Quick Reactions: Seniors Lift Michigan Basketball To Win Over Creighton
• At different times during the game there were frustrating moments for Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske - Simpson had four turnovers and had to sit out a stretch in the second half due to foul trouble while Teske permitted way too many offensive rebounds (18 for the Blue Jays) - however the two provided leadership, offense and defensive intensity as the Wolverines continued to pull away every time Creighton closed within five.
When Creighton made it 64-59 with 6:02 left, Simpson found Teske for a layup and an and-1. The Blue Jays scored on the next possession and Teske had another three-point play. Over a five-minute stretch, Teske scored 10 straight points for Michigan, staking U-M to a nine-point 74-65 lead with 1:20 to go.
Simpson, meanwhile, sparked the team's second-half success, scoring six of Michigan's first eight points, all on aggressive takes to the basket, turning a 41-38 halftime deficit into a 46-43 lead. When junior Eli Brooks hit a three-pointer two minutes later, U-M led 49-47 and would never trail again.
As first-year head coach Juwan Howard finds himself and works through his inexperience, he has to have great play from the Wolverines' most veteran performers. Again, there were some moments both Simpson and Teske would like to have back, but they were both outstanding when U-M needed them to be.
• After a first half in which Creighton got into the paint too easily - the Blue Jays scored 10 of 18 first-half buckets on layups - Howard lit a fire into his team, as the defensive effort ramped up in the second half. The result: Creighton shot 39.4 percent from the floor in the second (it was 7 of 14 on layups after going 10 of 14 in the first half) down from 45.0 percent in the first 20 minutes. U-M also held the Blue Jays to 2 of 7 on threes after halftime.
Michigan also became more aggressive offensively, attacking the paint as just 7 of their 25 second-half field goal attempts came outside the arc compared to 16 of 28 in the first half. U-M shot 60.0 percent from the floor in the second half to take a lead and pull away from the Blue Jays,
• Junior Isaiah Livers didn't come off the floor for the Wolverines in the second half, playing all 20 minutes, and shooting 4 of 6 overall with 11 points. His hustle play to go down and get a loose ball midway through the second led to a Brandon Johns Jr. layup and a 62-55 lead at 10:00. The play represented everything U-M did well in the second half and established momentum the Maize and Blue would not relinquish the rest of the contest.
Livers was every bit as instrumental to the success of the night as Simpson and Teske, finishing with a game-high 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting. If this Livers shows up consistently for the Wolverines, along with Simpson and Teske, Michigan will be a very tough to beat.
• Michigan's most effective lineup pairing appears to be a three-guard look with Simpson, Brooks, and sophomore David DeJulius, with Livers and Teske in the frontcourt. That quintet gave Creighton matchup problems and allowed U-M to push pace, both in full court and in half court sets.
DeJulius provided energy and scoring off the bench, contributing nine points on a night the Wolverines' bench had just 13 total.
