Michigan Hangs On To Beat Nebraska

Michigan found a way to get it done against the worst team in the Big Ten in Ann Arbor on Tuesday night.

Michigan absolutely has to win its most winnable games in the Big Ten and they did that tonight, but it wasn't pretty. Michigan won by just six (85-79) in Ann Arbor against the worst team in the league in Nebraska. 

1. Hunter Dickinson woke up in the second half

After picking up two fouls just five minutes into the game, Dickinson found himself on the bench for the rest of the first half. He managed to score six quick points in those five minutes, but certainly put Michigan in a bind by taking himself out of the game. After the break, Dickinson came alive.

He mentioned during his post-game press conference that Juwan Howard got onto them during halftime, and it showed. Dickinson proceeded to score 20 second-half points to finish with 26 and also grabbed eight boards. When he's into the game, motivated and focused, he can't be stopped. That was certainly the case tonight and his second-half performance helped Michigan eek out a much needed win against the Huskers.

2. Poor shooting

During Michigan's three-game winning streak against Maryland, Indiana and Northwestern, the Wolverines shot the lights out from deep (57%). Against Michigan State over the weekend and Nebraska tonight however, the Wolverines reverted back to the poor shooting form we've grown accustomed to. 

Shooting poorly against Michigan State in East Lansing is understandable, but going 2-for-15 in Ann Arbor against the Huskers, is not. Michigan is shooting .344 from three-point range this season, which comes in at No. 8 in the Big Ten. That's obviously not horrid, but during some of Michigan's losses and tonight in a win against the Huskers, the shooting performance was horrid.

I'm not sure that's something that can be permanently fixed. The basketball gods certainly have a sense of humor, because some nights can be incredible shooting performances and others can be the worst. Michigan has been closer to bad than good this year, which makes you think that's just what they are — a bad shooting team. They were bad tonight from behind the three-point line, but a win is a win.

3. Back to the drawing board

It's always a huge blessing when you can be unhappy with a performance, realize that you need to get back to the drawing board and win the game. That's exactly what happened with Michigan tonight. That Nebraska team was 6-15 overall and 0-10 in the Big Ten coming into tonight's game. To barely squeak by, after being behind at halftime is not good enough. If Michigan truly has aspirations to make the NCAA Tournament, narrowly beating the worst team in the league by six at home isn't going to cut it.

The Cornhuskers actually led the game for longer than Michigan did 21:18-14:06). I know the end result is the only thing that matters, but even a slightly better team probably hangs on to win that one.