Michigan coach Dusty May believes his team is back on track as the Wolverines get set to visit Rutgers on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
Michigan (15-5, 7-2 Big Ten) has bounced back after dropping two of three following a five-game winning streak.
The Wolverines were still ranked No. 21 when they visited then-No. 11 Purdue on Jan. 24 and were trounced 91-64 while committing a season-worst 22 turnovers.
On a quick turnaround for Monday’s home game against Penn State, May said his team “put 100 percent of our focus” on passing and defensive intensity for two days. The Wolverines edged Penn State 76-72 and only lost nine turnovers in the process.
“(We) literally just locked in and said, ‘We’re going to get better at these two things,’ and maybe us simplifying that approach helped,” May said. “Maybe it’s a matter of just you never know when that bamboo is going to sprout up. You’ve planted it and you’re waiting and so hopefully this is a good sign going forward.”
Tre Donaldson carried Michigan with team highs in points (21), assists (seven) and steals (four). That helped the Wolverines brush off their bumpy stretch and remain in third in the conference.
Michigan’s twin 7-footers, Vlad Goldin (team-high 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds per game) and Danny Wolf (12.0 points, team-best 9.8 rebounds), could pose a problem for Rutgers, who recently lost center Emmanuel Ogbole for the season to a knee injury.
The Scarlet Knights (11-10, 4-6) also played without star guard Dylan Harper on Wednesday, but his pal and fellow five-star freshman Ace Bailey went off for 37 points (13-of-20 shooting, 5 of 8 from the arc) and six rebounds in a 79-72 victory at Northwestern.
“My teammates trusted me,” Bailey said. “They gave me the ball, they trusted me to do what I do. But it wasn’t just me though, it was my team too on rebounds.”
It was Bailey’s third 30-point performance of the season, all in January. Of course, Rutgers would like to have Harper back as well. He injured his ankle Jan. 20, played limited minutes in a loss to Michigan State last weekend and was held out at Northwestern.
Bailey now leads the team with 20.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Harper averages 18.6 points and 4.1 assists.
–Field Level Media
