Three takeaways from Michigan's heartbreaking loss to Indiana

Despite strong performances from Olivier Nkamhoua, Terrance WIlliams II and Will Tschetter, Michigan came up short in yet another close game — something it struggled with ad nauseam last season.

The Wolverines lost by three, and they drop to 0-1 in Big Ten play. Here are three takeaways from the tight loss.

Last season, Tarris Reed Jr., along with Dug McDaniel, showed signs of extreme potential in what was the freshman season for both players. The duo combined for 12 points per game, and they both looked to be key contributors for the Michigan basketball program in the near future.

McDaniel has certainly taken his game to the next level — he scores better than 20 points per game — but Reed has yet to show much, if any, improvement from last season. In fact, although Reed's scoring average has increased, his efficiency has gone down and he looks much less comfortable on the floor.

Reed finished the game with just five points on 2-2 shooting, but he turned the ball over four times and looked sloppy on the offensive end of the floor.

He played only 18 minutes, which was his second-lowest mark of the season.

Reed was expected to be one of the team's biggest contributors in 2023-24, but it just hasn't worked out yet for the 6-foot-10 sophomore. If Reed can get going soon, Michigan's ceiling will be raised significantly.

Luckily for the Wolverines, they've had help from an unlikely source early on this season.

Redshirt sophomore Will Tschetter arrived in Ann Arbor as a project. He hailed from Stewartville, Minnesota, and he wasn't a highly rated recruit at all — just a three-star power forward.

But Tschetter has quietly and steadily improved his game during his time at Michigan, and all the hard work was on full display Tuesday night. Tschetter scored seven points in the first half — a mark that was good for the second-most on the team.

The Minnesota native was even more productive in the second half, though, as he scored 10 points on 5-8 shooting.

Although he's not the team's best or most talented player, Tschetter sends a bolt of electricity through the crowd with every basket he makes. His energy is infectious, and he played a large role in Michigan keeping Tuesday night's contest close.

As the sample size continues to grow, it might soon be time to wonder if Tschetter is worth inserting into the starting lineup in favor of the aforementioned Reed.

Sophomore point guard Dug McDaniel entered Tuesday night's contest coming off a career-high 33-point performance in a loss at Oregon. McDaniel carried the team on his back for much of the afternoon in Eugene, but Michigan couldn't figure out a way to pull out the victory.

Three days after his career afternoon, McDaniel seemingly couldn't get anything to fall. He shot just 3-14 from the floor and 0-4 from beyond the arc. He still finished with 13 points thanks to his seven made free throws, but it clearly wasn't McDaniel's night.

Although Michigan didn't come out with the victory, it was still encouraging to see the Wolverines fight and remain competitive without a masterful performance from the stud sophomore.

Going forward, though, Michigan will need to close out one-possession games. It's been one of the biggest blemishes on Juwan Howard's Michigan resume, and it didn't get any better on Tuesday night.

Regardless of what performances Michigan does or doesn't get from its star players, the Wolverines need to win games when they have the opportunity to. McDaniel's off night can't be an excuse for yet another one-possession loss.

The fact that Michigan can hang around with Big Ten teams during one of the worst performances of the season from the starting point guard is somewhat encouraging, but it can't serve as an excuse.

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