What is considered a 'poor shooting night?'
While everyone's opinion will vary at least a little bit, everybody would agree that Michigan's 33.9 percentage from the floor last night against Minnesota would certainly qualify.
Despite the horrendous offensive showing, the Wolverines still found a way to win.
Poor shooting nights haven't become a trend for the Maize and Blue, but when they have occurred as of late, Michigan has displayed an ability to still win those games.
Playing great defense is obviously the main recipe for success on days when the shots aren't falling, and second-year defensive guru Luke Yaklich deserves the credit in that department.
Since he arrived prior to the 2017-18 campaign, Michigan holds an 8-4 record in games where it has shot poorly — for argument's sake, we've defined a 'poor shooting night' as being below 42 percent.
Last night's 33.9 shooting percentage is by far the lowest mark on the table above.
The next lowest percentage is actually the famous NCAA Tournament second round win over Houston last year, when U-M nailed just 35.6 percent of its shots.
Of the 41 games the Wolverines played last season, they shot below 42 percent in only eight of them; for comparison's sake, they have been below that mark four times this year.
For whatever reason, Michigan has also shown a tendency to overcome the poor shooting performances at home, but not necessarily on the road.
There are five home games and five road contests listed on the table above, and U-M holds an impressive 5-0 mark in the former, but just a 1-4 record in the latter.
The lone road win occurred last season in mid-December at Texas, in what was the first significant display of Yaklich's impact.
U-M's offense only scored 59 points and shot 40 percent, but its defense held the Longhorns to 52 points and a dismal 36.5 shooting percentage from the floor, including a 25 percent mark from behind the arc.
On top of that, Michigan outrebounded Texas, 40-31, and won a game in a fashion — defense and rebounding — that John Beilein's clubs hadn't done in the past.
That formula has since become the norm for the Wolverines, and for those who say it 'isn't pretty enough,' consider this — Michigan holds a 42-6 record since that December night in Austin.
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