Gut reactions from a huge win for Michigan Basketball

Without Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball notched a huge win over Rutgers and moved one step closer to making the NCAA tournament.

It wasn’t going to take long to figure out what kind of effort Michigan basketball was going to give without Juwan Howard and early on, even though not everything ran smoothly, you could tell the Wolverines were focused and ready to compete.

And against a scrappy Rutgers team, they needed to compete for 40 minutes, which they did in an impressive 71-62 win.

It wasn’t the most impressive game this season for the Wolverines. But by beating another team in the race for the NCAA bid, Michigan basketball boosted its resume and improved its chances of making the NCAA tournament.

The Wolverines next three games are at home and as long as they can win two of those they will be sitting pretty. The good news is that Michigan basketball gets Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams back after their one-game suspensions.

In the first game, Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker combined for 47 points, and this time around, that number was 25 on 10-of-25 (40 percent) shooting. They were also 0-for-8 from 3-point range.

The Wolverines won the game with defense and its key players on offense: Hunter Dickinson, DeVante Jones, Eli Brooks, and Caleb Houstan all reaching double figures.

Houstan was especially important with five 3-pointers, which was the exact opposite from the first meeting when he went 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Here are our gut reactions.

Gut reactions from Michigan Basketball’s win over Rutgers

• Michigan outscored Rutgers 21-6 on 3-pointers and that was vital to the win.
• Much of the credit goes to freshman Caleb Houstan who hit five and scored 21.
• Hunter Dickinson created most of those shots and set the tone with his first half.
• It was impressive to see Michigan pull away without him scoring a lot.
• The freshman stepped up at the perfect time.
• Caleb Houstan still needs to be consistent.
• Eli Brooks turned in a class Eli Brooks performance.
• DeVante Jones.
• Dickinson’s double-double was exactly what was needed.
• This team showed a lot of heart.
• I’m encouraged about the next four games.
• Phil Martelli is the man but is 100 percent right about Saddi Washington and Howard Eisely — they could each be head coaches.
• Go Blue!