Michigan Basketball: 3 Things we learned in win over Rutgers

Michigan basketball won its 10th game in the Big Ten on Thursday night with a win over Rutgers and here’s what we learned. 

When it comes to Rutgers, Michigan basketball just has the number of the Scarlet Knights and the Wolverines notched their third win over Rutgers in the past two seasons.

The formula was very similar too. Michigan was dominant defensively, at least until the last couple of minutes and the offense, even though it wasn’t spectacular, was good enough.

Michigan basketball shot the ball better percentage-wise at the free-throw line, the 3-point and from the field, so it’s not a surprise U-M improved to 10-1 in the league and 15-1 overall.

Still, Rutgers came in ranked 28th in the NET rankings, meaning it’s another quality win. Here’s a look at three things we learned from it:

Franz Wagner continues to grow

It seems like Franz Wagner gets better by the game for Michigan basketball. The offense had some lulls and Rutgers is a sound defensive team that did a solid job limiting Hunter Dickinson to 10 points.

However, they had no such luck against Wagner, who only needed nine shots to score 20 points. His shot-making helped keep Rutgers at bay late in the first half, then helped put them away early in the second.

Wagner put together another solid effort defensively with seven rebounds, but on the offensive end, he continues to grow as a playmaker and contributed with three assists too.

With his ability to attack closeouts and score inside, when he’s connecting from the perimeter as he did Thursday (3-of-4), it’s basically impossible to guard him.

Enjoy it while it lasts because this first-round talent is likely headed to the NBA next season.