Michigan basketball: Moussa Diabate's dominance provides U-M new life

Predictably unpredictable … and as a result, Michigan basketball has new life after an 84-79 win at Iowa.

Again.

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Or, perhaps Juwan Howard’s team is just improving, and the Ohio State game was a result of fatigue (mental or physical) after playing three games in five days. After all, that’s four wins in six games, two on the road, with a blowout win of first place Purdue in between.

Michigan also played the Boilermakers tough in West Lafayette before falling, 82-76, just a few weeks ago.

But the win at Iowa helps balance the home loss to OSU, and — for now — puts Michigan on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. U-M could take another huge step with a win at Wisconsin Sunday. If Howard gets what he got from frosh Moussa Diabate again, his team will have a solid shot.

Diabate was dominant in the paint, scoring 28 points. His post moves have improved dramatically under his coach — one of the reasons he chose Michigan in the first place — and he’s playing with confidence.

After feeling he let his teammates down against OSU, giving up 28 points to E.J. Liddell, he came back with a vengeance.

“Just like coaches, they steal from each other,”  Michigan coach Juwan Howard said of his players. “… Moussa had an opportunity to compete against Liddell, Keegan Murray, and the list goes on. The Big Ten is a very tough, talented conference. And he’s smart enough, and also selfless [enough], to learn from those guys as far as what he can add to his game.”

Iowa’s Murray went at him early with some success. Rather than sulk, Diabate took a different approach. He went right back at him on the other end, dominating with a little hook in the lane and running the floor like a man possessed.

It didn’t surprise sophomore center Hunter Dickinson.

“Once he got (to Michigan), he was really eager to learn from me and coach Howard,” Dickinson said. “He was really eager just to pick things up quickly and try to get as much information as possible. He’s really eager to learn, so that really helps him in his development and makes him better each and every day. You can see it out there.”

But he wasn’t alone. Grad transfer point guard DeVante’ Jones picked up his second double-double in three games, with an eight-point, eight-rebound, 10-assist game in between. He notched 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and continues to show dramatic improvement.

Fifth-year senior Eli Brooks added 13 points and five assists, and frosh Kobe Bufkin is coming around. He added 10 points in only 16 minutes.

There were still some head-scratching moments, including a handful of three-point shots that missed everything. Freshman Caleb Houstan (0-for-5 from three) continues to struggle with his shot, and they’ll need more from him.

But holding Iowa to 79 points is impressive, and a sign the defense is continuing to improve. Michigan has gone from 100-plus in defensive efficiency to 72 over the last few games.

For a team looking for something to hang its hat on, that’s a great place to start.

Michigan coach Juwan Howard explains bizarre technical foul

Howard had what he called a “brain fart” in the second half of the Michigan win. He picked up a live ball that was headed to the other end of the floor and out of bounds instead of letting it go.

As a result, he picked up his second technical foul of the game.

“I knew when I got it. I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” Howard said with a laugh. “That’s when it clicked that it wasn’t the right thing to do. I told the guys in the locker room and also on the court that we coaches make mistakes too. That one’s on me.”

He thought he might be ejected given it was his second technical foul. But since it was a ‘Class B,’ he was safe.

Fortunately, Michigan made just enough free throws down the stretch to make the extra points irrelevant.