Michigan Basketball: Grading the Wolverines win vs Penn State

Michigan basketball notched a win against Penn State in the Big Ten opener and even though it wasn’t pretty, it was a win and here are the grades.

You had the feeling that Michigan basketball and Penn State was going to come down to late in the game. The Nittany Lions aren’t super talented but they aren’t a push over.

And Sunday, even though the Wolverines grabbed a double-digit lead late in the first half, Penn State used a big run to climb all the way back and actually took the lead for a bit early in the second.

The offense really struggled and averaged less than a point per possession, which isn’t something you see Michigan basketball do very often. But as sluggish as the offense was, the defense was just as good and that, along with another big performance from Hunter Dickinson was enough to get the win and here are the grades:

Bigs

Hunter Dickinson: A- 

We start with the big guys this week and in his first career start, Dickinson was exceptional. He made 9-of-14 shots from the field and scored 20 points, grabbed seven boards, three blocks and one assist. There were questions about how Dickinson would go against a Big Ten opponent and he was huge, including a couple of key buckets late. His defense wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either, except he needs to avoid foul trouble. Yet, it was clear from Sunday’s game that Dickinson is the best offensive player on this team and the Wolverines should play accordingly, meaning even if he comes back from injury, Austin Davis shouldn’t start.

Brandon Johns: C

Brandon Johns was thrown into a tough spot because without Davis, he became the backup center and while he buried a 3-pointer and blocked a shot, he didn’t do much else. He only grabbed two rebounds in 14 minutes. His offensive rating was the second-lowest of anyone in double-digit minutes outside of Chaundee Brown and late in the game, Juwan Howard went with Terrance Williams as the small-ball center when Dickinson was in foul trouble.

Terrance Williams: Incomplete 

It’s really hard to grade Williams because he only played two minutes. But he did a solid job defensively and he’s just a gamer. He missed two free throws but it shows how much Juwan believes in him to put him in a tight game, after having sat for 38 minutes.