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Michigan basketball: 2019-20 season review and 2020-2021 first-look preview

By Rob Wolkenbrod

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 01: Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines looks over at his team during a time out in the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena on March 01, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 01: Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines looks over at his team during a time out in the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena on March 01, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 12: Eli Brooks #55 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines after scoring against the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena on February 12, 2020 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

Michigan basketball experienced some highs and lows in the first year under Juwan Howard, but the future looks bright for the Wolverines moving forward.

The sports world has been turned upside down in recent days by the COVID-19 pandemic. College basketball took a hit, losing its conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament for the men and women. It also stalled Michigan men’s basketball.

The Wolverines finished the 2019-20 season 19-12 (10-10 in Big Ten play). Placing them eighth in the conference, head coach Juwan Howard led an inconsistent first season at the helm, replacing the outgoing John Beilein.

Howard’s bunch started well, opening the season at 7-1, including marquee wins over North Carolina and Gonzaga before December arrived; but that victory over the Bulldogs began a hellacious schedule that dampened the hot beginning.

Illinois, Oregon and Michigan State all proved to be difficult opponents, upending Michigan at the end of the nonconference play and to open Big Ten competition. It resulted in a 12-11 finish to the season, sending Michigan down the conference standings and diminishing its chances at a tournament bid.

If the NCAA Tournament happened, Michigan would have been a bubble team. While most of the year featured .500 play, defeating Gonzaga early was a résumé booster and toppling the Spartans in a second matchup, along with playing in an often-rewarded Power Five conference. The committee could have seen that through, especially with facing more than a handful of ranked teams.

The Wolverines, however, probably don’t make it far in a hypothetical tournament. As a double-digit seed, they either have a play-in game and/or a difficult matchup with a region’s top team. While the team had a remarkably balanced scoring attack, there was no singular player to take over a game. In the crunch time of March Madness, that could have been a hindrance.

Hypotheticals aside, there is much to ponder from Michigan’s 2019-20 season. Let’s look back at the campaign that was.