Michigan Basketball: Key takeaways from dramatic win over LSU

Michigan basketball rallied from as many as nine points down against LSU and clinched a fourth-consecutive berth in the Sweet 16. 

The LSU Tigers gave Michigan basketball everything it could have asked for Monday night, but the Wolverines survived, thanks to some heroic efforts, to reach yet another Sweet 16.

Down the stretch, guys took turns taking over the game. At times, it was Hunter Dickinson, the freshman big man who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while at other times, it was Eli Brooks (21 points), Chaundee Brown, or Franz Wagner.

Brandon Johns kept up his solid play as a starter and with some adjustments in the second half, Michigan basketball figured out a way to get enough stops to win the game.

Here are the key takeaways.

The perfect lineup

When Eli Brooks was on the floor with Wagner, Johns, Dickinson and Brown, Michigan basketball was at its best. Mike Smith was easier to exploit due to his lack of height and the length of that group really caused LSU problems.

The Tigers like to play a lot of isolation basketball and they excel at it. It’s how they built the lead in the first half, but against that lineup, with Wagner switching onto Cameron Thomas, U-M found the solution.

Eli Brooks eventually left the floor with an injury and Hunter Dickinson got his fourth foul, so Juwan Howard had to play some different combinations, but in this game, that was the one that delivered the Wolverines a win.

Eli Brooks was the MVP

There is a lot of digest in this game but one of the constants was the fact that Eli Brooks was money, really from start to finish. He made three 3-pointers in the first half when the Wolverines were struggling to get the ball inside and he made two more huge shots in the second half.

On top of that, his defense was exceptional and he finished with seven assists. How many turnovers? One.

It was a masterful performance and he was the MVP of the game for Michigan basketball.

Franz/Chaundee take over

I couldn’t leave out either of these guys. At separate points down the stretch, Brown and Wagner took over. Brown drilled three shots from beyond the arc and scored 21 points, his season-high. It was the kind of game we’ve been waiting for and if he plays like that, this team can reach the Final Four.

You knew Brown was going to deliver a big game in the NCAA Tournament at some point and thankfully for Michigan basketball, it came at just the right time.

As for Franz, he was just special. He started the game 1-for-5 and while his defense was always consistent, he didn’t get his offense going until late. But at one point, he scored seven straight points and that put the game away.

Wagner made his last four shots from the field and finished with 15 total. He also grabbed seven rebounds and the 3-pointer he hit was the definition of a big-time shot.

Another Sweet 16

You have to be impressed that head coach Juwan Howard was able to get Michigan basketball back to the Sweet 16, especially without Isaiah Livers.

That makes it four in a row for the Wolverines, something only Gonzaga can say that it’s done. The Zags could overtake Michigan for tournament wins over the past nine seasons when this year’s March Madness is over, but right now, dating back nine years, no program has more NCAA wins than Michigan.

How sweet it is.