Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from a pressing win at Rutgers

Michigan basketball went into one of the trickiest places to play in the Big Ten and beat a desperate Rutgers squad by double digits.

Down 13-3 with six minutes gone in the first half, Michigan basketball didn’t allow Rutgers to score 40 points the rest of the way. The Wolverines grabbed the lead by halftime and never gave it back. They picked up another valuable road win to their resume with three games left before the Big Ten tournament tips off in Chicago.

Here are the three takeaways.

1. Michigan’s defense held Rutgers below 50 points

The Scarlet Knights could only muster 22.5 points per half in the home loss Thursday night. Cam Spencer and Cliff Omoruyi were the only two who scored more then 10 for the Knights. Caleb McConnell returned to action for Rutgers and had seven off the bench for Steve Pikiell’s bunch who came in to Thursday night’s showdown hot, fresh off a monster win at Wisconsin.

The 45 points is not a season low for Rutgers, which some might find hard to believe. They lost at home to Seton Hall back in December 45-43. For Michigan basketball it is the fewest points that they have given up all year. That may not last very long though as offensively challenged Wisconsin travel to Crisler on Sunday in another must-win bubble matchup for both clubs.

Michigan has not allowed less then 50 points in a contest since the 2018-19 season when it happened three times during that year. It took Rutgers six minutes to jump out to a 10 point advantage and roughly 34 minutes to break the 40 point mark in a loss that could cost them a ticket to the big dance if they lose out.

2. Dug McDaniel is emerging rapidly

The freshman point was not in an ideal place once Jaelin Llewelyn went down to injury in December. He took over the starting role and immediately made his presence felt. He poured in 15 points in a win at Minnesota. He’s hit the proverbial freshman wall since then, but is on a roll in this current two game winning streak.

McDaniel has only one turnover in his last two games and he and Kobe Bufkin only combined for two of them in this win. He’s averaging 17 points over the course of the last week and is shooting at a 55% rate. He’s also led the Wolverines in scoring for the second straight time. He and Bufkin are a considerable reason why Michigan has won five of seven at the right time.

As for his backcourt running mate, Bufkin has 107 points since the road win at Northwestern. On Thursday night they did it without Jett Howard in the lineup too. They won’t win any postseason individual awards like Zach Edey or Trayce Jackson-Davis, but this duo is winning now and keeping Michigan’s goals alive with a dim pulse.

3. Michigan basketball improves to 16-1 in this one-sided series history

That’s not a misprint, that’s the all-time, head-to-head between these two schools which leans heavily in Michigan’s favor. January 4th, 2022 was the only win for Rutgers ever against Michigan. It happened in Piscataway on a night where Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. combined for 47. Both have graduated since then.

The one meeting that was cancelled was back in 2020 due to the start of covid. The Big Ten followed suit of the rest of the college basketball world and decided it was not safe to play and the remainder of that season was over. Historically Rutgers has always played the maize and blue tight, and Thursday was no different.

Under Steve Pikiell, Rutgers has become more formidable year in and year out, so winning in such a hostile environment will give Michigan basketball more confidence as things wind down.

Every game from here on out is a do-or-die for for Michigan and for those that are in a similar position to them. This is their one last chance to dream for a trip to March madness or settle for the NIT.