Michigan Basketball: Grading Wolverines loss to Minnesota

Michigan basketball lost its first game of the 2020-21 season and here are the grades for the Wolverines in the loss to Minnesota.

It would have been unrealistic to expect Michigan basketball to go undefeated this season. That’s just too hard to do, especially in a conference as deep as the Big Ten.

That being said, it was surprising to see Michigan basketball lose by 18 points just days after a dominating performance against Wisconsin and just a week after routing this same Minnesota team.

That’s part of the highs and lows of a season and right now, Michigan is facing its first low and how it responds on Tuesday against Maryland (at home) will be huge.

But before we look ahead, here’s a look back at Minnesota with grades for each key rotation player, starting with the big guys.

Bigs

Hunter Dickinson: C-

Dickinson wasn’t great against Minnesota and it was clearly his worst performance of the season. The five turnovers really stand out and truth be told, he’s being graded tougher than a normal freshman. The expectations are higher for him and he really struggled with Minnesota’s double teams. He also had some issues against Wisconsin and you wonder if this will be the start of some sort of freshman slump. He still made 4 of 5 shots from the field but it wasn’t his best night.

Austin Davis: B-

Davis ended up playing 14 minutes and was solid. He scored six points and made three of his five shot attempts. He did only grab two rebounds which is a low number for him but his interior defense was good and that’s always a strength. Like Dickinson, he struggles in ball screens and is just a limited player. Juwan probably played him a little too long but it’s good to have him back.

Brandon Johns: F

It might sound harsh but after some really good performances Johns reverted back to his earlier form in Big Ten play and basically contributed next to nothing in nine minutes. He missed both of his field goal attempts and grabbed just one rebound. As a junior, he should be more consistent.