Michigan Basketball: Gut reactions from loss to Rutgers

Michigan basketball lost to Rutgers for the first time ever on Tuesday night and here are our gut reactions from another tough loss. 

It’s almost hard to believe that Michigan basketball has fallen as fast and as hard as it has in one season, but it’s right there in front of our eyes.

Yes, the Wolverines were put in a very tough spot, playing a solid team, on the road, with most of its bench sidelined with COVID-19. But the issues that led to a sixth loss in 13 games are the same ones that have plagued this team over and over again.

Caleb Houstan can’t make shots consistently and DeVante Jones — for all his offseason hype and flashy performances — just can’t find his own level of consistency either.

Hunter Dickinson was great at times and scored 25 points. But the defense was bad and it wasn’t a coincidence that Rutgers had one of its best shooting nights of the season.

You wonder why Dickinson didn’t establish himself more early on but it was Rutgers that set the tone and the shellshocked Wolverines never recovered.

Here are some gut reactions before we take a deeper look on Wednesday with our takeaways.

Gut reactions from Michigan’s loss to Rutgers

• Forget about the NCAA Tournament, the NIT will be a battle.
• It feels like there is no chance of beating Michigan State.
• That probably means Michigan is poised for its best game.
• Brandon Johns might have made a difference. Probably not.
• The lack of offensive rebounds is a result of COVID issues but not completely.
• Diabate and Dickinson should have more than two combined O-boards.
• It’s hard to understand how this defense will improve.
• I’ve lost faith in this team.
• All the talent was overestimated.
• This season will be a  constant struggle.
• Now isn’t the time to lose faith in Juwan.
• Still, Go Blue!