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Nebraska starts Michigan basketball's 'must win' tour Tuesday in Ann Arbor

Chris Balasby:Chris Balas•01/31/22•

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Michigan coach Juwan Howard
Michigan basketball head coach Juwan Howard was the AP Coach of the Year in 2021. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

Michigan hammered Nebraska in the first meeting between the schools, breaking the 100-point barrier in a 102-67 win in early January. That’s one of 10 straight conference losses for coach Fred Hoiberg’s team, which now sits 6-15 overall. 

Like Northwestern, however — a team Michigan struggled to beat at home last week — the Cornhuskers play a lot of teams tough. They just haven’t been able to get over the hump yet.

They’ve come close, though, including a two-point loss to Rutgers. 

“They’re doing a great job of continuing to come out and play hard every night,” assistant coach Howard Eisley said Monday. “I thought last game against Rutgers was a game that they were going to pull off. 

“You can’t look at their record right now and say, ‘This is a bad team,’ because that’s not really the case. They’ve been in games, had opportunities to win against Rutgers. So, we have to come out and be really ready to compete. We can’t look at them as a team that hasn’t won a game in the league. I think that would be a very bad mistake.”

One they don’t plan on making. 

Though the Wolverines are on the NCAA Tournament bubble, there’s still plenty of time to bolster the resume. The Big Ten rescheduled the home game with Michigan State for March 1, and the Wolverines still get Purdue, Ohio State and Illinois at home. 

Though several contributors returned from last year’s team, Eisley noted the focus isn’t on getting the 2020-21 mojo back. Rather, the coaches are still looking for the veterans and young guys on this team to find the right chemistry. 

“They’re completely different teams,” he said. “What happened last year is over with. It’s gone. We have so many new guys and new faces, you can’t really compare last year to this year. 

“We’re focused on this group and helping them improve and get better. I still feel like we have a good part of our season left, and what we want is still ahead of us. Obviously, we have to start putting together wins.”

That didn’t happen Saturday at Michigan State, an 83-67 loss in which U-M played poorly. The Wolverines faded in the second half, allowed 28 transition points and struggling to score in the second half. 

Head coach Juwan Howard criticized his team’s effort. Center Hunter Dickinson vowed Michigan would come back strong, talking about “winning out.”

“It was disappointing losing to them. Everybody was disappointed by that,” Eisley said. “We have to use it as a learning experience, grow and get better from it. That’s the mindset here. 

“Obviously, they’re a good ball club, especially at home. We have to go back, look at the film, take away positives and learn from our mistakes, keep pushing forward.”

That includes getting bench scoring. Nobody outside the starting five scored in the first half. The bench only supplied six points in the second. 

“We don’t want to have to rely on our starters not only for big production, but to carry heavy minute load,” Eisley said. “Because we’re asking a lot, especially of our bigs, from pick and roll coverage to rebounding the ball. In a lot of cases, it’s also to carry the load in scoring. 

“But untimely turnovers, lack of ability to make shots really fuels Michigan State’s break against everybody. If you’re not making shots and turning the ball over against them, they’re one of — if not the best team — in transition in our league. We have to do a better job taking care of the ball, but also make sure making teams work defensively.”

That will be the key tomorrow night against Nebraska and in every game going forward as Michigan fights to get off the NCAA Tourney bubble.

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