Michigan Basketball beats Michigan State: 3 takeaways for Wolverines

Michigan has a legit defense

While the play of Wagner was clutch and absolutely critical to the win for Michigan basketball, the Wolverines defense was probably even more important. And it’s one thing that might get overlooked in this win.

In the first half, the Wolverines didn’t play bad defensively, but they allowed Michigan State to shoot in high 50’s and gave up 37 points. UM did give up 35 more in the second half, but a lot of that came on free throws. The Spartans were in the bonus within the first six minutes of each half.

The Spartans got 27 points from the free throw line. Michigan got 28, but a lot came in the last two minutes. The fouls were ridiculous on both sides and the game was just poorly officiated. Yet, in the second half, the Wolverines overcame it.

Led by Zavier Simpson, Charles Matthews, Wagner, Livers, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and whoever else played, Michigan held the Spartans to 6-of-21 shooting in the second half. Michigan State came in as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, but Saturday, went just 3-of-13 (23 percent).

A huge factor was the fact that Michigan forced 18 turnovers. The Wolverines also had four blocks and six steals and dominated in points off turnovers. The bottom line is that if Michigan keeps defending like this, it can be as good as any team in the Big Ten.