[jwplayer HCyMyNvM-XNcErKyb]
After back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State last week, Michigan entered ‘Senior Night’ in need of a pick-me-up game, and you couldn’t have selected a much better opponent for such a game than Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers entered this contest losers of each of their last 14 games, including a 79-68 defeat at the hands of the Wolverines back on Jan. 28.
The Wolverines wasted little time asserting themselves in this one, quickly jumping to an 11-2 lead. Michigan cooled off after that hot start however, and watched their lead slip all the way down to 23-22 with about six minutes to play in the half.
At the break, the Wolverines lead by a score of 32-28.
POSITIVES:
- Jon Teske came to play on ‘Senior Night’. Against the Cornhuskers’ undersized frontcourt, the 7-footer had his way down 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals in the first half. It was about as active we’ve seen Teske in the last month or so, and while it was expected the senior center should have his way against Nebraska, it’s still nice to see him go out and take advantage.
- The Wolverines were active in the passing lanes on defense in the first half, forcing 12 Nebraska turnovers and converting them into 12 points on the other end. Michigan’s ability to score off of their defensive takeaways was big given the way the Wolverines shot the ball in the opening 20 minutes.
NEGATIVES:
- In the midst of the two losses last week, we saw the return of Michigan’s shooting struggles that haunted the team in January. Those same woes have appeared in this game as well. The Wolverines shot just 34 percent (13-of-38) in that opening half, including 5-of-15 from three-point range. The shooting struggles were highlighted by Isaiah Livers, who missed 8 consectutive shot attempts after knocking down back-to-back triples to open the game. Michigan, and Livers, need to break out of this shooting slump quickly, as tournament play is right around the corner.
- This was a game, even coming off the struggles last week, that the Wolverines were expected to dominant. They simply haven’t done that through 20 minutes. After the fast start to the game, Michigan went ice cold from the floor, and some of the defensive breakdowns we saw last week bled into this game as well. A loss tonight would be a real morale killer for the Wolverines, who have a trip to Big Ten co-leader Maryland this weekend. Michigan is still in danger of slipping all the way down to an 11-seed in the Big Ten tournament, and a loss tonight would make that scenario all the more likely.