Five takeaways from Michigan’s loss to Oklahoma

Michigan dropped back-to-back games for the first time this year on Wednesday night, falling short in a 1-point loss against Oklahoma in Charlotte. The Wolverines have now lost three games by a total of five points and head back to Ann Arbor to try to get back on track before the holidays.

Here are five takeaways from the loss, including one stat that should be encouraging despite the disappointment of defeat.

1. Michigan’s interior dominance continues to encourage

As frustrating as it feels to drop back-to-back games by a single possession, Michigan’s ability to dominate inside continues to impress. The Wolverines are one of the best interior scoring teams in the country, and their paint dominance was on display against an Oklahoma squad with a lackluster interior defense.

The Wolverines outscored Oklahoma 50-28 in the paint and are scoring 40 points per game in the paint (95th percentile nationally).

Two-point shooting stats are some of the most predictive and consistent in the sport, and Michigan is currently outshooting its opponents by almost 20% inside the arc. The Wolverines shoot 62.1% on twos (best in the country), and their opponents shoot 43.5% (17th).

That’s an 18.6 percentage point gap, which is only bettered by two Division teams: UConn (+19.3%) and Auburn (+18.6%)—decent company, to say the least.

This is Michigan’s identity and recipe to win games, as it should be with a lineup that starts with two 7-footers. It didn’t work out on a night when Michigan was outscored 36-12 from the 3-point range, but it will work out more often than not.

It all comes down to the two big combo, which has gone from clunky to dominant in a month.

On Wednesday, Vlad Goldin had another career night with 26 points and 10 boards. He’s averaging 21 points, eight boards, and shooting 72% from the floor over the last five games. Danny Wolf has been even better as efficient, but is also driving the offense with his playmaking: 16.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, shooting 72% from two and 41% from three.

That sort of production in a stretch of five straight games against high-major opponents is a forecast for what’s to come in Big Ten play. Someone will succeed in slowing down the 7-foot duo eventually, but it hasn’t happened since both players got on the same page.