Juwan Howard after 78-68 win over Jackson St.: 'We will get better'
Juwan Howard and his Michigan basketball team have had some seasons in which they got off to great starts, playing some of their best basketball from the get-go.
This season isn’t one of them.
RELATED: Game recap: Michigan beats Jackson State in pre-Thanksgiving tilt
Still, the Wolverines improved to 5-1 with a 78-68 victory over winless Jackson State, pulling away in the second half before going on cruise control. There were some good aspects, some bad, and some in between … and still plenty of room for improvement.
But that’s what teams often do from week one to the end of the year, and Howard is confident his group will be no different.
“It’s early in the season. I’m sure a lot of teams like us are not playing their best basketball,” Howard said. “We will get better and better, game-by-game. I look at every game that we play as high-profile opponents.”
But there are some real high-profile opponents on the schedule soon, including Virginia Tuesday night in Ann Arbor. If the Wolverines play like they have the last several games, they’ll have a tough time winning.
Last night, for example — and once again — they were out-rebounded by a smaller opponent. Jackson State grabbed 15 offensive rebounds on the way to 44 total to Michigan’s 38.
That’s now a trend. Ohio nabbed 19 on the offensive end last game.
“Yes, we lost the rebounding battle by six. We have three days to prepare for it, because I know we have a game that’s on Tuesday,” Howard said. “Were not looking too far ahead because we want to enjoy this holiday the best way we can. We’ll get better with it.”
And once again, an overmatched opponent kept it close in the first half. Freshman Jett Howard‘s corner three pushed the lead to 10 at the break, but the Wolverines didn’t shoot well. They made only 41 percent from the floor, 31 percent from long range. Howard wasn’t discouraged.
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“The first five minutes, like I touched on, the ball wasn’t going in but they were still playing hard,” Howard said. … “Just shots didn’t fall.”
And then they did.
The Wolverines made 7-of-14 in the second half. Grad student point guard Jaelin Llewellyn continues to struggle (1-for-5), but sophomore shooting guard Kobe Bufkin went 2-for-5. Jett Howard made 3 of 4 in the stanza and grad student Joey Baker nailed a couple in a row to create separation.
“I would just say guys made shots. They made shots,” Howard said. “Those open looks that we missed, they were good shots. Sometimes it just happens that way.
“I love the fact that our guys stay with it. They did not hold their heads down, and they had the next play mentality. With the next shot mentality, that helps. In the second half, we could’ve easily put our heads down … I’m proud to see that they ran how the defense was playing them, and sure enough, basketball gods. It happens. It starts rolling in.”
The lead ballooned to 21 before the Wolverines got lax at the end, forcing Howard to put the starter back in. Jackson State cut the lead to 6, in fact, when Michigan started to get sloppy with the ball.
“We’ll grow from it,” Howard said.
They’ll need to, starting Tuesday against the Cavaliers.
