The Michigan Wolverines (18-7, 8-4) picked up a rare road win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-12, 3-9) on Wednesday night by way of a 62-46 final score.
Michigan outscored Nebraska 21-4 during a halftime-interrupted run to steal the momentum and suck whatever little life the ‘huskers had completely out of the team.
The 1st half was a lesson in what not to do when shooting a basketball. Michigan managed just 8-24 (33%) from the field and 5-17 (29%) from 3-pt. range to Nebraska’s 5-23 (21%) and 0-11 from long range.
Zack Novak
Michigan excelled in nearly every aspect of the half with the glaring exception of putting the ball in the hole. Tim Hardaway, Jr. contributed a 0-7 effort from the floor in the opening session and the bench scored nothing, just like at Michigan State.
In the 2nd half, Michigan attacked the rim and consequently opened up their outside game as they poured the hot sauce on top of the corn. The Wolverines scorched the nets to the tune of 16-22 (73%) from the field and 6-8 (75%) from distance in the 2nd stanza. Michigan produced 40 of their 62 points after halftime.
Zack Novak (14 points), Stu Douglass (13), and Trey Burke (12) led the Wolverines’ scoring attack. Burke rounded out an impressive stat line with 5 rebounds and 8 assists. Jordan Morgan had 8 points and 6 boards.
Even the struggling Matt Vogrich reminded us all what a talented shooter he is by icing 3 straight three balls in the 2nd half. Having someone off the bench produce points like that was a sight for sore eyes.
Zack Novak hit two quick triples to net his 1,000th career point. Only 27 other Wolverines have managed 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their Michigan careers. Novak is the 28th. His hustle, tenacity, and leadership are often spoken of before his statistics, but the dude has put up some numbers. On a team chalk full of struggling shooters, Novak has hit at a 43% clip from long range on the season.
A few concerns remain, such as the overall lack of bench scoring and Tim Hardaway, Jr’s issues with shooting the rock. TH2 was 3-11 on the night and all 3 makes were layups. He will need to get it going mentally, so that his shots can start to fall, if Michigan wants a chance to play deep into March.
Bo Spencer was the lone Nebraskan to score in double-digits with 13. To say that the team who draws the Cornhuskers in the 1st round of the Big 10 Tournament will be getting a gift is an understatement. Suddenly, the 5 or 6 seed in that tourney is looking like the place to be.
Nebraska turned it over 13 times to just 6 for the Wolverines.
Michigan returns home for a matchup with Illinois at 1 pm on Sunday. Only 6 games remain on Michigan’s regular season schedule and 3 of them will be at home.
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