Michigan Basketball: Takeaways and grades from win at Nebraska
Breaking down Michigan basketball’s win over Nebraska with three takeaways, as well as grades.
Going into the Nebraska game, the question was whether or not Michigan basketball would be able to build on its impressive performance against San Diego State?
The answer from the Wolverines was a resounding yes.
Michigan put together easily its best performance of the year, opening Big Ten play with a bang thanks to a 102-67 win that featured 15 3-pointers, as well as 20 point games from Brandon Johns and Terrance Williams.
The efficiency levels were startling for Michigan. U-M scored 1.29 points per possession and allowed Nebraska to score just 0.84. The Huskers were 5-of-35 from 3-point range.
Looking at individual performances, every single player in the starting lineup had an offensive rating of 1.29 points or higher. Williams was also over 1.7, giving Michigan six rotation players in that range, while not a single one was over a point per possession on defense.
It was a dominant showing and here are three takeaways, as well as our grades at the end.
Turning the corner on early struggles
This was the kind of performance you’d expect against a team ranked in the 300s, not a Nebraska squad that was ranked just outside the top 100 in the Kenpom rankings.
Nebraska is a middling Big Ten team but the Wolverines continue to look like they have turned the corner from their early-season struggles.
Michigan couldn’t buy a 3-pointer early in the season and was shooting less than 30 percent. But in the past three games, Caleb Houstan is 12-for-21. Hunter Dickinson has connected on four triples in the last two games, plus Brandon Johns, Terrance Williams, and others are making them too.
Houstan is the key. But he looks comfortable and every bit like the first-round pick we all expected him to be when he arrived on campus. It took some time, but the Wolverines have found a way to feature Dickinson and Houstan.
Guys are finding their role on offense and the ball movement has been much improved. Last night, the Wolverines assisted on 25 of their 39 buckets. Dickinson was a huge part of that. He only got credit for three assists, but his vision out of the double team and quick decisions led to a lot of open looks just like last season.