After starting the year 0-5 on the road, the Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team has done a complete 180. They have since won their last four road contests, beginning with a 79-68 triumph at Nebraska on Jan. 28 and then capping things off with an impressive 71-63 victory yesterday at Purdue.
The win was Michigan’s first in West Lafayette since 2014 (though they had only played there three times since), and further exemplified the reenergized mindset and mentality the Wolverines are playing with, especially on the road.
Road contests were met with immense struggles and oftentimes mentally weak moments for the Maize and Blue early in the year, and have yielded the opposite results over the last month.
“It’s laughable looking back at that,” junior forward Isaiah Livers said after yesterday’s victory when asked about U-M’s road struggles earlier in the year.
“We had a meeting and I said we’ll look back and laugh at this. We’re a much more mature team now and so connected; we like to be around each other off the court, and that’s a real great team.
“If we keep that up, we’ll be good.”
“We’ve done a better job of talking every possession, and that goes a long way to getting stops,” freshman guard Franz Wagner added.
A lack of communication on defense had been an issue for the club throughout the month of January, with both sophomore forward Brandon Johns and junior guard Eli Brooks admitting it was one of the contributing factors that led to a discouraging 72-63 home loss to Penn State on Jan. 22.
Head coach Juwan Howard was also baffled by the lack of communication amongst his players after that game.
The defensive efforts have been lights out over the Wolverines’ last seven games in particular, however, with five of the seven opponents having shot 39.7 percent or worse.
“Our defense has been great and connected, on the road and at home,” Livers exclaimed. “We’re making sure we’re talking every possession — we don’t need Coach Howard to hold up a sign every time for us to talk.
“Purdue had one more offensive rebound than us though, and we have to do a better job of boxing out — I have to do a better job of boxing out.”
“We’re connected and we don’t let teams go on runs. That’s especially important on the road with crowds and when they get into it. Getting rebounds is when we’re good and that’s when we can get out and run.”
Wagner stepped up significantly yesterday, finishing with a career high 22 points on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting.
“I’m super proud of him playing 30-plus minutes as a freshman,” Livers said of his younger teammate. “You don’t even think he’s an underclassmen when he’s out there because he plays with so much emotion and it reminds me of his brother a little bit.
“They both bring that flare to the game and it’s fun to watch.”
Notes
• Livers returned from an ankle injury yesterday and played 36 minutes against the Boilermakers, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds, and a perfect 8-for-8 stat line from the free throw line.
“Coach Howard and the staff did a really good job of taking care of me," he said. "They kept me ready and kept my mind ready, so I’m grateful to have a staff like them.
"I wasn’t thinking about it while I was out there.”
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
