david dejulius – Syndication Server

Report: Michigan PG David DeJulius to transfer

According to a report, the Wolverines are set to lose their point guard of the future.

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Well, Michigan’s point guard situation for the future is suddenly tenuous, at best.

While the Wolverines seemed to have things locked up after Zavier Simpson graduated, the point guard who was poised to take over for him in David DeJulius made a stunning decision that pretty much no one saw coming.

A sophomore this past season, DeJulius saw his role increase greatly, averaging 21 minutes-per-game compared to shy of four the year before. He also averaged 7 points-per-game in 2019-20 and had some showings that indicated he was ready to be the next great man up for the maize and blue — including at Nebraska, his first start, as Simpson was suspended for one game.

However, according to The Michigan Insider, DeJulius has elected to transfer out of the program.

The Michigan Insider has learned that Michigan sophomore point guard David DeJulius will enter the transfer portal. According to sources that are familiar with DeJulius’ plans, he will be entering the portal at some point this week and has called U-M to say his goodbyes.

That means the Wolverines will no longer have a bona fide point guard on the roster, though Eli Brooks, who was a shooting guard this past season, had once duked it out with Simpson before Simpson eventually earned the job.

Five takeaways: Wolverines drop Big Ten finale at Maryland

Five takeaways from Michigan basketball’s __-__ defeat on the road at Maryland in the Big Ten regular season finale.

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After a strong February, Michigan is limping into the postseason following a 83-70 loss to Maryland on Sunday.

The Wolverines had a rough go of it in the first half, struggling to defend the quickness and athleticism of the Terrapins as Maryland took a 41-28 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Michigan began chipping away at their deficit with some efficient offense of their own, closing to within 56-53 with just over ten minutes to play in the game. However, the Terrapins answered every surge by the Wolverines down the stretch and pulled away for the victory.

With the loss — the Wolverines’ third in their last four games — Michigan finishes the regular season 19-12 overall and 10-10 in Big Ten conference play.

1. Too little, too late in second half

Michigan played pretty good basketball in the second half against the Terrapins, but that hole they dug for themselves in the first half was too much to overcome. The Wolverines outscored Maryland in the back-half, and got themselves within five points on a couple occasions, but just didn’t have enough juice to get over the hump. You never want to accept losing, but how a team plays matters. The Wolverines in the first half played like a team that didn’t have anything to gain — Michigan was already locked into the 8-9 game of the Big Ten tourney — but played like a team preparing for the NCAA tournament in the second half. To have success in the postseason, they’ll need to bring that intensity for the full 40 minutes.

2. Defending the dribble drive

The quickness of Maryland’s Anthony Cowan Jr. and the other Terrapin guards gave Michigan fits on defense throughout the game. Cowan Jr. got into the lane repeatedly for Maryland, and it allowed him to be an efficient 7-of-11 from the floor for 20 points while also handing out 8 assists. The Terrapins were a fine-tuned machine on offense on Sunday, and they had the Wolverines spinning in circles. Head coach Juwan Howard mixed in some zone looks to try to button-down the driving lanes, but Maryland had answers for everything Michigan threw at them. The Terrapins shot 56 percent from the floor, and got hot from outside in the second half to finish 8-of-20 from three-point range.

3. DeJulius scores career-high off the bench

David DeJulius was fantastic off the bench for the Wolverines. His play in the first half was the only thing that kept Michigan’s head above water, as the sophomore scored 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The sophomore continued his strong play in the second half as well, and finished with a career-high 20 points. This was perhaps DeJulius’ best game in a Michigan uniform.

4. Livers struggles again

Perhaps the biggest concern for Michigan heading into the postseason is the play of Isaiah Livers the past two weeks. The junior has struggled with injuries throughout the year, and has appeared a step slow defensively at times in the past four games, and has shot the ball well in just one of the past eight halves of basketball — the second half against Nebraska. When Livers missed an extended stretch in January, the Wolverines were at their worst. With his return, Michigan showed signs of a team capable of making a run in March. But Livers doesn’t appear to be fully healthy right now, and that’s troublesome for the Wolverines.

