Michigan Basketball: 4 Realistic expectations for remainder of season

Isaiah Livers earns first-team Big Ten Honors

Expectation: Named as one of the 2018-19 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees, Livers will make a big leap to the 2019-20 First-Team All-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Team.

Here are the five First-Team guys from last season and their significant stats compared to Livers this season.

Bruno Fernando: 13.6 ppg, 10.6 rebounds, 2 assists.

Cassius Winston: 18.8 ppg, 7.5 assists, 3 rebounds.

Lamar Stevens: 19.9 ppg, 7.7 rebounds, 2 assists.

Carsen Edwards: 24.3 ppg, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 rebounds.

Ethan Happ: 17.3 ppg, 10.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists

Isaiah Livers: 13.6 ppg, 50% from three, 3.3 rebounds.

One might argue that he didn’t pull out those numbers facing tough competition but that’s not true. Livers hit five out of his eight attempts (63%) when pitted against the current No. 2 Gonzaga.

Or one could say that he’s not scoring enough to see his name on that list of five, but sometimes it’s about quality over quantity.

And Isaiah’s quality shots made the difference in several key games already, and when he returns, they will surely continue to be the catalyst for the Wolverines success.

Although, a determining factor for the panel’s decision might be the body of work and for Isaiah to reach this realistic expectation, he must return to the lineup sooner rather than later.