After an underwhelming 7-7 start to the season, the Michigan men’s basketball team has started to show promise. The Wolverines have won four of their last five games, including blowout wins over Maryland and Indiana and a pair of Crisler Center comebacks against Northwestern and Nebraska.

Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli has spent the past 45 years coaching college basketball — more than twice as long as his current players have been alive. He can tell when a team is rounding into form, and over the past month, he’s noticed growth in this year’s Wolverines after their steep fall from a top-five national ranking.

“Most progress to me is one, we’ve made some shots,” Martelli said Friday. “We’ve made some timely shots. Now, you walk out of the (Nebraska) game the other night and say, ‘Holy mackerel, two threes, that’s not going to work.’ But Eli (Brooks’) three, obviously, was so big, and then having Brandon Johns make a three. Maybe we can get some momentum going with Brandon Johns.

“I think the second part is the fact that we’ve responded. Everybody here watched those games in November and December. We didn’t win the Northwestern game in November and December. We didn’t win the Nebraska game, having to come back, in November and December. So, we’re a little bit mentally tougher. We’re a little bit better making some key shots. And that, to me, has been the growth in the four (wins) out of five.”

Martelli’s second point is telling. Earlier in the season, Michigan struggled to finish close games on its home floor in losses to Minnesota and Seton Hall. On the road, the Wolverines played tight first halves against North Carolina, Michigan State, Illinois and Central Florida before unraveling down the stretch, ultimately leading to blowout defeats.

Now, they have what it takes to finish games. Nothing has changed from a roster makeup or skills standpoint. But mentally, Michigan has taken a crucial step forward.

That starts with third-year head coach Juwan Howard, whose composure has served as a steadying hand throughout a roller coaster of a season.

“The calmness with which Juwan approaches this — he didn’t panic,” Martelli said. “He didn’t panic when we were 7-7. He didn’t panic today when things maybe got twisted in practice. He stays consistent and I think these players are feeding off that.”

Over the next two months, though, the competition is set to beef up. Of the Wolverines’ final 11 conference games, eight are against teams currently above .500 in the Big Ten. That includes home and away meetings against Purdue, Ohio State and Iowa.

It begins with a road bout against the Boilermakers this weekend. Michigan edged out Purdue as the conference favorite in the preseason media poll, but the teams have spent this season on opposite trajectories. The Wolverines have been fighting to stay above .500 in the Big Ten lately, while Purdue reached its first-ever No. 1 national ranking last month.

Saturday’s environment at Mackey Arena figures to be similar to what Michigan dealt with in East Lansing, Chapel Hill and Champaign. In all three of those games, the Wolverines were blown out in the second half.

Tomorrow, however, Michigan has a chance to substantiate Martelli’s claims of growth.

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