Michigan Basketball: Freezing cold start proves costly in Louisville loss

From the opening tip, Michigan basketball couldn’t find its identity in a lowly showing against the nation’s top team.

It was an auspicious beginning from the get-go in Tuesday’s Big Ten/ACC challenge road trip. Louisville got ahead early on Michigan basketball and didn’t look back. The Wolverines finished with their lowest total points of the year so far, but their defense was clearly the story of the night.

Even Youngstown State was able to outscore the Wolverines when going up with the Cardinals nasty defense.

Michigan basketball shot a freezing 26 percent, which is their worst of the young season. An eye-opening 16 percent from 3-point range is a recipe for disaster in that environment.

Virtually nothing went right from the tip and it stayed that way throughout the night. Going forward expect other teams on Michigan’s schedule to re-watch this one and use it as an example on how to beat the Wolverines.

Jon Teske stood out once again in the defeat. Shortly after he secured multiple awards for last week’s play in the Bahamas, he notched a double-double in 31 minutes of play. Teske is shining because of Juwan Howard. His coach knows how to build up big men going back to his Miami days and it is now paying off for Teske through eight games.

For Louisville, Jordan Nwora has been their star in seven outings and that didn’t change. He is off to a red hot start in 2019. Big man Steven Enoch also recorded a double-double for the Cardinals. He shot 50% from the field and continues to grow because of his solid play. Both guys helped prove why Louisville belongs at the top of the rankings after getting second-guessed about their soft schedule.

It was an off night for the Wolverines who looked like world-beaters over Thanksgiving. In recent history, Michigan has done pretty well in neutral games, but not so much in true road games.

Fortunately, Michigan basketball won’t have to leave Ann Arbor except once over the next month. Then three of the first four in January will be away from Crisler.  The maize and blue must put this one behind them and regroup to focus on the stacked Big Ten that beckons them.

In the meantime, Howard will study on how to bounce back from his first loss as a head coach. He’s exceeded everyone’s expectations thus far and the near future appears to have a lot of winnable games to get through the preseason docket.

Heading into 2020 at 12-1 is doable, what they do afterward will depend on how they respond in major road tests. Luckily the Wolverines only have to go to Michigan State, Maryland and Ohio State, while unbeaten Indiana comes to Crisler. That leaves only four combined ranked schools left on the remaining table.