Michigan Basketball: Takeaways, grades from loss to Minnesota

Syndication: Detroit Free Press
Syndication: Detroit Free Press
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Michigan basketball laid an egg against Minnesota on Saturday and here are three takeaways, as well as player grades from the loss. 

Just when we thought we were starting to get a grasp on Michigan basketball, the Wolverines got out and lose at home as nearly a 14-point favorite.

Minnesota didn’t do anything fancy, except make a ton of tough shots. But the Wolverines failed to execute in a close game and the second-half effort was questionable at best.

Michigan basketball dominated the offensive glass in the first half and with its size advantage, it should have. It had a 50 percent rebound rate. But in the second half, Michigan didn’t grab a single offensive rebound and when you shoot 3-of-18 from 3-point range, you aren’t going to win often.

Obviously, this team is still a huge work in progress but we’ll try to dig a little deeper as we look at three takeaways from the loss to Minnesota.

Inconsistenty is rampant

Michigan basketball does have a few veterans, but it’s playing a lot of young guys big minutes and it shows. And some of the veterans are playing like young guys.

Brandon Johns and Terrance Williams scored a combined 41 points on Wednesday night. On Saturday the two scored zero.

Moussa Diabate was reinserted into the starting lineup and he played well. He scored seven points and grabbed 13 rebounds. But the offense does seem to struggle when he’s in there and the Wolverines just don’t seem to have enough shooters when playing with two bigs, although Johns and Williams help because they can, at times, hit 3-point shots.

The biggest issue is that the Wolverines just aren’t consistent enough, especially shooting the basketball and it shows. But the effort is inconsistent too and that was true in the second half against Minnesota.