Michigan picked up a necessary win over Lipscomb on Saturday evening, but it didn’t make things easy on itself.
The Wolverines struggled to get stops all night against the Bisons’ Princeton-style offense. They gave up back cut after back cut and found themselves down by four points on their home floor with just over four minutes to play.
In the end, Dug McDaniel, Kobe Bufkin and Hunter Dickinson had enough to the tank for a late 11-0 run to help the Wolverines escape with an 83-75 win. It was a victory that flashed the offensive upside that Michigan has, but reiterated how many defensive issues are in the way of turning that potential into something more.
Kobe Bufkin led the Wolverines with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting in his best game of the season, while Jett Howard chipped in 19. The Wolverine freshman with the ball in his hands more often than he has throughout most of the season and filled up the scoring column while only making one triple.
It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was a win that keeps the season moving forward ahead of a marquee pre-Christmas game on Wednesday.