The Wolverines trailed Nebraska for more than 36 minutes, but when the final buzzer sounded, they had a 75-72 lead. Michigan was outplayed in many ways, but when it mattered, it came out on top.
The fifth-ranked Cornhuskers came into Crisler Center undefeated at 20-0, their best start in program history, but they were slightly shorthanded. Two of Nebraska’s top three scorers — freshman forward Braden Frager and graduate forward Rienk Mast — were unavailable to play. Still, it didn’t seem to faze the Cornhuskers too much, as they took the Wolverines down to the final buzzer.
Michigan has passed the first of its two top-10 tests this week, and will look to improve on its somewhat sloppy performance before taking on No. 7 Michigan State in East Lansing. Certainly, it’s easier to build on a sloppy win than it is on a sloppy loss, but the Wolverines will still have their hands full if they want to escape the week 2-0.
Here are five key takeaways from the nail-biting win…
Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers
The Wolverines had a ridiculous 19 turnovers in the game. The fact that they were able to pull off a win over a top-5 team with that many mistakes is perhaps more shocking than the number itself.
Junior guard Elliot Cadeau was the main offender, as he paired eight turnovers with his seven assists. Junior center Aday Mara and sophomore guard L.J. Cason both had three apiece.
Indeed, Michigan gave up an absurd amount of possessions, but interestingly, Nebraska didn’t take great advantage of them. Off of the 19 turnovers, the Cornhuskers scored just 13 points. On the other hand, the Wolverines scored 17 points off of Nebraska’s 11 turnovers.
Michigan was able to escape with a win despite its turnovers, but it might’ve been able to pull off a much more comfortable victory if it cleaned up the offense.
Morez Johnson Jr. Leads The Offense
Sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. is one of the most efficient players in the entire country, and he proved it again Tuesday night.
He finished the game with 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting, 12 rebounds, and two assists. He also hit six of his seven free-throw attempts and knocked in a 3-pointer.
Johnson isn’t always going to create his own shot in isolation, but if he catches the ball in the paint, he is probably going to put points on the board in one way or another. His touch around the rim is among the best in the nation, and he’s making teams respect his outside game as well. Combine that with his defensive prowess, he’s one of the Wolverines most important pieces.
3-Point Shooting Slump Continues
The Wolverines’ rough 3-point shooting performance last Friday against Ohio State — in which they shot 5-for-23 from distance — carried into Tuesday night’s game. This time, they finished 6-for-26.
Michigan got plenty of good looks from deep, it just couldn’t knock them down. Since the Wolverines weren’t commanding respect on the perimeter, Nebraska was able to shrink its defense, making it harder to force the ball inside.
Because of this, the half-court offense was quite stagnant, which contributed to the heaps of turnovers as well. Michigan’s offense opens up significantly when it can knock down threes, it just needs to snap out of its slump.
Two Very Different Halves
The first half was a shootout, but the second half was a good, old-fashioned Big Ten slugfest.
In the first 20 minutes, the squads combined for 98 points. Nebraska shot 59.4% from the field and 52.6% from three, while the Wolverines shot 65.5% from the field. Both offenses were clicking, and it looked like at least one team would break triple digits.
But the second half was the complete opposite. The teams combined for 49 points, and both shot 1-for-13 from deep. The difference for Michigan was its ability to get to the free-throw line and convert.
It’s Still A Tally In The Win Column
This game was one of the ugliest performances of the season for the Wolverines, but it all counts the same in the record.
Certainly, Michigan needs to clean up quite a few things if it wants to be a real contender come tournament time, but winning games with poor performances is a good sign — as long as those poor performances don’t become commonplace.
The Wolverines have a massive opportunity to improve on their play against No. 7 Michigan State on Friday. To win in Breslin Center, they’ll have to be at the top of their game.