5. On to tournament play

The regular season is in the books. Michigan finishes in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference standings, and put together a resume that will earn them a bid in the NCAA Tournament. Up next, the Wolverines will battle Rutgers on Thursday in a second round matchup of the Big Ten tournament. A win over the Scarlet Knights would earn Michigan a shot at the tournament’s No. 1 seed — Wisconsin. Based on projections I’ve seen amongst different bracketoligists throughout the sport, I believe the Wolverines’ floor is a 9-seed in the Big Dance. Should Michigan make a run in their conference tournament, I can see them climb as high as a 6-seed. If you had to ask me right now where I believe they’ll end up, my guess would be an 8-seed.

Halftime Analysis: No. 25 Michigan at No. 9 Maryland

Halftime analysis of Michigan basketball’s tough road trip to Maryland in the final game of the 2019-20 regular season.

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The regular season finale has arrived in the Big Ten Conference.

No. 25 Michigan (19-11, 10-9 Big Ten) traveled to College Park for a showdown with No. 9 Maryland (23-7, 13-6).

The Wolverines are coming off a win over Nebraska on Thursday, while the Terrapins are licking their wounds after back-to-back losses to Rutgers and Michigan State. Maryland has lost three of their past four, with the only victory coming by one point over Minnesota.

Michigan got off to a slow start offensively, and fell behind 18-9 in the opening ten minutes of play. The Wolverines had a couple of surges, but the first half was mostly dominated by Maryland, who took a 41-28 lead into halftime.

NEGATIVES:

Michigan struggled mightily to get stops on the defensive end of the floor in the first half. Maryland shot a blistering 14-of-22 on their two-point attempts in the first half. The offensive sets that the Terrapins are running have the Wolverines running in circles, and they’ve resulted in good look after good look in the opening 20 minutes.
To go along with the defensive letdowns, Michigan went through some droughts offensively as well. The Wolverines shot 50 percent from the floor (11-of-22), but have really hurt themselves with turnovers. Michigan had 7 giveaways in the first half. They’ll need to play much better on both ends to have a shot at a comeback.
Franz Wagner got off to a nice start offensively, scoring five points on 2-for-3 shooting including a triple. However, the freshman had to leave early in the first half due to two quick fouls. The Wolverines’ struggles on offense somewhat coincided with Wagner’s departure. The freshman will have to play smart and defend without fouling as the second half gets underway.

POSITIVES:

The Wolverines were stagnant offensively to start this game, but sophomore guard David DeJulius provided an offensive spark off the bench. DeJulius scored 13 points to lead Michigan, and did it on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting. There wasn’t a whole lot to like about the Wolverines’ play in that first half, but the sophomore was certainly a highlight.

Five takeaways: Michigan overcomes ‘The RAC’ in big road win

Five takeaways from Michigan basketball’s impressive 60-52 road win at “The RAC”, home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

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Michigan took a three-game winning streak into “The RAC”, home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and an arena had yielded no victories to road teams during the 2019-20 season.

But on Wednesday, the Wolverines kept their win-streak alive with a gritty 60-52 victory to ruin Rutgers’ unbeaten record at home.

Michigan got off to a strong start, jumping to a 16-8 lead early. However, the Scarlet Knights responded to the early surge by the Wolverines to take a 31-28 lead into halftime.

Rutgers came out of halftime looking to deliver a knock out punch, stretching their advantage to 37-28 in the opening two minutes of the second half. Michigan took the punch and clamped down defensively the rest of the way, limiting Rutgers to just 15 points in the final 17 and a half minutes of the game.

