Following a Dug McDaniel missed layup, Nebraska’s Keisei Tominaga dribbled past midcourt and studied the situation. Michigan center Tarris Reed Jr. stood at the top of the key, flanked by teammates. The positioning appeared sound, but the effort was woeful. Tominaga simply dribbled around Reed and directly to the basket for an uncontested layup.
That was just one instant in Sunday’s regular-season-concluding flop against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, an 85-70 decision at Crisler Center.
X (Twitter) users replied Sunday to the defense-less defeat that plunged Michigan’s men’s basketball program to its lowest point in 107 years …
Fire Juwan Howard on the spot. pic.twitter.com/nbpBgHilAU
— The Walmart Wolverine (@TheWalMartWolv) March 10, 2024
Sunday started as a festive occasion, but it ended with the Wolverines falling to 8-23 overall, 3-17 Big Ten. The collapse is nearly complete. The 14th-seeded squad will face No. 11 Penn State In the first round of the conference tournament Wednesday …
Sunday is Senior Day for T-Will, Jaelin, Jackson & Nimari! Get your tix now and arrive early to celebrate with us!
🎫 | https://t.co/BWSGDv5qCZ#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/p7BCaJHrIr
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) March 7, 2024
Michigan coach Juwan Howard has faced rapid-fire criticism on social media. The program did not endure a five-game losing streak in more than a decade, but suffered three prolonged stretches this season. The Wolverines dropped 18 of their final 20 regular-season outings …
Is this the end of the road for Juwan Howard on the Michigan sideline? pic.twitter.com/Sp7MYxo1tF
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) March 10, 2024
But Howard, who underwent heart surgery at the start of the season, will return next season with a new-look roster. Surely, he will attack the transfer portal. He also intends to welcome two signees, four-star guard Christian Anderson Jr and three-star guard Durral Brooks, and four-star power forward Khani Rooths, who remains a “hard commit,” according to On3.com …
6’0 PG 4⭐️🥇Christian Anderson Jr @TeamJudahNation in @PRO16League
⭐️3-1 Wichita, KS
⭐️20 PPG, 4.5 APG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG✅26 Pts,2 Asts vs Select (ESPN#77 Liam Campbell)
❌13 Pts,7 Asts vs 1Family (ESPN#16 Asa Newell)
✅20 Pts,4 Asts vs Tulsa
✅20 Pts,5 Asts vs EAD pic.twitter.com/EWT6ojHVAl— Christian Anderson Sr. (@cocabasketball) May 2, 2023
After honoring the seniors, McDaniel started strong Sunday, hitting his first of five first-half 3-pointers 1:36 into the game as U-M built an 8-2 lead. The sophomore point guard started 5-for-5 from the field, including 4-for-4 from deep. He finished with 17 points, but the Wolverines shot just 24.1 percent in the second half …
@thedougmcdaniel is feeling it! pic.twitter.com/3mShi6tFuX
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) March 10, 2024
The Cornhuskers didn’t blink. They opened the second half with five consecutive layups, a few without being contested. They utilized a 16-2 run to increase their lead to 70-50 with 13:17 remaining …
Keisei being Keisei pic.twitter.com/akDDky5juR
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) March 10, 2024
The win in Ann Arbor, Mich., was a program first for the Cornhuskers, who were led by Tominaga’s 30 points. They took advantage of a poor defensive team. U-M’s KenPom defensive efficiency rating of 107.1 was a low mark since the statistic was introduced in 1999. That helped explain why the Wolverines failed to win consecutive contests against high major clubs all season …
This is March. pic.twitter.com/zm8BATiZAl
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) March 10, 2024
Some Huskers’ fans were conflicted Sunday. While the women’s program competed in the conference final, the men’s club qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014 and second since 1998 …
Busy morning we are watching Nebraska women's in the championship game @HuskerWBB and Nebraska men's @HuskerMBB play at Michigan. My girl's 2 fav players are Jaz @JazShelley from Australia and Kesei @KeiseiTominaga from Japan. I'm chewing my bone. 😂 #GBR #Huskers pic.twitter.com/YHCHNYMwMm
— 🍖Arie Bear🍖 (@ArieDoodle) March 10, 2024
Sunday may have been intended to be a festive occasion, but it ended up being another empty effort, in more ways than one. The Wolverines finished last in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967. Howard sounded defiant, as reported by the Detroit Free Press: “We’re going to grind like no other this summer to work on getting better and getting back to what a lot of the Michigan basketball fans have been used to, and that’s winning. This hasn’t been the season we wanted” …
Senior Day ceremony at Michigan – about 15 minutes before tipoff vs Nebraska pic.twitter.com/0eVSFNOkFn
— Larry Lage (@LarryLage) March 10, 2024
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