPA/Play, but there are some stylistic differences that make for an advantageous matchup for the road underdog. 

NIU is focused on keeping the ball on the ground with its stable of running backs in addition to quarterback Ethan Hampton. While the RedHawks have an elite defense, it’s far better against the pass than the run, ranking outside the top half of the country in EPA/Rush this season. The defensive line isn’t getting a similar push to last season, outside the top 90 in defensive line yards, and may struggle to keep Northern Illinois out of favorable down and distances. 

Meanwhile, Miami does lean on its passing game. Despite the emergence of running back Keyon Mozee, who is averaging nearly seven yards per carry, the RedHawks throw at a top-40 rate nationally. 

However, the Huskies defense is elite against the pass, top 20 in the country in EPA/Pass, and among the best down-to-down defenses, ranking top 25 in success rate. 

NIU has lost three MAC games by a total of 12 points, one of which in overtime and the other on a last season field goal, which stunted its ability to contend for a MAC title, but not from having betting value. 

I’ll take the underdog to throw some chaos into the title race. 

PICK: Northern Illinois ML +116

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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