2019-20 presbyterian

In a game that saw Michigan tripling its opponent's point total for most of the first half and doubling them up until the final possessions, the most notable event occurred only seven minutes into the game. Isaiah Livers, Michigan's leading scorer, strained a muscle in what appeared to be his groin area while getting fouled on an awkward-looking dunk attempt.

Although Livers stayed in to make the free throws, he exited to the locker room afterwards and was quickly ruled out of the game. Juwan Howard couldn't provide an update immediately after the game:

Asked Juwan Howard for an update on Isaiah Livers. Says he doesn’t have one; does not know the specific muscle that Livers strained. Also said he hopes it isn’t too serious.

— Orion Sang (@orion_sang) December 21, 2019

Thankfully, the Wolverines don't play again for another eight days, and they don't face a difficult opponent until January 5th when they restart conference play at Michigan State. So long as the Livers injury is minor, it shouldn't have a significant impact on the season.

David DeJulius provided instant offense off the bench again [Rankin]

It certainly didn't have much impact on this game, as Presbyterian spent most of the afternoon struggling to nudge their made field goal total (17, with a late flurry) over their turnover total (13). Michigan, on the other hand, had 11 different players score points, led by Eli Brooks with 16 and Jon Teske with 15. David DeJulius needed only eight shots to score his 12, while Zavier Simpson controlled play with nine points and nine assists.

The loss of Livers, Brandon Johns's absence due to an illness—he was on the bench in street clothes, so it doesn't seem to be too bad—and the overmatched opponent opened up opportunities for some other wings to get more time than usual. Franz Wagner (3 points, 1/3 FG) had a quiet day. Adrien Nunez had five points on 2/4 shooting before fouling out in 13 minutes, while freshman Cole Bajema looked quite comfortable putting in nine points on five shot equivalents.

Michigan will get a nice holiday break before hosting UMass-Lowell on the 29th. Hopefully Livers is good to go by then, or at least close.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]

THE ESSENTIALS

THE US

Seth's graphic [click to embiggen]:

Michigan gets a two-game holiday cupcake break after seven straight games against KenPom top-50 competition. Presbyterian is the #337 team on KenPom; the following game is against #229 UMass-Lowell on December 29th. As a reminder, there are 353 teams in Division I. This will be a time to work on execution, development, and recouping some energy after a tough stretch.

THE LINEUP CARD

Seth's graphic [click to embiggen]:

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