Sunday afternoon's basketball game at Crisler Center between Michigan and Washington wasn't the cleanest of games ever played, but the Wolverines, yet again, added another tally in the win column, bettering their overall record to 13-3, and their Big Ten record to a perfect 5-0.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, neither of Michigan's big men were extraordinarily dominant, but the Wolverines found contributions from other players in the 91-75 victory.
Here are three takeaways from the team's fifth straight win.
Too much foul trouble for Michigan big men
Michigan's front court of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin have been the talk of the basketball season in the Big Ten. Entering Sunday afternoon's game, the duo combined to score 27.7 points per game with 16 rebounds.
Area 50-1, as they're called, have already exceed expectations for the season, and both have proven to be All-Big Ten caliber players.
Goldin, in his final season of eligibility, leads Michigan in scoring, while Wolf, a junior, has garnered some attention from NBA scouts as a potential draft selection in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Big Ten teams have yet to figure out how to stop the dynamic duo, but what's hurt Michigan as of late has been when Wolf and Goldin hurt themselves. Both big men picked up two first-half fouls in Sunday's game against Washington.
Reserve forward Will Tschetter also recorded three personal fouls in the first half, which put Dusty May and Michigan in a tough spot. Rotations were scrambled, but Michigan found a way to make it work and finish out the half with a 10-point lead.
Foul trouble in the front court handcuffed the Wolverines in Tuesday's win over UCLA, and although Michigan pulled away late in that contest, the offensive efficiency drops significantly when Wolf and Goldin aren't on the floor.
Michigan will need to keep its two prized forwards out of foul trouble and on the floor as Big Ten play continues.
It doesn't always have to be pretty
Fifteen games into the season, Michigan had been deemed a team that could win in many different ways. Whether it be Wolf and/or Goldin dominating, the Michigan guards lighting it up from long distance or the Wolverines putting together an outstanding defensive performance, Dusty May built his team to win many different styles of games.
Oftentimes this season, these wins have looked very flashy. From tying the program record for 3-pointers made in a single game to hanging 94 points on the fourth-rated UCLA defense, Michigan has looked sexy at times this season.
But that was far from the case in Sunday's win over Washington. While Michigan shot the ball well from the floor and from 3-point range, the win over the Huskies was as funky a game as Michigan has played all year.
As previously mentioned, the foul trouble forced the Wolverines to play small for a good chunk of the first half, and this allowed Washington to keep the game within arm's reach.
In the second half, odd turnovers prevented Michigan from establishing a rhythm. In the end, the Wolverines only coughed the ball up 11 times, their lowest mark since a mid-December loss to Oklahoma, when they turned it over 10 times.
While many of Michigan's 13 wins this season have been flashy and fun to watch, Sunday's was not. But that's a credit to what Dusty May has built in Ann Arbor. Even when things aren't operating at the level the team expects, they still won a Big Ten game comfortably.
Michigan could get a little more production from its role players
Sam Walters and Will Tschetter provided solid minutes and contributions for Michigan during Sunday afternoon's win. Walters connected on three of his six 3-point attempts, and Tschetter, aside from picking up three first-half fouls, scored seven points on 2-of-3 shooting.
Freshman guard Justin Pippen also added five points of his own, as Michigan bench players scored 24 of the team's 91.
Some would argue the good bench minutes Michigan got helped the Wolverines win the scrappy game. When things weren't clicking for Michigan late in the first half and early in the second, the production from the bench players carried Michigan over Washington.
The problem for Michigan has been that bench players haven't always produced as much as they did on Sunday afternoon. In Tuesday's win over UCLA, Michigan got six bench points, three from Walters and three from Tschetter.
Like it did against Washington, Michigan can nullify a good number of its struggles with solid bench play.
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