Michigan Basketball: 3 things we learned in Wolverines win vs LSU

Juwan proves himself

Obviously, as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, Juwan Howard can coach. But doing it in the NCAA Tournament is a different animal.

With his team down by nine points in the first half and the gameplan not really working, Howard tried different things. He adjusted some of his defenses, such as having Franz Wagner guard Darius Days in order to guard Cameron Thomas in ball-screen situations on the switch as Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops explains:

The best adjustment came in the second half. Howard has been struggling to find his go-to lineup with Livers out and when the Wolverines really needed a run, it came with the group of Dickinson, Johns, Chaundee Brown, Wagner and Brooks.

That lineup may not always be the go-to group against each team, but with the size and skill of LSU’s players, it was hard to play Mike Smith at times and Michigan basketball was at its best with Brooks running the point.

Juwan was smart enough to stick with that group until Brooks left the game shortly and it was one of the adjustments that helped Michigan survive and advance.