CBB: Michigan bounces back

Michigan basketball has had a strange season to say the least. The Wolverines started the year 7-0 with victories over Iowa State, #6 North Carolina, and #8 Gonzaga en route to winning the Battle 4 Atlantis. Since then, though, Juwan Howard's crew has struggled, going just 6-8. It's not all that surprising, since Michigan has been without leading scorer Isaiah Livers for most of Big Ten play, but there are multiple games that were within reach and the Wolverines came up short for whatever reason.

That was the case when Michigan fell in back-to-back home games versus Penn State (72-63) and #21 Illinois (64-62), which resulted in a four-game losing streak. Things only got worse as Livers was injured again against the Fighting Illini and then senior point guard Zavier Simpson was suspended for their matchup versus Nebraska last week. However, even without Simpson, the Wolverines were able to pull off a road win, 79-68, over the Cornhuskers and it seemed to bring back confidence with it.

Michigan (13-8, 4-6) carried that momentum into another win, a second consecutive one, this time over #25 Rutgers at Madison Square Garden. Simpson returned from suspension, but he wasn't the reason this team took down the Scarlett Knights. Brandon Johns Jr. (20 points, seven rebounds) and Jon Teske stepped up inside and freshman Franz Wagner added 10 points. Howard and his team will try to keep the streak going as they host rival Ohio State (14-7, 4-6) on Tuesday night.

Photo Credit: MGoBlue.