There is little to say tonight about Michigan and Nebraska in Lincoln, so this will be the shortest recap of the year. Michigan was on the road, meaning they were without leading point guard Dug McDaniel due to his ongoing away games suspension. Michigan with Dug McDaniel is a bad team. Michigan without Dug McDaniel is a horrendous team. The offense grinds to a halt without McDaniel, while the defense remains bottom of the barrel for a high major. That wasn't going to change against a feisty Nebraska team but even within that framing, this game was surprisingly ugly for large stretches.
Nebraska led by as many as 30 in the first half at one point, going on two separate 13-0 runs against the Wolverines(!). They pounded Michigan on the offensive glass early and got more or less anything they wanted on offense for the first ~15 minutes, having scored 43 points with 5.5 remaining in the opening stanza. The Wolverines managed to lock back in and get a few stops to temporarily mute the Huskers' blazing offense, closing the half on an 8-0 run to avoid facing the largest halftime deficit any B1G opponent had ever faced against Nebraska since Big Red Joined the conference (they trailed by 20, the record was 21). It goes without saying that if the most interesting thing going on in your game in the late first half is wondering how badly your team will trail at halftime, things have gone very wrong.
To find positives in what was otherwise a debacle, Michigan showed some pride and didn't give up. They largely held their own in the second half, the teams trading scores and then a 12-2 Michigan run cut the lead to 15. Unfortunately there were only five minutes remaining by that point and ultimately the Nebraska lead never dipped under beyond that mark. Both teams closed the game with deep reserves/walk-ons on the floor. Terrance Williams II and Nimari Burnett stood out as players who gave it their all and kept working hard (Will Tschetter hit a couple threes too), but a brutal outing from Olivier Nkamhoua and Jaelin Llewellyn (4-22 combined), among the rest of the team, sunk the Wolverines. They shot 32.3% from the field, which was not enough to take advantage of Nebraska's offensive rhythm cooling off sharply after the first 15 minutes.
Michigan is now 8-16 on the season and 3-10 in the B1G, dead last in the standings. This was Nebraska's first win over Michigan since Jan. 18, 2018, and only their second over the Wolverines since joining the conference. Michigan's next game, on Tuesday night, will be in Champaign against a ranked Illinois team, again without McDaniel. It is difficult to see the Maize & Blue winning that one, to put it lightly. The rest of this season is a battle of whether Michigan can climb out of the cellar, as they have not finished last in the conference in a men's basketball season since 1966-67. That game against Illinois on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST and will be broadcast on Peacock.
[Click the JUMP for the box score... if you are a SICK person]
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Mineral King
February 10th, 2024 at 8:56 PM ^
Fire. This. Clown!
Joined: 01/24/2018
MGoPoints: 5946
Hensons Mobile…
February 10th, 2024 at 9:01 PM ^
Alex…what did you do in a past life to deserve this task?
Joined: 09/12/2019
MGoPoints: 44530
Hotel Putingrad
February 10th, 2024 at 9:04 PM ^
The sun will come up tomorrow.
Joined: 12/10/2014
MGoPoints: 207716
Mineral King
February 10th, 2024 at 9:18 PM ^
How was the interview?
Joined: 01/24/2018
MGoPoints: 5946
MMB 82
February 10th, 2024 at 10:50 PM ^
How was the play?
Joined: 07/06/2008
MGoPoints: 18447
KBLOW
February 10th, 2024 at 9:38 PM ^
The team had zero idea what to do with Nebraska's defense. None. And obviously, Howard and the other coaches didn't either, or cannot explain/coach those things if they did have any idea.
And sure, Nebraska was hot and plays much better at home, but FSS our defense gave up too many easy shots and 2nd chance points and that is about effort. Ugh.
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 20990
SHub'68
February 11th, 2024 at 12:00 AM ^
Give the ball to a kid and have him dribble with his back to a couple defenders and try to create a shot opportunity isn't going to work well against very many defenses...unless maybe the kid is LeBron and the defenses clear out of the way and watch it all happen.
Joined: 09/29/2010
MGoPoints: 6663
Team 101
February 10th, 2024 at 9:48 PM ^
If the game is on Peacock then it doesn't exist.
Joined: 04/15/2013
MGoPoints: 35159
Hensons Mobile…
February 10th, 2024 at 10:17 PM ^
Bad news. It wasn’t on the Cock.
Joined: 09/12/2019
MGoPoints: 44530
HollywoodHokeHogan
February 10th, 2024 at 9:57 PM ^
This result is a bit deflating for those hoping some epic Juwan meltdown (slapgate redux) will force Warde to fire him. The team is so bad that I can’t see Howard getting upset enough about a loss to do anything silly.
Joined: 02/12/2011
MGoPoints: 20153
KBLOW
February 10th, 2024 at 10:57 PM ^
This is so true. Or his dose of beta-blockers is so high that it's all he can do just to stand there and watch.
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 20990
Jibbroni
February 10th, 2024 at 9:59 PM ^
Gonna be one uh doze
Joined: 01/05/2015
MGoPoints: 20338
Mannix
February 10th, 2024 at 11:11 PM ^
-Juwan Howard
Joined: 01/15/2009
MGoPoints: 12067
Yo_Blue
February 11th, 2024 at 1:48 AM ^
We didn't lose the second half. Does that count for anything?
Sorry, just trying to find a sliver of promise on this clusterfuck.
Joined: 08/24/2010
MGoPoints: 101829
TheBlueAbides
February 10th, 2024 at 11:22 PM ^
Stopping shitting on Juwan. I agree it’s most likely time for him to go, but it has to be handled in a way that we don’t sever the relationship with anyone pre 1995 associated with Michigan basketball. Culture matters and part of that culture is the fab five and the 80s. It’s ok to say “let’s move on from Howard” without saying “fuck this clown” etc. You all think you love Michigan hoops more than him? You don't. This is a hard task but we need to find a way to part with him, respect his legacy as both a coach and one of our best players ever, and also move on. This fanbase at times is as toxic as the staff itself. I would love to get new young blood in here but basketball more than any other sport is going to be turbulent for non blue bloods in this modern era. Ride the wave and support the team, and in due time there will be Maize and blue skies. Go blue
Joined: 01/20/2011
MGoPoints: 5598
Blue@LSU
February 10th, 2024 at 11:44 PM ^
Well said. Thank you.
Joined: 11/04/2016
MGoPoints: 76369