Tre Donaldson's late second-half push lifted Michigan over Penn State on Monday night at Crisler Center. Michigan trailed by five with just over two minutes remaining, but the Wolverines held the Nittany Lions scoreless over the last couple minutes during Donaldson's takeover.

Michigan led for most of the game, but the win over Penn State still seemed surprising, given the way the game was trending.

With the victory, the Wolverines improve to 15-5 overall on the season and 7-2 in conference play. Here are three takeaways from the game.

At the beginning of the season, Michigan basketball was lauded for its depth. Bench players contributed at a high level, and the Wolverines were able to beat teams with elite play from the starters and better-than-average contributions from the role players.

But as Michigan has entered deeper into the heart of conference play, the bench has thinned significantly.

Sam Walters and Rubin Jones in particular haven't contributed at the level they once did earlier on in the season, and L.J. Cason's effectiveness has decreased in a big way since the beginning of the season when the freshman looked like a shining star.

At this point in the season, nine games into Big Ten play, Michigan's bench has shifted from big-time contributors to simply bodies that Dusty May puts on the floor to give his starters a chance to catch a breath.

Walters started the season scoring 10 points or more in three of the team's first five games. But in the 15 games since, the Alabama transfer has only been able to reach double-figures twice.

And in those 15 games, Walters has logged five scoreless nights.

Right now, Michigan looks like the furthest thing from a Big Ten title contender, and it won't get any closer to achieving that goal if the bench doesn't improve drastically.

Three hours before tip-off, when Michigan, in accordance with the Big Ten requirements, released its pregame availability report. Starting 7-foot center Vlad Goldin was listed as questionable.

Goldin warmed up with the team before the game and appeared to be fine, but it was clear just minutes into the contest that he was not himself. The 7-footer looked slow and out of sorts early on in the game, and he was subbed out after just two minutes.

But as Will Tschetter, Michigan's reserve big man, racked up foul after foul, Goldin was forced back onto the court. The Wolverines lack another backup big behind Tschetter, so the three-man rotation would have to suffice.

It was evident that Michigan had trouble getting the ball down low in the post throughout the entirety of the game. The Wolverines launched 28 3-pointers over 40 minutes, and luckily for the Wolverines, they converted on 12 of those 28 shots.

It will be five days before Michigan takes the court again, so the extended break will give Goldin a chance to get healthy.

Despite the close victory, Michigan has been lacking energy in a great way in the past few games.

Michigan had won five straight games heading into its road matchup against Minnesota on Jan. 16. The Wolverines sleep-walked their way through that victory, and they left with the result they deserved: a loss.

Dawson Garcia's half-court shot at the buzzer in overtime sent Michigan home with its first loss of the Big Ten season.

Since that moment, Dusty May's team has been lacking energy. The Wolverines barely escaped a bad Northwestern team, and they got manhandled by Purdue at Mackey Arena on Friday night.

Although Michigan knocked off Penn State to improve to 7-2 in conference play, it was evident the team was lacking the juice it had at the beginning of the season.

With still 11 games to go in Big Ten play — many of which are against the conference's best teams — Michigan will need to find a spark quickly if it has any hopes of remaining near the top of the league standings.

Perhaps Donaldson's heroic performance could be just what it takes to get the Wolverines back on track and get some more energy.

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