Without its best player in the starting lineup, Michigan basketball absolutely steamrolled Oakland in its season opener, 121-78. From the jump, Michigan showed its superior athleticism, length, ball movement and physicality en route to a record-breaking win. 

Super transfer Yaxel Lendeborg did play, but was out of the starting lineup and only logged 22 minutes in the blowout win. With a recently-injured hand, Yax scored 12 points during those 22 minutes. Usually he'll be much more productive than that, but it shows just how good and deep this team is. 

Directly from the official games notes of Michigan Basketball, several things happened in the opener that just don't happen very often.

• Michigan’s 121 points against Oakland set a program record for the most points ever scored in a regular-season opener, surpassing the 115 points tallied against Bradley (Nov. 21, 1986). It also marked the ninth time the Wolverines have surpassed the 100-point mark to open a season.

• The last time Michigan scored more than 120 points in a game was March 10, 1990, when the Wolverines posted 127 in a 127-96 win over Iowa.

• Michigan’s 69 first-half points against Oakland set a new program record for points in an opening half. It marked the 10th time in program history that the Wolverines have scored 60-plus in a first half. The overall program record for points in any half remains 71, scored in the second half vs. Iowa (March 3, 1989).

• Michigan tied the program record with 19 three-pointers against Oakland. It marked the fourth time the Wolverines have reached that total in a game — also hitting 19 vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 29, 2024), Central Arkansas (Dec. 13, 2016), and Bryant (Dec. 23, 2008).

• Morez Johnson Jr. scored a career-best 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting, including three dunks, in just 20 minutes of action. It marked the second 20-plus point game of his career after he previously had 20 points and 11 rebounds vs. Penn State (Jan. 8, 2025), going 9-for-11 from the field.

• Aday Mara pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds (1 offensive, 11 defensive) against Oakland, marking his fifth career game with double-digit boards. His previous best was 11 at USC (Jan. 27, 2025).

• With 12 points and 12 rebounds, Mara notched the third double-double of his career. He recorded his first at USC (12 pts, 11 reb; Jan. 27, 2025) and his second at Northwestern (11 pts, 10 reb; Mar. 3, 2025).

• Mara also matched his career high with five blocks — a mark he has now reached four times (vs. Oakland on Nov. 3, 2025; at Washington on Jan. 24, 2025; at USC on Jan. 27, 2025; and vs. Utah State on Mar. 20, 2025).

• In his collegiate debut, Trey McKenney connected on six three-pointers en route to a career-best 21 points. He also added four assists and two rebounds in 28 minutes of action. The last U-M freshman to score 20-plus points in his debut was Jett Howard, who had 21 against Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 7, 2022). The last Wolverine to make six three-pointers in a game was Tre Donaldson at UCLA (Jan. 7, 2025), when he went 6-for-10 from deep and finished with 20 points. McKenney’s performance marked the 38th time in program history a Wolverine has made six or more three-pointers in a single game.

And last but certainly not least, Charlie May, son of head coach Dusty May, scored his first career points on his first career three-pointer. Prior to the Oakland game, May had attempted just one shot in three seasons — a jumper against Lipscomb while at Central Florida (Dec. 2, 2023). He finished against Oakland with three points, one assist and one steal in seven minutes of action.

All in all it was just a dominant win over a pretty darn good team in Oakland. Greg Kampe always has his teams ready to play and the Grizzlies have been a tournament team four times  on Kampe's watch. Again, it's just one game against an inferior opponent, but Michigan is built for the long haul. It should be a fun season.