Michigan Wolverines basketball improves to 12-8 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten after a much-needed win on the road against Nebraska.
Here's some takeaways from the game.
RELATED: Brandon Johns Sparks Wolverines To 79-68 Win At Nebraska
"Didn't Matter How You Did It"
ESPN analyst Dan Dakich said this following U-M's victory in Lincoln. And, he's right. U-M needed to win, someway, somehow. The Wolverines were without senior guard and captain Zavier Simpson (suspension) and junior forward Isaiah Livers (hip injury). The mission was simple: win the game.
It was a sloppy one for much of the game. U-M certainly has a lot to clean up, including the 17 turnovers and the abysmal defense, at times. U-M also struggled once again from long range, shooting just 7 for 24 (29 percent).
There's plenty to be disappointed and concerned about for the U-M coaching staff and players, and those things will surely be discussed in film sessions and practices before the team's next game Saturday.
But as we've seen during the four-game losing streak that U-M came into Lincoln with, things could be much worse. Playing on the road, without arguably your two best players, is never easy, and although the Huskers are not a good team, they did wax Purdue by 14 points, and pick up a six-point win over Iowa in the same building.
The Wolverines were starving for their first victory since Jan. 9, and they got it, one way or the other. The need was to "survive and advance" and return home. It wasn't pretty, but mission accomplished.
Eli Brooks Stepped Up
"Zavier has the ball in his hands a lot and makes great plays for us, so it’ll now be about not finding a hero and playing together," junior guard Eli Brooks told reporters before the Nebraska game.
Brooks and the rest of his teammates knew there was a huge void to be filled during the suspension of their leader, primary ball handler, top defender and so much more. While it would be a stretch to call Brooks' performance heroic, he did exactly what he knew he needed to — step up.
Brooks played all but one minute, scored 20 points on 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-10 from three. He added nine rebounds (career-high) and four assists. His impact went beyond the box score, too. Brooks took it upon himself to be the leader out there. He made an extra effort to talk more, and he was leading the huddles before free throws.
Head coach Juwan Howard doesn't know how long Simpson will be out. Livers is once again day-to-day, now with a hip injury. With those things being true, it's a great sign that the Wolverines have a guy in Brooks that can step up his play and his leadership when they need it most.
Brandon Johns Played His Best Game In A Michigan Uniform
Johns had started six games, before returning to coming off the bench against Illinois. With Livers back out, he was inserted back into the starting lineup at Nebraska, and put up his best game as a Wolverine.
Johns played a career-most 37 minutes, and finished with a career-high 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting, 1-for-1 from three and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe. He added seven rebounds and one assist. The one blunder on his resume tonight is the four turnovers. His game was not without mistakes, but it was the most solid he's looked.
The next challenge for Johns, and most others on this team, is becoming more consistent. Confidence is something he's talked about as a key for when he plays well, and he looked nothing short of confident against a small Nebraska front line tonight, including on this dunk and stare down:
Mixing And Matching
Howard has said he likes to "mix and match" when it comes to putting lineups out there on the floor. Tonight, there were some odd lineup combinations. Simpson and Livers being out were the main cause of it, and freshman guard Franz Wagner sat most of the first half with foul trouble, forcing Howard's hand.
Sophomore forward Colin Castleton was the first big man off the bench for the first time in several games. He did some good things in the first half, including scoring five points. Oddly enough, he did not play in the second half. Redshirt junior Austin Davis took over the backup big man duties in the second stanza, and posted three points and two rebounds.
Sophomore guard Adrien Nunez has struggled all season long. And despite making his first three-pointer, he went 1-for-6 from three in his 17 minutes. Even walk-on junior guard C.J. Baird got in, and played eight minutes. The most staggering thing about the rotations at guard was the fact that freshman Cole Bajema didn't see any action. He hasn't seen any meaningful time this season, but either has Baird, and Nunez has seen a significant drop in minutes after he started the first four games of the season while Wagner was out with a wrist injury.
David DeJulius Didn't Seize The Opportunity
With Simpson out, this game was a big opportunity for sophomore guard David DeJulius to step up, much like Brooks and Johns did. Instead, he never looked comfortable during his first career start.
He had five points on just 1-for-7 shooting. He did have four rebounds and three assists, but he wasn't making the best decisions with the ball. He was 0-fer on his two three-point attempts, both open looks.
The Wolverines did a good job weathering the storm to get the win, but it was disappointing for Howard that DeJulius didn't take advantage of a big opportunity he had in front of him, especially with the point guard spot up for grabs going into next season.
More Thoughts From The Win
• Wagner had one of his better games in his young career. He had 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting, and tied his career-high for rebounds, with eight. He was aggressive driving the ball, and looked in control with his handle, something he has struggled with, at times.
• Wagner got called for a technical foul after blocking Nebraska's Kevin Cross and letting him know about it on the way back down the floor. The official, Bo Borowski, should have let that one go. As Dakich said in the broadcast, the officials have no business interjecting themselves into the game that way. It was nothing malicious, and didn't seem to warrant the technical foul call.
• U-M didn't waver after Nebraska took a second half lead, 52-50. The short-handed Wolverines battled right back, and went on a 19-3 run mid-way through the second half to cruise to their first road victory.
• It was a classy move to start the game by both teams. U-M took a 10-second backcourt violation, and Nebraska took a 30-second shot clock violation, following the lead of what NBA teams have done since the tragic death of Kobe Bryant Sunday. The NBA, of course, has a 24-second shot clock and an eight-second backcourt rule, and Bryant wore No. 8 and No. 24 during his time with the Lakers.
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