Michigan Basketball: Gut reactions from a shaky win over Lipscomb

Michigan basketball needed a late 11-0 run over Lipscomb to seal the non-conference win and here are some gut reactions for the Wolverines. 

There was some good and some bad for Michigan basketball against Lipscomb, but the most important thing at the end of the day was avoiding a bad loss.

Michigan basketball led 49-41 at the half and it seemed like the Wolverines might be on their way to scoring 100.  Here is one of the four treys made by Kobe Bufkin.

In truth, the offense wasn’t the problem, but it did slow down in the second half and it allowed the Bisons to make a game of it.

The Wolverines actually trailed a few different times and were down 73-69 with just 4:29 left against a team ranked exactly 200th in the Kenpom rankings.

A loss would have been a stain on the NCAA resume and to their credit, the Wolverines executed when they needed to. Freshman point guard Dug McDaniel made a couple of key buckets and a 3-pointer from Kobe Bufkin sparked an 11-0 run that made it 80-73 Michigan.

Bufkin was spectacular making 8-of-9 shots for 22 points. He was 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Dickinson scored just 15 points and had seven rebounds.

The All-American attempted just nine shots. Likewise, the Wolverines held Jacob Ognacevic to just four points but the Bisons got 27 from Will Pruit and thanks to nine triples, nearly pulled a huge upset. The Wolverines hung on but didn’t cover the spread and here are our gut reactions.

Gut reactions from Michigan Basketball win over Lipscomb

• Kobe Bufkin’s development has been impressive. He was a big question mark and with Big Ten play looming, his offense is one of the most consistent parts of this team.
• Hunter Dickinson didn’t get enough touches. He should never get single-digit shots.
• It’s weird that Michigan has struggled in almost every buy game. The team seems to lose focus and play up or down to its competition. That hasn’t really changed from last season.
• Jett Howard is going to get a lot more ball screens. Bufkin too. The Wolverines need that secondary playmaking and both showed they can do it.
• Dug McDaniel didn’t play great but scored when it absolutely mattered.
• Joey Baker has no use on the floor if he can’t hit 3-pointers.
• The bench is a major weakness. The starting five are going to play a lot.
• We’ll find out a lot about this team against North Carolina.
• It’s not a must-win game for the tournament but lose and it feels like it’s going to be another bubble season. That might be putting too much on it, but at some point, you have to beat somebody.