What we learned from Michigan Basketball’s wins vs Nebraska and MSU

The Michigan Wolverines faced a gauntlet of a schedule last week with two top-10 showdowns (vs. Nebraska, at Michigan State). It wasn’t perfect, but the Wolverines went 2-0 last week to remain at the top of the Big Ten standings as we now are in the month of February with more big games on the docket.

Here are a couple things we learned about Dusty May’s squad this past week.

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Turnovers are the team’s biggest crux

It’s no secret Michigan has one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Every player in the rotation can take over stretches of a game, which is part of what makes the team so dangerous. When the Wolverines are clicking, they’re arguably the best team in the country.

May’s fast pace is paramount to his strategy, but the problem is it can get reckless, especially when the other team is keeping up. That was the key issue against Nebraska; Jamarques Lawrence was playing out of his mind in the first half, scoring 10 straight points on four consecutive possessions that put the Huskers up double digits.

The streak was spelled after a TV timeout, where Michigan came back out with their reserves. The next five possessions for the Wolverines — LJ Cason turnover, Cason turnover, Roddy Gayle turnover, Cason layup, Elliot Cadeau turnover. Nebraska astoundingly converted off just one of those mistakes, which kept the Wolverines in the game.

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There are going to be times that players get hot, that’s just part of basketball, but responding to it more immediately will be vastly important as the Wolverines head towards March. But it’s also what is going to keep them ahead against good teams. Michigan beat the snot out of Michigan State in the first half at the Breslin Center in part due to only having four first-half turnovers and the defense forcing bad shots.

Again, the Wolverines came out of the break looking sluggish, as they had eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the second half. That allowed the Spartans to climb back from a…

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Publish date : 2026-02-02 17:00:00

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