1. Who’s afraid of the big, Bad RAC?

The Scarlet Knights were 17-0 at home this season, but Michigan was unfazed by “The RAC” on Wednesday night. The Wolverines started hot, and survived two strong runs by Rutgers to close the first half and start the second half, to pull out a massive road victory. The opposing crowd was raucous throughout the game, but Michigan was not intimidated. After opening the season 0-5 in true road games, the Wolverines have now won three straight away from Crisler, a tell-tale sign of a maturing basketball team.

2. Simpson joins 1,000 Points club

Zavier Simpson added to what has already been an outstanding career by eclipsing 1,000 points at Michigan, scoring 16 against the Scarlet Knights. He’s the 55th Wolverine to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Simpson is already the all-time assists leader in school history, and together with fellow senior Jon Teske has the most career wins in school history. In addition to the scoring boost he gave the Wolverines, Simpson added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

3. DeJulius/Castleton good off the bench

The Wolverines got a boost off the bench in this one from a pair of players that have been quiet of late. David DeJulius provided some scoring punch with 10 points, and kept Michigan’s offense poised during stretches when Simpson left the game due to foul trouble. This was just the second time in the past nine games that DeJulius reached double figures in scoring. Meanwhile, Colin Castleton also provided strong minutes as a reserve with Brandon Johns Jr. suffering through foul trouble. Castleton contributed 5 points and 3 rebounds and a block. It was good to see the sophomore make an impact on Wednesday after his minutes have been cut back of late.

4. Big-shot Making

Michigan didn’t shoot well from three-point range, knocking down just 6-of-23 attempts from deep. However, the Wolverines knocked down some big ones at some crucial times. DeJulius hit a three with just over nine minutes to play to close out a 17-4 run to give the Wolverines the lead. With just over six minutes to play, Franz Wagner hit a corner three off a nice pass from Simpson to increase Michigan’s lead to six. But the biggest shot was provided by Eli Brooks, who shook off a tough shooting night to hit a dagger triple as the shot clock was winding down to give the Wolverines a 9-point lead with three and a half minutes to play. Michigan didn’t hit many deep shots on Wednesday, but the confidence never wavered and the team was rewarded in the biggest moments.

5. Surging up the standings

The Wolverines have now won four in a row, and six of their last seven in Big Ten Conference play. As a result, Michigan has leaped from 12th place in the league standings into sole possession of 8th place. The Wolverines are just one game back of a four-way tie for 3rd place in the conference. A stretch like this was unthinkable during the four-game losing streak at the end of January, but Michigan suddenly finds itself within striking distance of a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament.

Zavier Simpson playing status unknown for Rutgers

Head coach Juwan Howard and point guard David DeJulius chime in on Simpson’s status, how he’s handled suspension and how he’s still leading.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Aside from noting that he has practiced with the team, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard provided little in the way of suspended point guard Zavier Simpson’s status with Rutgers on deck on Saturday.

On Friday, Howard noted that Simpson is doing what he needs to do to make his way back, but said the decision as to whether or not the senior captain will travel with the team or not to New York City for the next game.

But, regardless, he’s proud of the steps he’s making, after being asked to do multiple things in penance by myriad groups within the program.

“He’s doing the sort of steps needed asked by myself as well as the coaching staff, university as well as his teammates,” Howard said. “X is pretty much doing whatever it is he needs to do. Great kid. Amazing character. Just violated team rules. So, we’ll keep evaluating day-by-day.”

So, how did Simpson react upon hearing of his suspension?

Much like a senior captain would, Howard says, noting that he’s better off the court than he would have been otherwise, given how he’s handled the situation.

“He’s been very respectful and matured through the process,” Howard said. “Extremely patient. Knows that there are team rules that you’ve gotta abide by and he understands that clearly. That’s why I say he’s matured handling the situation, because yes, he’s extremely disappointed by his actions. He owns his actions and that’s the beauty part of it, he takes ownership of it. At the end of the day, I feel like we’ll all learn from this process.”

While that’s good to hear from the head coach, hearing it from his peers is even better.

