Wednesday night marked the beginning of an unconventional stretch for the Michigan men’s basketball team. There was an empty seat at the front end of the Wolverines’ bench and a large presence — both physically and figuratively — missing from the team in the form of 6-foot-9 coach Juwan Howard, who began his five-game suspension.

Michigan was also without Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II against Rutgers on Wednesday, as the duo served their one-game suspension for throwing punches in Madison on Sunday.

It didn’t matter. The Wolverines pulled away in the second half, securing a 71-62 win to begin a four-game stretch at Crisler Center. The Maize and Blue Review breaks down three takeaways from the Wolverines’ victory:

Phil Martelli returns to a head coaching post in winning fashion

Without Howard, Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli found himself head-coaching for the first time since March 2019. Martelli has no shortage of experience, having previously spent 34 years at Saint Joseph’s, but Howard’s sudden suspension forced Martelli to abruptly shift back to the role of bench boss.

In his debut as Michigan’s interim head coach, Martelli looked comfortable. Holding his hands behind his back and pacing the coach’s box, Martelli calmly kept the Wolverines’ rotation intact as much as possible. The absences of Diabate and Williams called for some changes, but Martelli handled the personnel challenges well, guiding the Wolverines to a complete victory.

Brandon Johns Jr. can’t capitalize on extended minutes

With Diabate and Moussa sidelined in the wake of Sunday’s brawl, senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. faced little competition for frontcourt minutes on Wednesday night. He started in Diabate’s place, but the former top-100 recruit struggled throughout much of the first half.

He has openly grappled with confidence issues throughout his four years, and Wednesday night appeared to be no different. His only points came on an offensive tip-in, while he airballed an uncontested baseline jump shot and committed three turnovers. Johns saw only five minutes in the second half as the Wolverines went away from their two-big lineup. Houstan played the ‘4’ for most of the second half as Johns watched from the bench.

Freshmen show impressive offensive flashes

Entering Wednesday night, Caleb Houstan had missed 13 of his previous 16 attempts from beyond the arc. His 3-point accuracy on the season had dipped to 34%, and it appeared he was regressing after seemingly turning a corner in late January.

But against the Scarlet Knights, Houstan tied a season-high with five 3-pointers on nine attempts and poured in 21 points — his highest tally of the season. His consistent shooting helped keep Michigan from relying on Hunter Dickinson, who often faced double-teams from Rutgers when he caught the ball in the low post.

One of Houstan’s fellow McDonald’s All-Americans, Kobe Bufkin, showed flashes in the second half as well. He hit a stepback three in transition and finished a tough layup through contact a little more than a minute later to push the Wolverines’ lead to 14 with less than nine minutes to play. Freshman point guard Frankie Collins, meanwhile, dazzled the crowd with a Euro step reverse layup in transition during an 11-0 Michigan run.

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