Five Takeaways: Breaking Down Michigan's 79-71 Win Over Appalachian State

Michigan raced out to a 30-point lead but fell apart a bit in the second half before ultimately winning by eight points.

The Juwan Howard Era is officially underway and the new head coach is 1-0. The Wolverines built a huge lead before losing almost all of it in the second half but managed to hang on against a scrappy Appalachian State team. Here are five takeaways from Michigan's win over the Mountaineers.

1. Big Performances

The big performances were obviously headlined by senior Jon Teske and junior Eli Brooks. 

Teske got off to the hottest start imaginable scoring U-M's first nine points and piling up 15 in the first half. He also had 11 boards in the first half for a rare double-double in the first 20 minutes. He cooled off in the second half and finished with just 17 and 13, but still had a very impactful performance.

Brooks scored a team high 24 points, which bested his previous career high by 13 and he showed that he can be counted on to get buckets if need be. He also played solid defense, committing just one foul and added a couple of assists, a steal and a block. He played a very solid all around game.

2. Newfound Confidence

Brooks obviously falls into this category but sophomore Brandon Johns showed the highest level of new confidence, in my opinion. He looked to feel good about his offensive skills in terms of dribbling the ball, taking it to the rim and finding open space. He also did a really good job cutting, which led to a few uncontested dunks right at the rim. I saw some aggressiveness when he crashed the boards and when contesting shots. He's a phenomenal athlete and he is starting to figure it out. He's certainly not a finished product yet, but he showed some good things. He finished with five points, three rebounds and two blocks on the night.

I would also throw sophomore Colin Castleton into this category. He's still developing physically but you can see the offensive skill set. He finished with eight points in just 10 minutes of action. I was also happy to see him knock down both of his free throws on a night where a few other players struggled, specifically down the stretch. 

3. Aggressive Defense

Michigan was a very good defensive team last year under the tutelage of Luke Yaklich, but he's now coaching in Austin, Texas. There should still be some holdover defensively with Saddi Washington on the staff under Howard, but it's going to be a different style. 

One thing I noticed, Michigan played with quick hands and recorded a ton of deflections. There were a lot of instances last night where senior Zavier Simpson, Brooks, Johns, Castleton and Teske specifically, got their hands on a pass or the ball during a drive. The Wolverines turned over the Mountaineers 19 times, 12 of which came in the first half. It's clear that this team plays a connected, helping brand of defense, which should improve a lot game to game.

4. Too Many Turnovers

There's just no other way to slice it — 17 turnovers is too many. In fact, per Zach Shaw of 247 Sports...

Michigan’s 17 turnovers were its most in a game since Nov. 17, 2016 against Marquette, when the Wolverines also had 17 turnovers. The last time Michigan had more than 17 turnovers was March 10, 2012 against Ohio State (18).

We knew that turnovers were going to increase with a faster pace and several new guys stepping into more prominent roles, but 17 is too many and 10 in the second half is a big reason why Appalachian State made a run when they did.

Perhaps most alarming was that six of those turnovers came from senior point guard Zavier Simpson. Michigan's leader has been very good at taking care of the ball throughout his career so that's definitely something to keep an eye on moving forward in this new system.

5. High Highs, Low Lows

Regardless of how it looks or what the final score is, a win is a win. There were a lot of highs in the first half followed by some pretty low lows in the second half.

The Wolverines were 5-of-11 from three in the first half compared to just 4-of-14 in the second half. That obviously tells part of the story as to why U-M's 30-point lead turned into just four late in the game.

Teske seemed to be the centerpiece of Howard's offensive game plan early in the game, which led to his hot start, but U-M went away from that late in the first half and definitely in the second half. Teske probably can't be option No. 1 every night, but when the tallest opponent is just 6-9, it's not a bad concept. He should've been fed a bit more throughout and that might've stemmed the tide a little earlier.

What we can take away from this game is that this team can actually be pretty damn good, but could also really struggle at times for various reasons. Simpson needs to take care of the ball. The team needs to stick with what works, and Howard is still figuring that out. The sophomores need to continue to come along, which will help in a huge way. Getting freshman Franz Wagner back could end up being a massive boost. 

It's the first game, which is always a little loose, but there are a lot of things to be pretty excited about. At the same exact time, there are going to be bumps in the road. That's expected under a new, first-time head coach, but there likely would've been some growing pains this year under John Beilein even. 

What takeaways do you have from the game? What do you think this team's ceiling is? Floor? Comment below!!!