Ann Arbor, Michigan: No. 16 Michigan Beats Oakland 84-68 in Boynton Debut

The defending national champions opened a new era on Monday night in Ann Arbor. No. 16 Michigan beat Oakland 84-68 at Crisler Center in Mike Boynton's first game as head coach of the Wolverines.

New coach, new faces

Roddy Gayle and Trey McKenney scored 17 points each for Michigan. J.P. Estrella, a transfer from Tennessee, had 15 points and 12 rebounds in his first game with the Wolverines, and freshman Quinn Costello scored 13 points in his debut. Estrella scored 13 of his points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first half as Michigan took a 47-36 lead into the break. Costello made a pair of three-pointers early in the second half to put Michigan ahead by 14.

Gayle is back for a fifth season, one of the many college players who joined lawsuits across the country after the NCAA changed its eligibility rules. Michigan is counting on returning guards McKenney, Gayle and Elliot Cadeau to lead a roster filled out by transfers and freshmen.

The turnover at the top was total. Michigan won its second national championship, and its first since 1989, in April. Coach Dusty May then left to lead the Dallas Mavericks, and Boynton was promoted from assistant to head coach. The Wolverines also lost a trio of first-round NBA draft picks from the title team: Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson. Boynton is getting another chance to lead a program after he was fired two years ago following a seven-season run at Oklahoma State.

Oakland would not go away

Chris Fields Jr. scored 18 points for Oakland, Nassim Mashhour had 14 of his 16 points in the first half, and Ryder Bradley added 12 points off the bench. Oakland outrebounded Michigan and pulled down 21 offensive rebounds, and its pressure on the glass kept the Golden Grizzlies in the game well into the second half.

Michigan won the game inside. The Wolverines outscored Oakland 48-24 in the paint on a night when their outside shots would not fall, and they used separate second-half runs to keep Oakland from getting closer than seven points down the stretch. Former Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam, Michigan's best rebounder, missed the game with an illness, and Estrella played much of the second half in foul trouble.

What comes next

The opener was the calm before the test. Michigan plays No. 4 UConn on Friday night in Boston, a rematch of the national championship game the Wolverines won in April. Oakland plays at Stanford on Friday night.