Dug McDaniel explains why Michigan had so many turnovers vs. Northwestern

Michigan men’s basketball got off a two-game losing streak on Sunday, outlasting Northwestern at home and moving to 4-2 in Big Ten play. And the Wolverines did so despite committing a season-high 18 turnovers.

Prior to Sunday, Michigan hadn’t turned the ball over more than 13 times in a single game this season. Freshman point guard Dug McDaniel — thrust into a full-time role with the season-ending knee injury to Jaelin Llewellyn — knows it needs to get fixed, but had a fascinating answer as to the cause.

“Yeah, I feel like we were trying to be too unselfish,” McDaniel said. “It’s OK to be selfish sometimes, especially if you earn it on the defensive end.”

Michigan had 18 assists against the Wildcats, tied for the second-highest mark in a game this season, giving some credence to McDaniel’s assessment.

And if the issue is maybe needing to make one fewer pass instead of an extra, plus encouraging willing scorers to get shots up, the Wolverines have answers to try and stymy the turnovers that plagued them against Northwestern.

“Like, I feel like Jett [Howard] could’ve taken more shots or whatever. But he’s a great team player, we’re all great team players,” McDaniel said. “But, I feel like those were us trying to be unselfish a little too much. But we’re going to look back at the film and correct some of those mistakes.”

Jett Howard detailed how valuable the win over Northwestern could be for Michigan

It has been an up-and-down season for the Michigan Wolverines. However, things seem to be looking up after an 85-78 win over Northwestern. Certainly, Jett Howard thinks that this game can help the Wolverines moving forward.

Howard explained his thoughts on how beating Northwestern could help Michigan after the game.

“I feel like it can help a lot,” Jett Howard explained. “This is the perfect time to gain momentum.”

“So, I feel like if we just lock in on our next opponent and take each game one at a time, we should be fine.”

Michigan had four players who scored in double digits against Northwestern. Jett Howard was among them, with 16 points. He complimented that scoring with seven assists and three rebounds. All of those were better than his season averages to this point.

Next up for Michigan is a trip to Maryland, where the Wolverines will play the Terrapins for the second time this season. The first time they met it was a blowout win for the Wolverines, who were bouncing back from an upset loss to Central Michigan at the time.