One (Small) Step Forward For Michigan Basketball

Michigan hoops posted a 20-point win Thursday but forecasting U-M's postseason remains anyone's best guess.

Jonathan Knight Photography

For 20 minutes, the entirety of the second half Thursday night, Michigan partied like it deserved on Senior Night, the Wolverines outscoring hapless Nebraska 50-30. Seniors Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson each left the court to standing ovations, the Crisler Center crowd, which included former U-M coach John Beilein, raining cheers down upon the Maize and Blue. 

The second-half play allowed everyone, players, coaches and fans alike, to breathe a sigh of relief, some confidence restored in Teske, juniors Isaiah Livers and Eli Brooks and sophomore Brandon Johns as Michigan gears up for a final stretch in which every game carries with it greater challenges than the Cornhuskers could muster - a Maryland team atop the Big Ten standings to close out the regular season Sunday, a first-round Big Ten tournament contest against an evenly-matched foe, and an NCAA tournament game that legitimately defines "must win." 

Michigan's first-half play Thursday night didn't inspire much confidence. The Wolverines led by just four at the break thanks to another poor shooting night (34.2% on 38 first half shots, including 33.3% on 15 three-point shots), an inability to stop the three ball (Nebraska was 3 for 6), poor finishing at the rim (2 for 6 on layups), Livers in a funk (2 for 10 overall), and failing to capitalize on 12 Nebraska turnovers (just 12 points off those turnovers).

It was the kind of effort that if repeated against a more capable team would end U-M's season. A game is not 20 minutes long, however, and in the second half, Michigan found greater rhythm offensively (59.4% from the floor, though just 3 of 12 on three balls) while Livers got hot (12 points on 5 of 8 shooting) and the Wolverines finished at the rim (9 of 10 on layups). They also held the Huskers to a single three-point make on seven tries. 

It wasn't flawless, but it was good enough to blow out Nebraska, and 40 minutes of that type of basketball would give Michigan a chance to extend its postseason run in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, at least in early rounds. As the competition grows fiercer, U-M needs a better 40-minute game than anything we've seen since Michigan dusted Purdue in West Lafayette Feb. 22. 

For the Maize and Blue to win basketball games going forward it needs: 

• Simpson to be, primarily, an elite offensive facilitator and ball distributor that limits turnovers (he had 10 assists but five turnovers against Nebraska).

• The second-half Livers, a versatile scorer capable of hitting key threes, winning a low-post matchup, finishing on the fast break and drilling a few midrange shots. They also need a healthy Livers that is not a liability defensively. 

• Brooks to continue to be someone that hits 2-4 big three-pointers, as he did Thursday night, extending Michigan leads to four and seven points after Nebraska climbed to within one late in the first half. U-M also needs Brooks to be the outstanding on- and off-the-ball defender against a team's top guard that he has been consistently throughout the season. 

• Freshman Franz Wagner to use his length and athleticism to get to the rim - Wagner has struggled as a three-point shooter this year (30.7% on the year) but has been excellent closer to the rim (61.1% on two-point tries). In the win over the Huskers, Wagner was 4 for 4 on shots at the rim and 0 for 4 on threes. 

He surprises defenders guarding him at the three, either beating players of size with his quickness or players of quickness with his length and size, and must continue to be a double-digit scorer and plus-rebounder for the Wolverines. 

• The good Teske. The senior had a strong final game at Crisler Center, scoring 12 points - his best outing since Feb. 1, nine games ago - making 5 of 11 shots, including 4 of 7 with his back to the basket. Teske showed off a left-handed hook that looked more natural than when he goes right, and might have found a successful formula offensively, though he must prove it still against better competition. 

Teske's defense hasn't suffered much even as he has slumped offensively, but when he scores, his confidence skyrockets, and he's more engaged on both ends of the floor. 

• Michigan also needs the Austin Davis and Johns that were on display Thursday against the Cornhuskers, Davis providing instant offense - seven points in 10 minutes - and Johns contributing energy, hustle, and an offensive repertoire of outside shooting (one three), driving (2 for 2 on shots at the rim) and low-post moves. 

• Finally, U-M needs defensive intensity from sophomore David DeJulius, if nothing else. DeJulius has been MIA as an offensive contributor - just 4.5 points per game in 10 contests since Feb. 1, shooting 37.2 percent and taking only 4.3 shots per game - but he has shown a propensity for closing out on three-point shooters and chasing opponents off the three-point line. 

Obviously, Michigan won't get all of these things in every game, but when the Wolverines lose, they tend to only get 1-2 of these players doing what their best at. When they win, the Maize and Blue see at least four, but usually six of their eight-man rotation playing to their potential.

In the blowout win of Nebraska, seven of the eight were "on" but we can't be sure if that was a sign of things to come or a talented team taking advantage of an overmatched Cornhuskers' unit missing its best player. We'll learn more Sunday when U-M ends the regular season at Maryland. 

Is this Michigan team poised to overachieve in the postseason, get hot and go on a run, or will the inconsistency rear its head, bouncing the Wolverines from Indianapolis and the NCAA tournament before they've even settled into their hotel rooms? 

By regular season's end, a team is supposed to round into shape like Wisconsin (winners of seven in a row), Michigan State (winners of four in a row, including at Penn State and Maryland) and Ohio State (winners of 9 of 11) have done. This Michigan team, however, has been wildly unpredictable all year and that hasn't changed recently. 

It remains true as it has all season long - the Maize and Blue are capable of beating any team on any given night and capable of losing to any team on any given night. Will U-M show up with its best when it needs to? Let the guessing game continue.