Michigan Basketball: 3 Takeaways from Wolverines win over Penn State

Michigan basketball had to grind out its win over Penn State Sunday, but a win is a win in the Big Ten and here are three takeaways.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was about what we should have expected for the Big Ten opener and the most important thing for Michigan basketball is that it came away with a win Sunday against Penn State.

After five wins over teams that didn’t rank in the top 100, Michigan basketball beat a solid Penn State team, one that just beat 15th-ranked Virginia Tech earlier this week.

And while it wasn’t a work of art, the defensive effort was outstanding and that’s the reason why Michigan is 1-0 in conference play. It’s also where we start out three takeaways.

The defense got it done

When it was all said and done, Penn State shot just 30 percent for the game and scored less than a point per possession. And that’s why Michigan basketball ended up getting a win.

Nursing a two-point lead on consecutive defensive possessions with under a minute left, Juwan Howard’s team showed it can defend in the clutch, especially Eli Brooks who was exceptional on the final attempt by Penn State to tie.

Hunter Dickinson, who got his first start as a Michigan basketball player, also did a really good job on that end of the floor. He finished the game with three blocks and even though he also wound up with four fouls, you had to be impressed with the way he moved and held up, even when he got matched against guards on ball screens.

Chaundee Brown was also good on defense, as were Franz Wagner and Isaiah Livers, which helped make up for the fact that those three players combined for just 16 points.