Michigan Basketball: Takeaways from Zavier Simpson-led comeback effort

2. More Franz Wagner, please

Freshman Franz Wagner is a double-digit scorer for Michigan basketball and since a 5-point performance against Northwestern on February 12, he has been putting up numbers better than his season average (11.2 points per game). That continued on Thursday night. Wagner scored 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds but he didn’t really get going until the second half. Wagner had 2 points on two field-goal attempts in the first half. He got 15 of his 17 after the half, and finished the game shooting a hyper-efficient 77.7% from the field.

Wagner doesn’t overwhelm with athleticism, rather he succeeds using a combination of his size, shooting ability, and motor. He doesn’t stop moving when he is off-ball, and his constants cuts to the rim provide Simpson and co. with an easy outlet when the defensive pressure is mucking things up on the perimeter. He did a great job of attacking closeouts against Wisconsin and this is despite the fact that he only attempted two attempts from 3-point range in the game. The simple threat of Wagner’s shot opens space for him and Howard could’ve gone to him for more production on a night where Isaiah Livers was ice-cold from the field.

If Wagner got going a little earlier, the Wolverines’ comeback effort would’ve had a much better chance of being successful. Wagner, despite his size (6-foot-7) still has enough foot speed to beat many of Wisconsin’s guards (who were defending him) off the dribble, especially with the help of a screen or misdirection action to start off the play. Using dribble handoffs more frequently in the first half would’ve allowed more opportunities for Wagner to get into the teeth of the Wisconsin defense.

The Wolverines are going to go as far as Zavier Simpson takes them come March but they will need efficient complementary scoring along the way, and Franz Wagner will be a huge part of that moving forward.