[Note: This is coming late because I went to the game with my family, and Alex and Jamie were both unable to cover it]

No, Sanderson wasn't there. No, Dug wasn't able to keep up with the 6'5" guy defensively. No, they didn't fix the turnover issues, play lockdown defense, cover the 20-point spread, or even score more than their opponent in the second half. But Michigan did beat Eastern comfortably and without drama. They did it for the first time all season with head coach Juwan Howard officially back in his position. They also did it for the third time this season with backup PG Jaelin Llewellyn available.

Oh yes, it still looked rickety. Everything from the players' energy on the sideline (good) to Jace's demeanor (also good) to Llewellyn's knee (wobbly) was scrutinized more than the play against a bad MAC opponent. It was all passing.

And yes, that's a dad joke. Michigan had 18 assists to EMU's 7, which accounts for why the home team shot 54 percent from the field and their guests went for 40 percent, including 2/15 from the arc.

[After the JUMP: no more dad jokes, promise]

Will Tschetter started for Michigan and Eastern began the game with two bigs, which looked like a tactical error on Michigan's part. Tschetter was slow to rotate on EMU's volume scorer Tyson Acuff, was unable to corral the rebound that bounced back, and was shot over by EMU's 7-foot center Cyril Marynov for the game's first points. Acuff also made it into the lane and drew a foul on Nimari Burnett. His free throws were the last time the Eagles led, however, as Michigan's defense forced the ball away from Acuff and Michigan's shooters began cycling the ball around the perimeter, where Eastern's atrocious defenders gave up space and Michigan's shooters started sinking triples. The Wolverines sank 8/17 triples in the first half to stake them to a 49-32 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

It was a share-the-ball effort, with five Wolverines scoring in double digits and five registering multiple assists.

Nkamhoua was seeing the floor well. [Campredon]

There was a moment early in the second half when things might have gone sour. Dug McDaniel had picked up a couple of fouls—one light, one legit—near the end of the first half, and then committed his third here while trying to prevent Acuff from driving baseline. Unable to play their PG as tight on Acuff as they liked, Michigan's defense started to loosen. Michigan's lead was still 57-41 coming out of the Under-16 timeout, after Will Tschetter turned down an open-ish three to drive for an and-1. Next possession, Nkamhoua rebounded an Acuff stepback but Acuff poked it out of his hands. EMU found a couple of good looks but couldn't sink them, and their defense tightened, and their bench and families began out-shouting a tepid December Crisler Center that reserved its loudest cheers for Tarris Reed's three made free throw attempts.

Burnett picked up his second and third fouls, and suddenly nobody on Michigan could hold onto the ball or stop Acuff from driving on isolation. A Tray Jackson pass sailed over Burnett, and Acuff sliced through the lane to make it 59-49, then pinked the ball out of Tarris Reed's hands on the inbounds to set up an open triple.

But that missed, Reed collected it, and pushed it upcourt to Llewellyn, who set up a Tray Jackson three. Acuff drove through traffic again, this time setting up a Jihad dunk, but Jihad missed it, Llewellyn grabbed it, and found Reed downcourt for a transition layup. The lead was back to 15, Crisler was back on its feet, and wry-faced Eagles coach Stan Heath had to call a timeout.

All five of Tschetter's points were worth interrupting Pokémon for. [Campredon]

They couldn't stop Acuff from driving after that, but Michigan put its regular lineup back out, EMU put its 7-footer on the bench, and Olivier Nkamhoua put the game away. He set up a late Burnett three, boxed out for a Reed offensive rebound then led to Nkamhoua driving off a fake 2PJ, and a signature elbow jumper after another strong defensive possession to make it 80-61 with 4:02 remaining. Heath called a timeout that became the under-4 media break, and Crisler took its cue to start emptying out. Those who stuck around for the final minutes—and weren't six-year-olds playing on their dads' phones—got to see another authoritative Tschetter rebound. Tschetter's slick drive on the other end was enough to interrupt the six-year-old with a "dijya see that?" It was also enough to hit the 20-point spread with under 2 minutes remaining, and pull the starters.

Tschetter's night was capped at 17 minutes and five points, but he was noticeable. Nkamhoua was too, with five assists, nine rebounds, 17 points, and two blocks to make up for the couple of times he fell asleep at the beginning of possessions. Dug had a rough time with all of EMU's length but sank half of his threes and added four assists, with T-Will failing to convert a needle-threaded wing-to-wing pass late. He and Burnett finished the game with four fouls apiece, but Llewellyn played 16 minutes, contributed a couple of assists, canned a three, and mostly managed to stay in front of his guy. There were signs that a team with better handle and finishers in the frontcourt might have exploited his knee's current state, but simply having him back on the court was a good sign. So was having Jace Howard acting as the energy man on the bench.

President Ono, for one, was happy to see Coach on the sideline again. [Campredon]

Or for that matter, having his father back in charge on the sideline. Before the game, AD Warde Manuel announced Howard's return to full head coaching duties after his heart surgery this summer, and at the same time announced that Michigan's investigation into the matter with Jon Sanderson found nothing worth doing something over.

The return of our usual coaching structure comes after a review of an incident involving several individuals during a team practice last week. Based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved. As such, we will move forward with a focus on our team and our season.”

Sanderson's absence further indicated that Michigan is sticking with its head coach over…whatever that was. Whether the returned head coach can turn around a team with a lot more defensive issues than it was supposed to have will have to be answered against tougher opponents than Eastern Michigan. As to whether this team, with all of that swirling around them, was going to be like last year's in getting into competitive games with MAC teams, the answer is a resounding no. The team starting Will Tschetter has issues, but they're not the same issues that the team starting Jett Howard had.

Michigan travels to Charlotte on Tuesday to face Florida in the Jumpman Invitational.

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