Sophomore point guard David DeJulius has often mentioned that Simpson has been a mentor to him, and he delved into how his team captain has handled his suspension with his teammates.

“He talked to us, apologized and everything,” DeJulius said. “We told him we love him. We’re gonna hold it down until whenever he get back.”

Of course, Simpson couldn’t stay away entirely from his team.

This past game against Nebraska was the first he’s missed since joining the maize and blue four years ago, as he’s played in every eligible game until Tuesday’s foray.

Naturally, it was a hard moment for him. But DeJulius shed some light on how Simpson continued to showcase his leadership and stay involved, even from afar.

“At first, of course he was down,” DeJulius said. “He’s a senior. We all feel for him. We all make mistakes. He’s been such a leader. We FaceTimed him at halftime (against Nebraska). He talked to us about it. We got back at two in the morning, and he greeted us at the door at the facility. He’s been a leader off the court. I’m ready for him to get back, and I’m sure the coaches and the rest of the players as well.”

Michigan and Rutgers are set to tip-off from Madison Square Garden on Saturday at 4:30PM EST, with or without Simpson leading the charge./

Isaiah Livers ‘doing a little here and there’ in practice in injury status update

The sophomore point guard shares what he knows about the injured junior starting forward.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan head coach Juwan Howard said very little about junior forward Isaiah Livers’ injury status heading into the Rutgers game on Saturday, demurring that he doesn’t have any medical expertise.

“I’m not a doctor,” Howard said. “I don’t get paid for it. I’m a former basketball player. What I studied here at University of Michigan, I did not study any physics or any deal with the medical. So all this stuff is new stuff with me. Fortunately enough, I had a great, healthy career. I’m really dumbfounded when it comes to injuries. I’m just learning all of this.”

But, one of his teammates shared a little more about where he stands injury-wise at the moment.

Sophomore point guard David DeJulius did indicate on Friday that Livers has been at least involved — in some capacity — in practice. Though, he didn’t share to what end he’s been effective.

“Isaiah’s been doing a little here and there,” DeJulius said. “Yeah, he has. But Coach is just making sure that he’s ready so that when he’s ready to come back he’s ready. He’s diligent about his treatment with the trainers and stuff like that.”

While Coach Howard wouldn’t indicate whether it was a new injury or the re-aggravation of the pre-existing one that kept Livers out for nearly two months, DeJulius shined some light on the situation, noting that, to his knowledge, it seems to be the same one, but the prognosis isn’t nearly as dire.

“I think it was the same, but it’s not nearly as bad,” DeJulius said. “But we don’t want to make the same mistake we had last time, make sure he not come back early. So we want to make sure he’s back 100%.”

It still seems unlikely that Livers will return to the lineup on Saturday, given that the team isn’t trying to rush him back. Michigan travels to New York City to face Rutgers at Madison Square Garden for a Feb. 1, 4:30PM EST tip-off.

Five takeaways: Wolverines back in the win column

Five takeaways as Michigan ends it’s four-game losing streak with a 79-68 victory over Nebraska, the Wolverines first true road win.

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With four losses in a row, the season has taken a sour turn for Michigan basketball. The situation grew only more dire when starting point guard Zavier Simpson was suspended for a violation of team rules.

The Wolverines, who started 0-5 in true road games this season, were in desperate need of a change to the current narrative when they traveled to Nebraska on Tuesday night.

The game was tight throughout the first half, but Michigan controlled the game for the majority of the second half to pull away for their first road victory, 79-68.

My five takeaways as the Wolverines end their four-game skid:

1. A step in the right direction

With the four-game losing streak, Michigan’s NCAA Tournament destiny was suddenly in doubt after a 7-0 start to the season. The Wolverines won’t impress the selection committee with this victory, but it was a much-needed step in the right direction. Michigan has several “resume-building” opportunities left on their schedule, one of which comes this Saturday when they host No. 25 Rutgers. It’s good that the Wolverines will enter that game with a little confidence coming off their first road victory.

