It may not have been the most beautiful basketball game. It had many of the hallmarks of Michigan's recent losing streak. It came against the worst team in the conference. It featured too many turnovers, missed open shots, and defensive blow-bys.

Tonight, though, it hardly matters how Michigan came by a win. Playing on the road without suspended Zavier Simpson and injured Isaiah Livers, they needed to find a way to get by, and an unlikely group did just that and even covered the KenPom spread. Sure, Nebraska is bad, but Juwan Howard was forced into putting out some, let's say, unusual lineups.

Eli Brooks led the team in points (20), rebounds (9), and assists (4); his three-point marksmanship in the first half kept Michigan in the game when the rest of the team was struggling to make a shot. Brooks finished 4-for-10 from beyond the arc; the rest of the team went a combined 3-for-14.

Brandon Johns, ever the wild card, stepped back into the starting lineup for Livers and played arguably his best game as a Wolverine. Johns scored a career-high 16 points on only nine shot equivalents, pulled down three of his seven rebounds on offense, had an emphatic block, and produced one of the game's highlights with an and-one finish off a nifty feed from Jon Teske:

BRANDON JOHNS, THAT MAN HAS A FAMILY pic.twitter.com/PC4b7gRvK2

— Big Ten Geek (@bigtengeek) January 29, 2020

Four turnovers, mostly coming against double teams, didn't prevent Johns from showing a lot of promise at just the right time.

Franz Wagner had an uneven game that ultimately came out for the good. In a significant role change, he initiated a lot of offense to mixed results; he was 7-for-10 on twos with some impressive finishes in the lane, but he also committed six turnovers and went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. In a game that didn't feature great offense on either end, however, Wagner's ability to generate his own buckets was critical down the stretch. He drew a late technical foul after pinning Kevin Cross's shot off the glass and trash talking him on the way back down the court; it was totally worth it and provoked a righteous Dan Dakich rant about letting the kids play.

For a while, Cross was one of the primary players making this game feel all too familiar. The backup center, normally a 29% three-point shooter, made his first three long range attempts in addition to a stepback jumper with his foot on the line; even after fading late, he finished with 17 points on 12 shooting possessions. Point guard Cam Mack, meanwhile, led the Huskers with 19 points and nine assists; even though he shot 5-for-7 on threes, he left several points on the floor in the second half when he cruised past Michigan defenders but couldn't finish at the rim.

The ability to finish around the basket and/or draw contact proved the difference in this game. Michigan shot 14-for-18 in the restricted area and made 16-of-24 free throws; Nebraska went 11-for-24 and 7-for-12, respectively, in those same categories. When the Huskers weren't creating open layups with backdoor cuts, they couldn't finish over Teske (9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals), Johns, and Wagner. Michigan's length gave them a significant advantage and they capitalized.

Howard kept a tight bench with his team shorthanded. David DeJulius struggled in 33 minutes replacing Simpson at the point, going 1-for-7 from the field. With Cole Bajema apparently not an option, Adrien Nunez (3 points, 1/6 3P) and CJ Baird (one rebound away from a trillion) each saw eight minutes, with the walk-on Baird playing all of his during the first half of a close contest. Colin Castleton and Austin Davis each had solid four-minute stints, but Teske's presence was vital to keep the team running smoothly. Wagner, whose first-half foul trouble induced Baird's entry, was the only starter to play fewer than 32 minutes.

Given the circumstances, it's hard to get caught up in the negatives from this game. They were simply more obstacles for Michigan to overcome. The status of both Simpson and Livers is still unknown at the moment with the Wolverines heading to Madison Square Garden for Saturday's "home" game against Rutgers, which will provide a tougher test even if one or both is able to return to the court.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]