Takeaways from Michigan's road victory over Washington

The No. 4 Michigan Wolverines bounced back from its first loss of the season against Wisconsin this past weekend with a victory over Washington on Wednesday night on the road to move to 15-1 (5-1 Big Ten) on the season.

Here are some takeaways from the win.

Morez Johnson Jr. provides big spark with energy down low

Coming off a game where the Wolverines' bigs were spread out by Wisconsin's perimeter shooting, the Wolverines seemed to try to make it a point to take advantage of their size down low against the Huskies.

Washington held strong in the paint in a lot of ways, but from the jump, Johnson was active on the glass and was a factor in both scoring the basketball and on the glass while nearly recording a double-double in the first half.

Jan 14, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies guard Zoom Diallo (5) shoots the ball while guarded by Michigan Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Johnson's 16 rebounds were a career-high as he also finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Mara ultra efficient on the offensive end

Fellow big man Aday Mara is tough to handle when he catches the ball deep in the paint, as he usually finishes down low when he catches it deep.

Mara did a good job of winning position against the Washington bigs more times than not, but the Wolverines did a nice job at getting him open looks by getting into the paint, drawing help and dishing passes off to him for easy buckets.

Aday Mara puts it away 💪 @umichbball

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/ITVPormeIW
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 15, 2026

Mara finished with 20 points in 23 minutes on 10-of-11 shooting, but only secured two rebounds as Michigan will need him to be more effective on the glass when he's in the game.

Elliot Cadeau finds foul trouble for second straight game

Against Wisconsin, Cadeau picked up two fouls and had to come out of the game in the first half after the Wolverines took a 14 point lead as the Badgers made a big run while he was on the bench.

In this one, Cadeau picked up two quick fouls during the latter part of the first half due to the Wolverines switching him onto bigger players and Cadeau grabbing off the ball.

Then, Cadeau picked up his fourth with 6:57 to go on a questionable call. Dusty May and the Wolverines need him to stay out of foul trouble for the offense to operate as efficiently as they want it to.

Even though Cadeau didn't score in the game, he was the Wolverines' leader in assists with six and helps give the offense structure even when he isn't scoring when he's at his best.

While choppy at times, Michigan started to find rhythm on both ends

Any win on the road in the Big Ten, especially coming off of a loss, is certainly a good one, especially against a Washington team that came in playing solid basketball over its past few games.

However, the Wolverines still aren't quite clicking on all cylinders while still going through some shooting woes, only hitting 5 of its 23 three-point attempts on Wednesday.

In the second half, the Wolverines were able to get to the rim off several ball screen actions on their way to shooting over 60% from the field in the final 20 minutes as they started to find an offensive groove.

Jan 14, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies guard Zoom Diallo (5) shoots the ball over Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

On the defensive end, Michigan put in a much better effort than it did against the Badgers while holding Washington to under 40% shooting from the field.

There were still some communication breakdowns, particularly when Michigan allowed guard Quimari Patterson to get hot from the three-point line for a spell (who finished with 13 points), but overall, it was a solid defensive effort for the Wolverines.

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