2. Brooks, Wagner, Johns Jr. all step up

No Zavier Simpson. No Isaiah Livers. Michigan needed guys to play big in this game, and multiple guys did. Eli Brooks led the Wolverines in points (20), rebounds (9) and assists (4) in an exceptional performance. Franz Wagner shook off a slow start shooting the ball to finish with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The freshman added 8 rebounds, 3 steals and a block. Finally, Brandon Johns Jr. played one of his best games in a Michigan uniform with an efficient 16 points (5-of-6 from the floor, 5-of-7 from the FT line) and added 7 rebounds.

3. This is what Michigan’s offense is

The Wolverines have played 20 games and are nearly halfway through their Big Ten schedule. It’s safe and fair to say that what we’ve seen on offense from them since returning from the Bahamas is what they are. Michigan is not a good shooting team. Tonight, the Wolverines shot 29 percent from the three-point line. Michigan did shoot 50 percent from the floor, but that came against what is, statistically, the worst defensive team in the conference. The key to success for this Wolverines squad is good ball movement and getting as many guys involved as possible, which is what they did tonight.

4. Dejulius struggles replacing Simpson

Sophomore David DeJulius filled in as the starting point guard with Zavier Simpson out, and he struggled to fill those shoes. DeJulius finished with just 5 points on 1-of-7 shooting while handing out 3 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds. Simpson has had an up-and-down season, but if Tuesday’s game against a relatively weak Big Ten opponent is any indicator, the Wolverines need their starting point guard back on the floor soon. That may not be fair to DeJulius, after all, it was his first career start, but the back-half of the Big Ten slate is vital to Michigan’s NCAA Tournament chances, and the Wolverines will need Simpson to earn a bid.

5. resume-building games ahead

As mentioned above, Michigan is in a fight for their NCAA tournament lives as the calendar shifts to February. The Wolverines let some resume-building opportunities at home slip away earlier this season against Oregon, Penn State and Illinois, but there are plenty more ahead. After hosting Rutgers on Saturday, Michigan still has home games against Michigan State and Indiana — two of the better teams in the conference — and will have ranked road games at Rutgers and Maryland. Sprinkled in are future contests against Purdue and Wisconsin that can serve as solid wins due to the strength of the Big Ten this season. Opportunities await, but the Wolverines need to finish the season strong.

5 takeaways: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 10 Oregon

Five takeaways from the Top 10 showdown between No. 5 Michigan and No. 10 Oregon on Dec. 14 at the Crisler Center.

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Coming off their second loss of the year at Illinois, Michigan had no time to lick its wounds with No. 10 Oregon coming to the Crisler Center on Saturday.

The nonconference showdown with the Ducks (7-2) provided an excellent opportunity for the No. 5 Wolverines (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) to bounce back from their first conference loss of the season.

Michigan got off to an extremely slow start, scoring just 9 points in the first 12 minutes. Oregon built as lead as high as 16 points, before the Wolverines closed to within 31-23 by halftime.

In the second half, Michigan came out firing on all cylinders to come all the way back to take a lead late in the second half. Oregon punched back, and the two teams traded blows on their way to a 63-63 tie to end regulation.

Overtime proved to be a dogfight as well, but in the end, the Ducks delivered the last punch as they outlasted the Wolverines by a final score of 71-70.

1. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

The Wolverines were nowhere to be found when this one got underway. Michigan opened the game 3-of-17 from the floor (including three missed dunks) and 1-of-8 from the three-point line in the first 12 minutes. The Wolverines finished the half shooting just 24 percent overall. In the second half, however, Michigan caught fire, making 10 of their first 15 attempts from the floor and 5-of-6 from three-point range. As a whole in the second half and overtime, the Wolverines went 18-of-32 from the floor and 6-of-8 from deep to improve their total shooting percentage to 41 percent. Still, scoring lulls like we saw in the first half are concerning. That was something that plagued the team last season as well, and it cost them on Saturday.

