NCAA Basketball: Michigan's struggles, sleeper pick & more takeaways

NCAA Basketball: Michigan’s struggles, a sleeper pick and more weekly takeaways

By Brian Rauf | Feb 3, 2019

MADISON, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 19: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines argues a call with referee Lewis Garrison in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center on January 19, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- FEBRUARY 01: Guard Jordan Bohannon #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes chases a loos ball in the second half with forward Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines, on February 1, 2019 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

2) We should be (slightly) concerned about Michigan‘s offense

The Wolverines were one of the hottest teams in the country during the non-conference season and started the year with 17 straight wins. We all remember those blowout wins over Villanova and North Carolina where they looked unstoppable, right?

Well, suddenly, Michigan is looking very stoppable. They have lost two of their last five games and have quietly seen their offensive efficiency fall outside of the top 50 nationally.

Michigan has not scored 70 points during this five-game stretch and have failed to hit 60 on three occasions. Unsurprisingly, they are 1-2 in those games. So what exactly happened.

For starters, Ignas Brazdeikis is not the dominant force he was early in the year, as he’s averaging just 13.6 points per game on 38.6 percent shooting over the last five games. Charles Matthews has also been absent, scoring 10 points just once in this stretch, and Jordan Poole is slumping as well (35.8 percent).

With Zavier Simpson being a poor shooter, Michigan has been reliant on those three to really carry them offensively – and all three are slumping. The Wolverines need all three to get things turned around quickly if they’re going to win the Big Ten.

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