Michigan digs deep to beat Big Ten’s top dog: ‘No easy button for this stuff’

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was another far-from-perfect performance from the Michigan basketball team.

But this time of the year, those are hard to come by anyway.

Instead, the third-ranked Wolverines clamped down and powered through, edging previously unbeaten Nebraska, 75-72, Tuesday at Crisler Center.

A late flurry that saw Michigan (19-1, 9-1 Big Ten) outscore the hot-shooting Cornhuskers 9-2 down the stretch while holding Nebraska scoreless for the final 3:21 proved to be the difference, capped by a Trey McKenney baseline basket with 1:04 to play.

“They gave us everything, and I thought the last five minutes of the game we were determined to find a way,” Michigan coach Dusty May said, praising Nebraska’s scrappy, five-in defense.

“There’s not going to be an easy button for this stuff.”

True enough, nothing for the Wolverines came easy in this game. Before the late run, Michigan’s last lead came at 3-2, bookending a frustrating night from the perimeter and taking care of the basketball.

While U-M shot 47 percent from the floor, much of that success came inside the paint and via second-chance points. The Wolverines finished just 6 of 26 from 3, compared to a wild first half that saw Nebraska shoot 10 of 19 from long range.

Michigan has now won five games in a row ahead of Friday night’s rivalry showdown against No. 7 Michigan State (8 p.m., FOX) in East Lansing.

“We’re going to have to elevate our play, elevate our physicality, especially going into Friday night on the road,” May said. “We stepped up and we made big free throws. We got great contributions off the bench from Trey and Will (Tschetter).

“And when you’re chasing a championship, you just have to have different guys step up each and every night. Credit to our guys.”

Morez Johnson Jr. led Michigan with 17 points and 12 rebounds, much of that coming during a wild first half that saw both teams combine for 98 points and 15 3-pointers. Scoring came at a fast and furious rate, paving the way for a slower, sloppier second half.

Michigan committed seven of its 19 turnovers in the first seven minutes of the second half, but fortunately for May’s crew, Nebraska’s hot shooting came down to Earth.

The coach and players credited improved communication and effort on ball screens in the second half, closing harder and making it more difficult for the Cornhuskers to get clean looks at the basket.

Nebraska shot 1 of 13 from deep in the second half, allowing Michigan to hang around and pull ahead late. The fifth-ranked Cornhuskers (20-1, 9-1 Big Ten) were missing their second and third-leading scorers, Raink Mast and Braden Frager.

“We just got to stick with it,” forward Morez Johnson Jr. said. “Can’t really get too high, low in a game like that. We just got to make sure we do what we do and eventually we overwhelm the team.”

Still, May warned, “we didn’t do a lot of things well.” His team’s first-half defense was lackluster, perimeter shooting struggled, and his guards were responsible for some preventable turnovers.

Even so, Michigan had to dig deep to beat its fourth ranked opponent this season. May’s team is now 5-0 against Quad 1 opponents and locked in a three-way tie atop the Big Ten standings, just as the calendar gets ready flip to February.

Every win matters at this point, and the Wolverines will take them in any shape or size.

“You feel like you’re gonna find a way no matter how it’s going, what’s happened up to this point, how it’s going for me individually,” May said. “The shared belief of the guys in the circle with you, that they prepared for this, they put in the work.”