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Michigan got a resume-building win over the weekend against Michigan State, and followed that up by taking care of business on Wednesday against Big Ten bottom-feeder Northwestern.
The Wolverines improve to 15-9 overall and 6-7 in conference play. Michigan has won four of it’s past five games after dropping four straight earlier this season.
The Wolverines got off to an ugly start, missing their first 11 shots, 8 of which came within the paint. Michigan settled in and controlled the game from that point forward however, overpowering the Wildcats on its way to a 79-54 victory.
1. taking care of business
Let’s be clear: This win was absolutely an expectation. Northwestern is one of the worst teams in the country, and a Michigan loss would have been unfathomable. Still, there was a time this season when winning on the road was like solving a Rubik’s cube for the Wolverines. So, while nobody is doing backflips over this Michigan win, give them credit for going into an opposing team’s building and leaving no doubt.
2. more minutes for austin davis?
After a strong junior campaign a season ago, Jon Teske has struggled more and more as his senior season has progressed. He opened this game 0-for-5 from the floor, with every shot coming deep in the paint, before finishing the night 3-of-14 with 6 points. Meanwhile, backup center Austin Davis came in and converted his first three scoring chances in the first half, and showed good footwork and finishing ability around the rim. Davis finished with 9 points on 4-of-4 shooting. Teske is the better defender of the two, and probably a better rebounder, but Davis has been a more efficient scorer in recent outings. It may be time for head coach Juwan Howard to give a Davis more of Teske’s minutes moving forward.
3. Isaiah Livers brings the thunder
Isaiah Livers may have had a poor shooting night, finishing 0-for-5 from three-point range, but the junior had two thunderous dunks against the Wildcats, much to the delight of his teammates. Highlight dunks are fun and exciting, but more importantly, Livers showed no signs of his previous injuries upon his landings. That’s a good sign for his health moving forward. The junior finished with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting and added 5 rebounds.
4. strong showing from wolverine bench
Austin Davis’ impact was noted above, but the Wolverine bench as a whole had a good showing, scoring a total of 29 points on a blistering 12-of-16 shooting. Sure, it’s fair to point at Michigan’s opponent as a reason why the bench was so effective, but you can’t help but be impressed with the added boost the bench gave the Wolverines on Wednesday night. Colin Castleton and Brandon Johns Jr. were both 2-for-2 from the field, and Cole Bajema made use of a couple minutes of game time to knock down a corner triple.
5. Wolverines building momentum
Michigan’s season hit a low with a four-game losing streak towards the end of January. However, the Wolverines have responded to that skid by winning four of it’s next five games, with the only loss coming by three points against rival Ohio State. Michigan still resides near the bottom of the Big Ten standings, and will need to finish the season strong to set itself up with a better seed for the conference tournament, but the Wolverines have shown noticable improvement in February, and the return of Livers is definitely a big part of that. Michigan is now 11-4 this season in games in which the junior appears.