Busting Brackets
Fansided

Michigan Basketball: Keys for season sweep of Maryland

By Adam Childs

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 28: Isaiah Livers #4 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts while playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Crisler Arena on February 28, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 28: Isaiah Livers #4 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts while playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Crisler Arena on February 28, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – FEBRUARY 28: Colin Castleton #11 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with teammates on the bench while playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Crisler Arena on February 28, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – FEBRUARY 28: Colin Castleton #11 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with teammates on the bench while playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Crisler Arena on February 28, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

1. Bench help

It has not been reported if Charles Matthews will play on Sunday yet, but if he doesn’t the bench will become an even bigger key for the Wolverines. Michigan has played basically a seven-man rotation this year, with different guys picking up minutes for an eighth. Isaiah Livers has been the most solid contributor off the bench but if Matthews is out he will be in the starting lineup.

On Thursday Michigan got 18 points from their bench, but it was because of the fact that they were up big on the Cornhuskers. What Michigan needs more than scoring is for guys to be able to step in and give some rest to the starters. That seems obvious but too often this year when Zavier Simpson has had to come out of the game the offense has stalled. They need guys to come in and be able to run the offense and also pick up the defensive intensity the starters normally have.

Matthews is a great defender and is hard to replace so they will need LIvers and others to pick up the slack. Playing at Maryland will be tough and they will need to be able to trust their bench to give them good minutes. If they can do that they should be in good shape to come away with the win. If the Wolverines have to rely on their starting five for everything then they will be in trouble.

Home/Michigan Wolverines