On Tuesday, the Michigan men’s basketball team became the season’s first victim of a major upset across college basketball when the fourth-ranked Wolverines lost to Seton Hall at Crisler Center.

That didn’t set well with associate head coach Phil Martelli, who was up until 3 a.m. thinking about the loss. Michigan coach Juwan Howard, meanwhile, told his staff he couldn’t fall asleep until 6 a.m.

As the loss set in, so did a few takeaways.

“I don’t think that every loss is a losing experience and I don’t think every win is a winning experience, and certainly there were a lot of lessons for us,” Martelli said during a Zoom call Thursday. “At the end of the day, for that 40 minutes, and it’s hard to acknowledge, but we lost to a better team. They were just better than us. … So, we have to learn from it, certainly.”

“… We have to learn, but this team is learning every day, whether it’s terminology, whether it’s Juwan’s approach to a shootaround, a film session, and it’s not an excuse. This team is a lot of new guys who are filling very significant roles on a very good team.”

During Tuesday’s loss, the Wolverines’ question marks were evident. The biggest initial difference between last year’s roster and this year’s is experience. Michigan knew what it had in guys like four-year veteran Isaiah Livers, future NBA lottery pick Franz Wagner, graduate transfer Mike Smith and three-year ACC starter Chaundee Brown.

This season, that’s not the case — at least not yet. Freshmen Caleb Houstan, Moussa Diabate and Kobe Bufkin have been asked to shoulder a big load early in their careers. Coastal Carolina graduate transfer DeVante’ Jones still appears to be adjusting to Power Five basketball. Brandon Johns Jr. is struggling to pick up where he left off after a strong NCAA Tournament last season. Howard is mixing and matching a handful of different lineups, and the on-court chemistry is a work in progress.

Outside of Eli Brooks and Hunter Dickinson, very little seems set in stone.

One area where that has become apparent so far this season is on the boards. The Wolverines have struggled to keep opposing teams off the offensive glass despite a significant physical advantage in multiple games. It’s not a new problem either, according to Martelli. During a secret scrimmage against DePaul, Michigan gave up 17 offensive rebounds. The Wolverines surrendered another 29 combined offensive boards between an exhibition at Division II Wayne State and the season-opener against Buffalo.

“It is an issue and it is addressed and it is talked about,” Martelli said. “Ironically, one of our best sessions of blocking out and competing on the glass probably took place on Monday in practice. We did a really nice job.”

But the success in practice didn’t translate to the court on Tuesday. Against the Pirates, Michigan saw an 11-point second-half lead slowly slip away due to second-chance points. The Wolverines gave up nine offensive rebounds in the second half alone, and Seton Hall used the extra chances to cut into the lead before ultimately escaping Ann Arbor with a win.

Jones, a 6-foot-1 point guard, led Michigan with 12 rebounds in the loss. To Martelli, that’s telling.

“We have to continue, and when you come out of a game and your point guard leads you in rebounding — that’s a salute to (Jones) but also our frontcourt guys — and I’m not just pointing a finger,” Martelli said. “Our frontcourt guys, our wings, everybody has to start rebounding outside their area after they block out. We have to make contact and we will get better in that area. We very much acknowledge it.”

With two games in Las Vegas in a 48-hour span this weekend, the Wolverines will inevitably get some much-needed experience. For better or worse, their results could hinge on defensive rebounding.

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