5 Takeaways From Michigan’s Wins Over Northwestern And UCLA

With two more wins — and two Arizona losses — the Michigan men’s basketball team will almost certainly be America’s new No. 1 team in the AP Poll come Monday afternoon.

In the first half of the Wolverines 87-75 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday, however, the coveted No. 1 spot seemed far, far away. But a masterclass of a second half salvaged Michigan’s brief trip to Chicago, and the squad returned back to Ann Arbor to prepare for the arrival of UCLA on Saturday.

Michigan made easy work of the Bruins, picking up yet another 30-point win, this one by a final score of 86-56. With that win, the Wolverines maintained their two-game advantage atop the Big Ten standings. 

Here are five key takeaways from Michigan’s undefeated week…

The Wolverines entered halftime down by nine against Northwestern, but they walloped the Wildcats 52-31 in the second half. Similarly, they were up by just two points at the half against UCLA, but dismantled the Bruins 46-18 in the final 20 minutes.

The Wolverines’ offense looked extremely solid in both second halves, but it was the defense that set everything up. They held Northwestern to 30.8% shooting in the second half, and UCLA put up an even worse 25.9%. Even if Michigan was just average on offense, those kinds of defensive performances are most likely going to result in a win.

Certainly, a complete 40 minutes is the ultimate goal, but just 20 minutes of extremely high-level play was enough for the Wolverines to collect two big wins.

With 14:22 to play in Wednesday’s game against Northwestern, Michigan was down by 16 points, 58-42. The Wolverines were being ambushed, and they were caught off guard.

But Michigan didn’t simply accept fate and take the loss. Instead, it bore down and went on the aforementioned 45-17 run to stun the Wildcats.

Head coach Dusty May would definitely prefer to never be down by 16 in the second half, but his team gaining experience in flipping a deep deficit into a double-digit win is undeniably valuable. The Wolverines haven’t had to play from behind much this season, so this win instills an unwavering belief that, no matter how bad it looks, they can always turn it around.

Come tournament time, which is rapidly approaching, this kind of game is something that Michigan might be thankful for.

Sophomore guard L.J. Cason has made an incredible leap this season, and he’s still getting better. Last season he was primarily a bench scoring spark that saw limited minutes, but this season, he’s stepped in as a true backup point guard that can lead an offense. 

Don’t get it twisted, Cason still hangs his hat on putting the ball in the basket, and that’s exactly what Michigan needed him to do against Northwestern. Junior guard Eillot Cadeau was struggling, and the deficit was steadily growing, so May turned to Cason for a spark. He scored 11 points in a five minute span which saw the Wolverines cut the deficit from 11 points to just two.

He finished the game with a team-leading 18 points, and was probably the biggest factor in Michigan’s comeback. He brought that strong performance into Saturday’s game against UCLA, too, finishing that game with 13 points and two assists in 20 minutes of play.

Cadeau is still the lead point guard, but like every player, he’s prone to cold spells. So it’s an intense luxury for May to have someone like Cason to run the offense.

Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg started the season hot from 3-point land, but since the turn of the new year, he’s really struggled. Entering Saturday’s contest against UCLA, Lendeborg was just 8-for-49 (16.3%) from deep in his previous 12 games after starting the season 21-for-52 (40.4%).

Against the Bruins, though, he finally put together a solid night from behind the arc. He made two of his three triple tries, both from the right wing. On the first make, he found himself wide open, and he had no choice but to take it. The make must have given him confidence, because his second make was a pull-up off the bounce. 

Lendeborg is often the best player on the court even without his shot falling, but if he gets his rhythm back, there’s almost no way to stop him.

Michigan didn’t fall victim to any of the ‘trap games,’ and now a brutal stretch of matchups is imminent. The Wolverines will face four top-15 teams in their final six games, consisting of No. 13 Purdue, No. 4 Duke, No. 8 Illinois, and No. 10 Michigan State. The only reprises are games against Minnesota and a fringe-top 25 team in Iowa. 

Michigan absolutely has the talent to navigate this schedule and emerge unscathed, but the reality is that a loss at some point is probable. The key, then, is to not let one loss turn into two or three.

This stretch gives the Wolverines an opportunity to prove undeniable dominance, but it could also be demoralizing if it goes wrong. They certainly want to avoid the latter.