Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from Wolverines win over Villanova

Michigan basketball didn’t just beat Villanova Wednesday night, the Wolverines dominated them. And with that in mind, here are three takeaways.

It was hard to know what to expect of the Michigan basketball team as the Wolverines took the floor Wednesday night against Villanova.

After all, Michigan basketball had trailed at halftime against Holy Cross and scored just 59 PPG in its first two wins, the other which featured a victory over Norfolk State. At times, the offense looked sluggish and ugly. It also didn’t instill much confidence for the National Title rematch against the Wildcats.

But Wednesday night, this Wolverines team was different. On the road, in Philadelphia, Michigan basketball meant business. Right away, things seemed different. Jordan Poole scored on an early bucket and Charles Matthews hit some early jumpers that helped build a 17-6 Michigan advantage.

Later on, Isaiah Livers came into the game as the five, filling in for Jon Teske and with that lineup, Michigan throttled Villanova. The Wildcats struggled against the Wolverines suffocating defense while UM came out firing.

Matthews was a big part of it, but Ignas Brazdeikis also showed he is ready for primetime. Both Iggy and Matthews had empathic dunks in the first half and in the second half, Iggy hit a couple shots off the glass that made you take a second look.

Iggy isn’t Moritz Wagner — but he’s good. And so is this Michigan basketball team. The Wolverines led 44-17 at the half and rolled to the 73-46 win. As surprising as it was to some, with John Beilein on the bench, nothing Michigan does should surprise anyone, anymore.

Now, let’s look back at the three biggest takeaways from last night’s win.