2. DEJULIUS CARRIES THE FIRST HALF

The Wolverines desperately needed a spark offensively in the first half, and they got one off the bench in the form of sophomore David DeJulius. The second-year guard scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. DeJulius carried Michigan into the locker room, and though he didn’t have the same impact in the second half — finishing with 14 points — he gave the Wolverines a chance to get back in the game.

3. FRANZ WAGNER. EARLY STRUGGLES, BIG TIME RESPONSE

It was another youngster lifted Michigan in the second half, as true freshman Franz Wagner came to like to score 18 of his 21 total points in the first half and overtime. He was Like the team as a whole, Wagner struggled to find his way in the first half, but he hit big shot after big shot in the second half. The freshman has had an up-and-down experience in Ann Arbor thus far, as he continues work his way back to full speed following a wrist fracture before the season. But he came up big in this game. Fans should be patient with some of his “freshman mistakes” this season, because the talent here is clear and obvious.

4. TESKE, SIMPSON WERE DISAPPOINTING

Earlier this week, head coach Juwan Howard named Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson as the team’s captains. The pair had a rough first outting with their new titles. Teske was a complete non-factor, finishing with only 4 points and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes of play. He was replaced by Brandon Johns Jr. ( 8 points, 9 rebounds) in the second half and overtime. Simpson did have 11 assists, that should be highlighted, but the senior had 4 turnovers, struggled with his on-ball defense (which is supposed to be his specialty), and was just 3-of-11 from the floor. The senior’s on-ball defense looked subpar against Illinois as well, and that is a major concern moving forward.

5. Wolverines are IN A SLUMP

After opening the season 7-0 and surging to a Top 5 ranking, Michigan has now lost three of it’s last four games. Two of those came against Top 10 opponents, and losses on the road in the Big Ten are going to happen, but this was an opportunity that the Wolverines let get away. A win over a ranked Oregon squad after the loss at Illinois would have righted the ship, but instead it’s likely Michigan will take a steep fall in the rankings. The Wolverines have a week off before beginning the road back next Saturday against Presbyterian.

Michigan basketball reacts to jumping to No. 4 from being unranked

What Juwan Howard and a slew of players had to say about going from unranked to No. 4 with the No. 1 Cardinals up next.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was huge news on Monday, when the Wolverines came in at No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25.

Michigan was previously unranked, but impressed the entire nation by storming into the Bahamas and winning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament last week, having to go through both the No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Under the previous regime in Ann Arbor, there’s be little attention paid attention to about the rankings. With Juwan Howard now leading the charge, it’s not that there’s more of a focus on it — but there’s a recognition of the hard work it took to get the nation’s attention.

Still, Howard says, the team has to focus and worry more about taking things one game at a time, because true championships aren’t won in the first month-plus of the season.

“I saw it – my son called me and told me about it,” Howard said. “He was excited as well as surprised, but he also felt that we earned it. I agree with him. At the end of the day it’s early. Championships are not won – yes, we won a championship during Thanksgiving play, but the NCAA Championship in April – you can’t get there yet until you start playing the Big Ten (Conference). We have many of those to try to go out there and achieve.”

The new rankings certainly are resonating in Crisler Center, helping galvanize the team as it prepares to take on the newfound No. 1 in the country on Tuesday night in the Louisville Cardinals.

Michigan is hoping that it can repeat the current trend of taking down, not only a top ten team, but the No. 1 overall squad, as Louisville is the fourth top-rated team in five weeks — with preseason No. 1 MSU losing in the opening contest to Kentucky, Kentucky getting similarly upset to unranked Evansville, and Duke getting surprised by Stephen F. Austin.

But like their head coach, the Wolverines players, while they’re happy to see a number — a high one — next to their name after last week’s accomplishments, they’re aware that it means little if they don’t take care of business moving forward.

