Gut reactions from another rough loss for Michigan basketball
The positive feeling surrounding the Michigan basketball program didn't last very long as the Wolverines were dominated on the road Saturday against Nebraska.
At one point in the first half, Nebraska went on a 29-3 run. Michigan basketball didn't have Dug McDaniel, but the Wolverines lost 79-59.
It's been a season of embarrassments. But Saturday still felt like a low point. It was one thing to get blown out by Purdue, but this is a Nebraska team on the bubble and a program that the Wolverines hadn't lost a game to since 2018.
Michigan basketball is now 8-16 on the season, but with their defensive rating (points per possession) ranks 346th out of 352 college basketball teams -- you can't win basketball games when you play defense as poorly as Michigan.
Nimari Burnett was the only player to score in double figures for the Wolverines. He had 18 points, five rebounds and three assists on 7-of-10 shooting. He was one of just two players to make more than half their shots. The other was Will Tschetter with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Here are the gut reactions from another rough outing in a long season for Michigan basketball.
Gut reactions to Michigan basketball loss to Nebraska
- If you can't even compete against bubble teams, you got big problems.
- Saturday was a reminder of how far this program has fallen. The win over Wisconsin was nice, but I don't think it changes the calculous.
- There isn't much dynamic on this team without Dug McDaniel.
- Will Tschetter still needs to play more. 13 minutes is inexcusable.
- Olivier Nkamhoua was atrocious at least on offense. He was 1-for-10 and when you're missing your best offensive player, the other can't shoot 10 percent.
- The game at Illinois (Tuesday) could be downright ugly.