The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1490206
FEBRUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 43 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL don't get sure victories at home, either. If you don't play with a little toughness and grittiness and nastiness, then you're going to have losses like we had [against CMU]." MISSED OPPORTUNITIES, BUT STILL HOPE FOR THE SEASON To be clear, that loss to Central Michi- gan is still going to be tough to make up. At some point, Michigan, which sat at No. 73 as of Jan. 17 in the NCAA NET rankings used to help determine tourna- ment seedings, is going to have to notch wins against good teams either home or away to help compensate. The Wolverines missed two oppor- tunities on the road, starting with a 59-53 loss at Michigan State in a win- nable game. Dickinson scored 18 points and U-M defended well, but too many missed shots — they went 3 of 20 from long range and shot 34.5 percent overall — let an opportunity slip away. Days later, Michigan was up seven at Iowa with just more than a minute to play before collapsing down the stretch and losing. An Iowa four-point play sent the game to overtime, where the Wol- verines wilted. They wasted a 34-point effort from freshman wing Jett Howard in a 93-84 loss. Iowa notched 14 offensive rebounds leading to several second-chance points in stealing the win. "We gave them extra possessions be- cause we didn't do a good job of putting bodies on guys, didn't do a good job of holding them to one possession after we played defense," Juwan Howard said. "We talked about it, we watched it on film for three straight damn days and did not have a carry- over when it mattered the most." That left them in a must-win situa- tion for the game against Northwest- ern Jan. 15. The Wolverines got out of the gate quickly, jumping out to an 18-6 lead before giving it back. The Wildcats led 39-33 at one point and 39-37 at the break, taking advantage of 18 Michigan turnovers to make it a game down the stretch. Sophomore Kobe Bufkin made some huge plays in the last few minutes — including a triple from the corner — in scoring 20 points, while freshman Dug McDaniel added 17 to help U-M pull out an 85-78 win. They needed that one and will need more going forward, including some road wins, to get back where they want to be. "Every game matters, but having a win on your home court, in front of your home crowd, helps big time," Howard said. "It was nice to see that support be- hind us. "… We have one day of rest and we are we right back at it again on Thursday versus another tough team in our league [at Maryland Jan. 19]. And that's what we expect throughout the year. There are a lot of coaches that have been say- ing this is one of the best — if not the Head coach Juwan Howard was disappointed to see his team give up 14 offensive rebounds in an overtime loss at Iowa. The Wolverines will need to rally in the coming weeks to boost their NCAA Tournament hopes. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 2022-23 U-M MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE & RESULTS Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time* Nov. 7 Purdue Fort Wayne W, 75-56 Nov. 11 vs. Eastern Michigan^ W, 88-83 Nov. 16 vs. Pittsburgh+ W, 91-60 Nov. 17 vs. Arizona State+ L, 87-62 Nov. 20 Ohio W, 70-66 (OT) Nov. 23 Jackson State W, 78-68 Nov. 29 Virginia% L, 70-68 Dec. 4 vs. Kentucky# L, 73-69 Dec. 8 at Minnesota W, 90-75 Dec. 17 Lipscomb W, 83-75 Dec. 21 vs. North Carolina$ L, 80-76 Dec. 29 Central Michigan L, 63-61 Jan. 1 Maryland W, 81-46 Jan. 4 Penn State W, 79-69 Jan. 7 at Michigan State L, 59-53 Jan. 12 at Iowa L, 93-84 (OT) Jan. 15 Northwestern W, 85-78 Jan. 19 at Maryland (ESPN/ESPN2) 7 p.m. Jan. 22 Minnesota (BTN) TBD Jan. 26 Purdue (FS1) 9 p.m. Jan. 29 at Penn State (BTN) 12 p.m. Feb. 2 at Northwestern (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Feb. 5 Ohio State (CBS) 1 p.m. Feb. 8 Nebraska (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 Indiana (ESPN) 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at Wisconsin (ESPN/ESPN2) 9 p.m. Feb. 18 Michigan State (FOX) 8 p.m. Feb. 23 at Rutgers (FS1) 8:30 p.m. Feb. 26 Wisconsin (CBS) 2 p.m. Mar. 2 at Illinois (ESPN) 7 p.m. Mar. 5 at Indiana (CBS) 4:30 p.m. * All times Eastern ^ at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit + at Legends Classic, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. % ACC/Big Ten Challenge # London Showcase at O2 Arena in London, England $ Jumpman Invitational at Spectrum Center in Char- lotte, N.C.