“For sure, I would be lying if I didn’t say it was refreshing,” DeJulius said. “It’s really helping us for our confidence. But it’s gonna be the same mindset, same approach that got us here. Just continuing to work hard each and every day in practice, continue to trust each other, have fun together, trust this coaching staff. When you do those things, those are the recipe to win it.”

“It’s big news for us, being unranked and jumping up that high,” senior center Jon Teske added. “But, at the same time, we’re not really worried about that. We were unranked and people weren’t talking about us and we were just doing our job. We gotta come in each and every day with that mentality that, yeah, people are talking about us now. Continue to come in everyday and do our job, and continue to do what we did to get to this point.”

But will they be able to keep the pedal down on the floor, that’s the question?

Howard is sure that his group will remain focused, given how they’ve handled the offseason, the early season, and the success they’ve had to this point.

“I have a very hardworking, humble, driven, focused team that understands what we set out to do,” Howard said. “We’ve always been very – kept everything in house, pride on how we approach things. As a family, we feel we have team goals that we have to achieve. We’re going to keep driving and forging ahead.”

Michigan and Louisville tip-off at 7:30PM at KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Five takeaways from Michigan hoops vs. Elon

Five takeaways from Michigan basketball’s win over Elon University in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

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Michigan hosted Elon University on Friday night in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis college basketball tournament.

After a slow start the game, the Wolverines settled in to cruise to a 70-50 victory to improve to 3-0 on the young season. Juwan Howard is off to a strong start in his first stint as a head coach, though far bigger tests await than Michigan’s opening three games against Appalachian State, Creighton and Elon. The Wolverines will potentially play North Carolina later in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, and have future out of conference games against No. 4 Louisville and No. 14 Oregon coming in December.

Below are five takeaways from Friday’s victory for the Wolverines:

1. RESPONDING TO A SLOW START

Michigan opened the game sluggish and uninterested. Through the first ten minutes of play, the Wolverines shot 3-of-12 from the floor — including 1-of-7 from three-point range — and turned the ball over five times. Michigan finished the first half strong however to take a 31-22 into halftime, and carried that into the second half. The Wolverines finished the game 28-of-58 from the field (48 percent) and had just 5 turnovers in the final 30 minutes of play.

2. TESKE DOMINATES THE PAINT

Jon Teske’s game mirrored the Wolverines’ in that he responded after a slow start of his own. The 7-foot center was easily the biggest guy on the floor Friday night, and started to play like it around the midway mark of the first half. Teske finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals to help the Wolverines pull away. The big man also help Michigan dominate the Elon in the paint, as the Wolverines outscored the Pheonix 34-16 down low.

3. DAVID DEJULIUS CONTINUES TO IMPRESS

The Wolverines needed a spark after the slow start on Friday night, and that spark came in the form of sophomore David DeJulius. In the first half, the combo-guard had 8 points and a team-leading 8 rebounds for Michigan despite being the shortest player on the floor for the Wolverines. DeJulius finished with 10 points but did not add to his rebounding total in the second half.

4. SHARE THE WEALTH

Michigan finished the game with four players (Teske, DeJulius, Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks) scoring in the double digits, and junior Isaiah Livers was close to double figures with 9 points. The Wolverines moved the ball well offensively, and got multiple people involved once they settled into the game. Michigan finished the game with 12 assists — Simpson led the Wolverines with 7 assists.

5. REBOUNDING STILL A CONCERN

Michigan has struggled to rebound in the early goings this season, and that continued to some degree in this contest. The Wolverines out-rebounded Elon 38-31, but edging the oversized Pheonix by only seven is disappointing. This has become a trend for Michigan this season. The Wolverines were out-rebounded 38-27 against Creighton, after giving up an ugly 18 offensive rebounds to the Bluejays earlier this week. Michigan also struggled to out-rebound lowly Appalachian State in the opener (34-33).