Michigan Basketball: Key takeaways from win over Texas Southern

It wasn’t perfect but it was a win for Michigan basketball in the first round of the NCAA Tournament over Texas Southern and here are some key takeaways. 

It wasn’t pretty, especially in the second half but Michigan basketball did what it needed to on Saturday, knocking off Texas Southern 82-66 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

There were ups and downs. The second half got a little sloppy and fouls became an issue. The Tigers got within 10-12 points late with just a few minutes left before the Wolverines were able to pull away and wrap up the win.

Still, there were some things in the second half that Michigan basketball must clean up before Monday and here’s a look at three takeaways from the Wolverines win.

Michigan’s guards led the way

As we said leading up to this game, Michigan really only had one player with extensive NCAA Tournament experience and that’s Eli Brooks. And Brooks delivered with 11 points in this game and three 3-pointers, including two in the early going to establish the lead.

Brooks and Mike Smith, the Columbia transfer, were 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. They combined for 25 points and had just three turnovers compared to 10 assists.

Both of these guys needed to knock down more 3-pointers with Isaiah Livers out and Saturday’s game was a good sign.

Dickinson has to avoid foul trouble

It was a strange game for Hunter Dickinson. At times, he was practically unstoppable and he did finish 6-for-7 from the field, as well as 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Dickinson had three blocks but also five fouls and six turnovers.

Texas Southern doubled-down on him hard and it led to some miscues. The Wolverines ended up with 14 turnovers and Dickinson didn’t play as much in the second half thanks to foul trouble. He also grabbed just two boards as Texas Southern racked up 11 offensive rebounds.

The bottom line is that Michigan needs Dickinson on the floor as much as possible, so he has to avoid foul trouble. He also needs to do a better job of handling double teams.

Outside of fouls, the defense was on point

The defense gave up 42 points in the second half, but Michigan allowed 19 points at the free-throw line. Outside of that, the Wolverines have to be pretty happy with how they defended.

The Tigers are a team that shoots a lot of 2-point attempts but didn’t make many against the Wolverines. They were 1-of-12 from beyond the arc and shot 35 percent for the game.

Drawing 22 foul attempts was the best part of the Texas Southern offense. That’s something Michigan has to be careful with especially with Dickinson and Brandon Johns playing together.

Those players tend to foul quite a bit, as does Chaundee Brown. Austin Davis, another player off the bench, can get into foul trouble too.

That’s probably why Juwan Howard played Zeb Jackson and Terrance Williams so much. Both guys had their moments, good and bad, but it was great to see Jackson hit two treys.