Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from Big Ten title clincher

Michigan basketball knocked off Michigan State Thursday to clinch its first Big Ten title since 2014. Here are three takeaways. 

The best thing about the Michigan basketball‘s team loss to Illinois this week was that it was just two days before playing Michigan State.

That meant for one, the Wolverines could forget about it and focus on their arch-rival. And secondly, it allowed U-M a quick opportunity to wash the taste of defeat out of their mouths, which they did with a win over the Spartans, a win that clinched the Big Ten regular-season title.

Here’s a look at three takeaways from the win:

Franz Wagner brought it home

One of the most disappointing efforts against Illinois was Franz Wagner’s. He didn’t play like a future first-round pick and that was one of the big differences in the outcome.

But Thursday night, after a run in with Aaron Henry, Wagner left his mark on this rivalry with a 19-point effort that included four 3-pointers and six rebounds. It was one of the best deep shooting nights of the year for Franz and it couldn’t come at a better time.

If that was indeed his final game at the Crisler Center, it couldn’t have ended better. Not only did he lead Michigan to a win over the Spartans, but it clinched the Big Ten championship.

Hunter Dickinson delivers

Leading up to the game, I predicted that Dickinson would get a double-double and that proved to be true as he filled up the stat sheet with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Obviously, it was a rough and tumble game, as can be expected with the Spartans, but Dickinson only missed two shots from the field and grabbed nine defensive boards. His turnovers hurt but he canceled the negative with his effort inside on both ends.

The next goal

Winning the Big Ten title is the first goal of any Big Ten team and the fact that Michigan hasn’t won this since 2014, makes it an enormous achievement for the team and head coach Juwan Howard.

Many wondered if he could continue the winning ways of John Beilein and in his second year, he has Michigan poised to be a No. 1 seed.

Whether the Wolverines can achieve their remaining goals of winning the Big Ten tournament, reaching the Final Four, and possibly playing for a national title, remains to be seen.

But so far, so good as the first item on the list is checked off.