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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Wolverines have had four games now without the aid of star forward Isaiah Livers, who was hurt Dec. 21 in a home match against Presbyterian. With Iowa up next — a team that head coach Juwan Howard notes is top in offensive efficiency in-conference — Michigan needs all hands on deck.
As Howard started to preview the Hawkeyes, who the maize and blue play in Iowa City on Friday night, it sounded like Livers still might not be able to go, as he discussed playing a team twice for the first time as the Wolverines head coach.
“We’re both a little bit different than we were the first time we played,” Howard said. “There are also two players – our player, Livers, is out – he played last time we played them. And Bohannon, their point guard, is not playing, and he played last game.”
But, later, Howard says that isn’t an admission that Livers won’t be available on Friday night, at least not yet. As for now, it’s still a wait-and-see situation.
“No, I’m saying that Isaiah – one of the guys that did not play last game, and the other games that we’ve played thus far, he hasn’t been with us, so we’re a different team when we don’t have Isaiah,” Howard said. “I’m not quite sure if he’s gonna play tomorrow or not. We will continue to keep monitoring his progress, and he’s getting better and better each day.”
So, when can he be expected back?
Howard still isn’t sure, and while he admits that Livers is an integral part of the Michigan starting five, until he comes back, the onus is on the other players to step up in his stead.
“I’m praying day-to-day, honestly,” Howard said. “We miss him, we need him. There’s no way possible where I’ve said he’s not a big part of this team. He’s a huge part of this team. But we’ve always had this mentality – and our players believe it, too – whoever is out there on the floor, dressed and ready to go, that we trust and believe that each and every player will give us a chance to win that. The players that have the uniform on.”
With Livers out of the lineup, Michigan is 2-2, having gone 8-2 in the ten games that preceded his injury.
Howard says that little has changed in the locker room, despite his absence, especially considering that the road to the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness remains the same, whether or not Livers is suited up.
“Our confidence as well as our belief has not changed,” Howard said. “There’s no doubt within our team. We know no one’s feeling sorry for us because we’re losing one of our best players these last few games and we’ve lost games without him. At the end of the day, we’ve gotta keep fighting, keep plugging. We have a very confident group that’s all about finding solutions, all about coming in here and getting better.”
The Wolverines and Hawkeyes will tip-off on Friday night at 9PM EST with the game being nationally televised on FS1. As of yet, Michigan has not won a true road game in the 2019-20 season.