It was announced roughly 45 minutes before tip-off at The Palestra that associate head coach Phil Martelli would replace Juwan Howard as head coach in Sunday's bout against Penn State at The Palestra.

Martelli, a Philadelphia native, has coached many times at The Palestra prior to Sunday's game, and Howard allowed the 69-year-old to return to his old stomping grounds.

It didn't have much of an effect on the outcome of the game, though, as Michigan lost yet again to a below-average opponent.

Michigan blew a 10-point halftime lead and ended up losing by six to the Nittany Lions to fall to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten play.

Here are three takeaways from the 79-73 loss.

To credit Michigan in this game, it actually didn't lose a one-possession game. The Wolverines are notoriously awful at finishing off close games, and while Sunday's game was close throughout the majority of the second half, Penn State pulled away late and was clearly in control in the final minutes.

It was clear throughout the final five minutes the Nittany Lions were going to win, and Michigan couldn't do anything about it.

The Wolverines have now lost four games in a row, three of which were by six points or fewer.

It was a refreshing change in pace to see Michigan not lose a nail-biter down the stretch, but the fanbase seems to have become numb to the countless losses, no matter what form they come in.

If there's anything positive from Sunday's game is that senior Terrance Williams II continues to look much improved from last season. Williams tallied 24 points against Penn State on 8-14 shooting at 3-7 from distance.

He outscored all other Wolverines by at least 11 points, but his efforts weren't enough.

Williams is averaging about 12 points per game during his senior season, which is nearly twice as many as his junior season, when he averaged 6.1 points per game.

In what appears to now be a lost season, it will be interesting to keep an eye on Williams, who has one more year of eligibility. Will he come back for his Covid fifth year of eligibility? Will he move on?

Williams has established himself as a leader and go-to scorer on a struggling Michigan team, and his presence would be greatly needed next season.

Penn State was the worst team on Michigan's schedule for quite some time. The Wolverines will close out January with games against:

Maryland (9-5)

Ohio State (12-3)

Illinois (11-3)

Purdue (14-1)

Iowa (9-6)

Michigan State (9-5)

Maybe Michigan could steal one or two of those games if it's lucky, but it's certainly possible that the Wolverines could be 6-15 heading into February.

At that point, NCAA and NIT hopes would be completely gone, and it would shape up to be one of the worst seasons in recent Michigan basketball history.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @lucasreimink

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram