Michigan Basketball’s win against Rutgers by the numbers

Michigan basketball scored a much-needed win over Rutgers and here’s a look at the Wolverines’ triumph by the numbers. 

Wednesday night, the Wolverines took care of Rutgers at the Crisler Center despite missing freshman forward Moussa Diabate and sophomore forward Terrance Williams II.

This Michigan basketball team was able to come together under the leadership of Phil Martelli to pull out a much-needed win. Here’s a breakdown of the victory by the numbers.

21

Freshman forward Caleb Houstan scored a career-high 21 points against the Scarlet Knights, shooting 50 percent from the field. He also scored five 3-pointers — tied with his game against Indiana for the most 3-pointers made by a Wolverine in a game this season. Houstan has lacked scoring consistency this season, however, he showed up in a game where the Wolverines needed him most.

20

Brandon Johns Jr. played 20 minutes against Rutgers and started his first game since the beginning of December. Although he only scored two points, he was present in other areas with five rebounds, a block, and a steal. Johns has yet to find his rhythm this season, however, his drive and effort have been very prevalent in each game.

16.7

Rutgers shot 16.7 percent from three, making only two of their 12 attempts. These 12 shots are tied with the Scarlet Knights’ matchup against Wisconsin for their least 3-point attempts taken this season. Michigan basketball on the other hand made seven of their 22 3-point attempts, five of which came from Caleb Houstan.

13

The two teams combined for 13 bench points, Rutgers with six and the Wolverines with seven. The Scarlet Knights’ bench has been pretty inconsistent this season, scoring anywhere from four to 32 bench points in conference play. Michigans’ bench has been even more inconsistent, however, with the Wolverines scoring as few as two bench points and as many as 38 bench points in Big Ten matchups.

11

Sophomore center Hunter Dickinson had 11 rebounds against Rutgers, allowing for a double-double alongside his 16 points.  Dickinson also had three blocks and a steal in his season-high 39 minutes played against the Scarlet Knights. He has been Michigan’s go-to man all season, and he takes this role even more seriously when down vital teammates.

10

Michigan basketball made all 10 of its attempted free throws against Rutgers, the Wolverines second time shooting 100 percent from the line in conference play. Both Caleb Houstan and Hunter Dickinson made all four of their free throw attempts, where guard Devante’ Jones also made both of his shots from the line. Rutgers shot 85.7 percent from the line, but the Scarlet Knights only missed one of their seven free throw attempts.

7

Each team only scored seven second-chance points off of seven offensive rebounds each. The Wolverines had double-digit offensive rebounds in their last five matchups prior to taking on the Scarlet Knights. This is a category that Moussa Diabate normally assists in, proving that his offensive rebounding role can not be easily replaced.

5

Rutgers junior guard Paul Mulcahy only scored five points against the Wolverines, his lowest-scoring game since being shut out against Maryland at the end of January. Mulcahy also committed four fouls and four turnovers, both of which were team-highs for the Scarlet Knights. Michigan basketball did a great job taking care of Mulcahy as he also had zero rebounds, blocks, or steals in this matchup.

1

Rutgers only led once in the matchup after sophomore center Clifford Omoruyi scored a game-opening dunk. After this point, the Wolverines were consistently able to hold onto the lead and went on multiple scoring runs. Despite letting the Scarlet Knights tie the game a couple of times, Michigan led by as many as fourteen points and was able to pull off the win.

Author’s Take

The Wolverines have been rotating wins and losses for their past five games. With only four games left in the regular season, Michigan needs to end this back and forth trend and come out with a win against Illinois on Sunday.

While Diabate and Williams will be returning for Michigan on Sunday,  it would be ideal that Houstan keeps the same momentum he had against the Scarlet Knights. Additionally, now is as good of a time as ever for other players to have their breakout for the season.