Michigan Basketball Barely Gets By Furman In Last Nonconference Game

It was too close for comfort pretty much the whole time, but Michigan basketball escaped its final nonconference game with a win over Furman.

Let’s focus on the positives of Michigan basketball‘s 68-62 win over Furman before going into the negatives.

First off, it was a win, the Wolverines’ third straight after losing to UCLA, and it gets them to the Big Ten portion of the schedule with a 10-3 record. All things considered, it could have been worse. It also could have easily been better.

Perhaps the most important thing to take away from this Michigan win is that the Wolverines fostered a lead for most of the second half, which isn’t something they’ve been able to say for some games this season. Although it’s a little disheartening to think Michigan actually needed to nurture a small lead late against the Paradins, at least it didn’t turn into another disaster.

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Michigan got a big boost from Moritz Wagner, who scored 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He was especially effective off the pick-and-roll. Wagner also added 6 rebounds.

The defense was also something special. Furman found occasional spurts of good offense, but for the most part the Wolverines were able to put the clamps on and not allow the Paradins to get much of anything going. It could have been an ugly affair without that.

The defense was especially toxic in the closing minutes.

Michigan was also a perfect 16 of 16 from the charity stripe. Zak Irvin led the way with four makes. He also had 7 assists on the night.

And finally, Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr. combined down he stretch to give Michigan what it needed to secure a victory. Irvin, playing his typical hero ball, hit a couple big shots and then did a quick 180-degree turn, just in time for Walton to hit a pivotal 3-pointer with 25 seconds to play, giving the Wolverines a six-point lead.

Now for the negatives.

Michigan shot 4 of 20 (20 percent) from behind the arc and only had one 3-pointer in the second half. D.J. Wilson had a minimal effect on the floor. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman didn’t score at all. And, as the summation of all ills, Michigan played down to Furman in the final tune-up before Big Ten play.

It’s not all that common for the Wolverines to make only four 3-pointers and still come away with a victory, but as was previously mentioned, 16 free throws and solid defense helped mask that. Furman having 13 turnovers didn’t hurt either.

In the case of Wilson and Abdur-Rahkman, it seems Michigan really needs one or the other to have it on; for both of them to be almost non-factors is a bad formula for the Wolverines. Wilson is Michigan’s best defender and energy player, and Abdur-Rahkman is the best bucket-getter.

Other than not hitting its share of 3-pointers, Michigan did not have any fatal flaws against Furman, but that’s not to say this same kind of performance would get the Wolverines through even half of the Big Ten schedule.

Next: Top 10 running backs in Michigan history

Michigan starts that journey on Jan. 1 against Iowa, ready or not.

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