Michigan Basketball: Takeaways and grades from win at Nebraska

The defense is back too

Another issue the Wolverines had early this season was defense. Of course, it was going to take time and it wasn’t going to be as good as last season with Wagner out the door, at least not right away.

And there are definitely some bumps. Michigan struggled to defend ball screens, it had trouble defending the paint and at times, the 3-point line — allowing too many open looks.

But there has been a lot of improvement. The defensive rotations are better and guys are making fewer mental mistakes. Overhelping or taking a wrong step here or there can mean giving up three points in a heartbeat. This isn’t high school and it took guys time to adjust.

Against Nebraska, the Wolverines were on point. The Huskers settled for 35 3-pointers, which is what Michigan would love to see and Nebraska only managed six assists.

The idea of defensive basketball is to force low-percentage shots that are contested and the Wolverines did a really great job of that Tuesday night.