Michigan Basketball: 5 keys to Wolverines winning Big Ten championship

Charles Matthews has to find a way to contribute

In the first game against Michigan State, Charles Matthews tweaked his ankle and he was never really the same in that game. After that, he sat out the next three games including last Saturday’s tilt for the Big Ten title.

In the last two games he played against Michigan State and Minnesota, Matthews was just 4-of-19 from the field and in his last 11 games, he has scored in double figures only six times with just one game with 20 points or more.

Matthews ended up averaging 12.8 PPG which isn’t exactly what everyone was hoping when he decided to return to improve his draft stock. At the start of the year, he looked dynamic, but recently his jumper has let him down.

Beilein said he was healthy and he practiced Wednesday, which makes it seem like he should be ready to go for either Iowa or Illinois Friday night in the quarterfinals.

That’s great news because not only do the Wolverines need his presence on defense and on the boards, but they need someone who can get to the bucket and create their own shot. Matthews can do that. He can also get a shot down in the post.

That’s something Michigan needs to take advantage of and if the Wolverines are going to win this tournament, they will need a couple of double-digit scoring games from Matthews.