The Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team continued its winning ways this afternoon, picking up an impressive 73-57 triumph at Indiana. Balance has been the name of the game for the Maize and Blue’s offensive attack this year, with four scorers pouring in at least 13 points at Assembly Hall — sophomore guard Franz Wagner with 21, senior forward Isaiah Livers with 16, fifth-year senior guard Mike Smith with 14 and freshman center Hunter Dickinson with 13.
Wagner in particular has been on an offensive tear as of late, scoring an identical 21 points in Thursday night’s blowout of Iowa and 20 in the Feb. 18 victory over Rutgers at Crisler Center.
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Efficiency has also been on full display for Wagner, with the 6-9 guard hitting 17 of his last 25 shots over Michigan’s last three games.
“Yeah,” Wagner admitted this afternoon when asked if he’s playing his best offensive ball of the year. “I’m trying not to overdo it, and that’s what I kind of did to start the season. It’s about finding the balance of when to make a play and when to make one for someone else.
“No one cares who scores the points on this team, and you can see the results when we play that way. Aggressiveness is the key word [for my offensive play lately]. I was just trying to make the right play today and I saw some lanes that were open and attempted to drive it.
“If you do your job, good things will happen. I’m very confident and that’s how our offense works. Everyone has to be confident in their shot and make the right plays, and that’s how we play.”
Michigan’s offense was especially effective in the second half today, connecting on 50 percent of its attempts after only making 40.7 percent in the game’s first 20 minutes.
“Taking care of the ball was the main priority,” Livers revealed in the postgame when asked about some of the adjustments Juwan Howard made at halftime. “Some guys passed up open shots they don’t normally, me personally.
“We came back in the second half and got back to Michigan basketball — swinging the ball and shooting our shots, and that goes back to the culture and how we play for one another.
“Trust is one of our core values and we trust one another, and that was the main adjustment we made at halftime.”
Michigan had very little time to prepare for today’s noon game, with the club taking down Iowa Thursday night and then undergoing a travel day yesterday. The less-than-ideal quick turnaround (which every team in the country goes through) nevertheless didn’t faze the Maize and Blue whatsoever.
The mature Wolverines have handled just about everything thrown their way in impressive fashion this season, thanks in large part to Livers’ leadership and other key veteran leaders on the team.
“Being a leader, I tell the guys this is what they’ll see in the tournament,” Livers explained. “We have to now focus on recovery, getting homework done and scouting film. [Assistant] Coach [Howard] Eisley told us we’re rolling into an NBA-like schedule and to be professional.
“We took care of business today and have to get back to our studies and then take care of business against Illinois at home on Tuesday.”
“Taking care of business” is exactly what Michigan has done game in and game out this season, and it’s the primary reason the club is on the verge of the Big Ten regular-season championship.
Defeating Illinois next week will all but seal the deal, assuming the conference crowns the club who finishes with the best winning percentage (it has not officially announced the method it will use yet).
“Coach Howard talks to us about not being an energy sucker, but a giver,” Livers said. “When everyone isn’t about themselves, this team plays at a national championship level and a best team in the country type level.
“I’m excited and blessed to be on a team where everyone cares about one another. Watch [senior guard] Chaundee Brown, [for example] — he’s excited for everyone and doesn’t put his head down, even when his shot isn’t falling.”
Notes
• Coming into today’s game, Indiana sophomore big man Trayce Jackson-Davis had been averaging 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Dickinson and fifth-year senior forward Austin Davis held him well below his season averages, limiting him to just 10 points and four boards.
“The only way to slow someone that powerful and that quick down on the block is to make them go to their other hand,” Livers explained. “We wanted him to take tough shots over his left shoulder and make him use his right hand.
“He was matched up against Hunter and Austin, and Coach Howard called those two a two-headed monster. They did a great job against him today.”
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