In one of the most impressive wins for anybody on the season, Michigan got it done at home vs. previously undefeated Nebraska. The No. 3 Wolverines outlasted the No. 5 Cornhuskers in the second half to win, 75-72. Michigan may have been a 10.5-point favorite coming in, but Nebraska is a hard team to beat. Nebraska still shot well from range (34 percent) and overall (46 percent) in defeat.
It is why Michigan head coach Dusty May knows his team cannot expect for things to ease up a bit.
"There's not going to be an easy button for this stuff, we're going to have to elevate our play, elevate our physicality, especially going into Friday night on the road."
Here is everything May said at the podium after Michigan's big home win over Nebraska on Tuesday.
After Michigan's biggest win of the year, the Wolverines will play rival Michigan State in East Lansing...
Dusty May has the right mindset for Michigan to win the Big Ten this year
Looking ahead to what all Michigan may need to navigate the rest of the way, the Wolverines have a Quad 1 road game at No. 7 Michigan State. We just saw how hard it can be to beat a top-10 on the road from Nebraska's perspective. Can the Wolverines flip the script? Well, they are going to have to, as the upper echelon of the Big Ten is loaded. They still have to play Michigan State twice this season.
While Michigan does get some reprieve with a lowly Quad 3 game next week at home vs. Penn State, it is mostly Quad 1 games after that. Of Michigan's final 11 regular-season games, eight are of the Quad 1 variety. This includes two with No. 7 Michigan State, at No. 12 Purdue, at No. 9 Illinois, and a neutral-site affair with Duke from the ACC. Outside of the second with MSU, these are all road games.
Overall, if Michigan wants to be a No. 1 seed in this year's tournament, it is going to need to a few ranked wins on the road. So far, the Wolverines have not been thoroughly tested away from Ann Arbor. This is not all that uncommon across major college basketball for the most part. It is merely Michigan's reality. For now, Michigan cannot get too big of a head ahead of the road date vs. Sparty.
Should Michigan beat Nebraska and Michigan State in succession, maybe this team can win it all?