Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and his team picked up two key wins last week, both away from Crisler Arena. The Wolverines handled Nebraska without suspended senior point guard Zavier Simpson and followed up with a win over Rutgers at Madison Square Garden.
U-M pulled out a 69-63 victory that was considered a home game, though Howard didn’t think it should have been.
“Speaking of that road record, we played at Madison Square Garden that was a long way from Ann Arbor, but was a home game for us,” he said. “But then if I recall, think I saw more Rutgers red shirts than maize and blue. I’m not saying I was looking in stands, but I just heard the energy from Rutgers. Does that count as a road game, because it wasn’t in Crisler? Our guys were not playing in Crisler … the beautiful Maize Rage group, our band, our locker rooms. But it was a great atmosphere.
“It’s been interesting to see throughout the year how the Big Ten has been so competitive, but teams haven’t done well on the road. It’s only been one or two teams that have been pretty good on the road. We’ve been fighting and clawing, but we haven’t had much success on the road.”
That has to improve if they Wolverines want a better seed in the NCAA Tournament, Howard said. It hasn’t helped that they’ve spent much of the Big Ten season missing junior Isaiah Livers. Howard would only say Livers is “improving,” adding, “hopefully he’ll get better soon.”
Sophomore Brandon Johns scored 16 points at Nebraska and 20 against Rutgers in his absence.
“Brandon’s been in the rotation all season long, and he’s getting better every game,” Howard said “Just because of Isaiah’s injury, he’s been inserted into the lineup and competing hard, playing good. We just want consistent play from all our guys.
“It’s basically like this in basketball: when you have consistent minutes being thrown your way because you’ve earned it, you get a better rhythm. For Brandon, he’s able to have a better rhythm out there in the game because he’s playing more. It’s very challenging when you don’t know when you will play three or five minutes, 10 or 12. With Brandon, he’s been able to capitalize and be effective with everything he’s given throughout the season with his energy and effort.”
They’ll need both to remain a factor in Big Ten play, however, and Howard knows it.
“We have to have luck on our side. … good health," he said when asked of his team's 4-6 record. "We need good health from each and every one of our guys in order to make a big run for the season. We’re gaining some traction, but you’ve got to have a healthy group when you play in the Big Ten. It’s a super competitive conference, very physical conference.
“A lot of teams are very good defensively. We see them more than once, so pretty much you can scout on some of the team’s strengths, what are some of the weaknesses. We have really good coaches in this league, so we need all hands on deck.”
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