5 Takeaways From Michigan’s Wins Over Penn State and Ohio State

It can be hard in sports to keep the focus only on the next hurdle, but it’s a necessary skill. Especially in Big Ten basketball, because there is no easy night.

Even one week after taking down two of the best teams in the conference — No. 9 Nebraska and No. 10 Michigan State — there’s always a risk of getting too comfortable and losing a game to a lesser opponent. 

Michigan didn’t fall into that trap. 

The Wolverines manhandled Penn State at home on Thursday night, coasting to a 110-69 win. Penn State took them down to the wire in January, but they weren’t taking any chances this time, dominating from start to finish.

On Sunday, Michigan headed down to Columbus to take on rivals Ohio State. Once again, the Wolverines didn’t take anything for granted, playing with the same energy that they did against the top-10 teams. As a result, they earned an impressive 82-61 Quad 1 road win over the Buckeyes.

Here are five key takeaways from the two wins…

Against Penn State, graduate guard Nimari Burnett turned in his best performance of his entire career, finishing the game with 31 points, five rebounds, and two steals.

He shot 11-for-16 from the field, including 7-for-10 from deep, doing damage from both inside and out. Known primarily for his 3-point stroke, Burnett showed versatility and slammed home three dunks down the stretch in the first half. He didn’t quite have the same performance against Ohio State, but he still finished with a respectable eight points on 2-for-5 shooting from deep. 

Burnett had seen his minutes decline in previous games, playing less than 15 minutes against both Michigan State and Nebraska, but he remains an indispensable part of head coach Dusty May’s rotation.

Michigan’s depth is one of its best attributes, and Burnett’s ability to go out and score 31 points is a prime example of it.

Burnett wasn’t alone in his hot shooting, and Michigan as a whole shot quite well from deep in both games. Against Penn State, the Wolverines shot 15-for-29 on 3-pointers, and they followed that up with a 10-for-24 performance against Penn State.

As a team, Michigan makes its living in the paint. With its immense size, it can dominate games from within 10 feet of the rim. But when the 3-pointers aren’t falling, teams feel more comfortable sending double teams at the Wolverines’ forwards, daring the guards to knock down perimeter jumpers.

Michigan can win games without the 3-point shot, but when both the inside and outside games are clicking, that’s when the dominance happens.

Another through-line of both contests was Michigan’s total control of the rebound battle. While the Wolverines’ frontcourt is often bigger than their opponents’, they don’t always dominate the glass. In both of this week’s games, however, they certainly did.

They more than doubled Penn State’s rebounding total on Thursday with a 44 to 21 margin, and they out-rebounded Ohio State 44 to 31.

Making shots give the opponents less chances to grab a rebound — and Michigan was certainly making shots — but the rebound margins can’t be attributed simply to that factor. The Wolverines were more active and physical on missed shots than their opponents, and it paid off. They nabbed 11 and 17 offensive boards against Penn State and Ohio State, respectively.

They limited their opponents’ second-chance opportunities and maximized their own — that’s a winning combination.

Junior center Aday Mara has been an elite rim protector all season, but his development as a true post scorer has added another dimension to Michigan’s offense. 

Mara isn’t just a lob threat anymore, and the Wolverines are feeding him the ball more in post isolation situations. If the defense plays straight up, Mara can consistently score 1-on-1, but if they bring a double team, he’s a great passer and can make the defense pay by skipping the ball to the weak side.

He was in foul trouble against Penn State and only played 15 minutes, but he was still able to score 11 points and collect a ridiculous six blocks. Against Ohio State, he finished with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. He also hit his first two 3-pointers of his career against the Buckeyes.

Michigan has a gauntlet to end the season, as it’s slated to play No. 12 Purdue, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Illinois, and No. 10 Michigan State in the final weeks of the season. But before it gets to that stretch, it still must take care of business against Northwestern and UCLA.

On paper, the Wolverines should be fine against both teams, but looking forward to the higher-ranked matchups on the schedule can be dangerous. They’ve been pretty good about bringing the same energy to each game this season, but that resiliency will really be put to the test next week.