Coming into this season, the Michigan basketball team rested its laurels on its 3-point shooting. As the 3-ball went, so did the Wolverines.

So as the season begins to wind down, it’s clear that Michigan has been consistent of late in just one area ― its defense.

While Michigan continues to have shooting woes from behind the arc, its defense is becoming more and more of a strength. Tuesday night, Michigan held the Spartans to just 57 points while forcing 18 turnovers, converting those into 25 points. In last week's game against Wisconsin, the Wolverines held the Badgers to just 34 percent shooting and Michigan's defense helped them pull off the upset win over then-No. 15 Connecticut.

While some of those turnovers were simply a result of carelessness by the Spartans ― passing the ball out of bounds or lobbing cross-court passes that sailed wide ― the Wolverines did get their hands in the passing lanes and picked off the ball several times.

“That was a big thing just being solid on defense, not taking the gamble," freshman guard Darius Morris said. "But when you see the opportunity to pressure up on your guy or deflect the pass, that was really stressed in practice and I think we really did that today.”

Junior Manny Harris had five steals on the night, including one that flew out of the hands of a Spartan guard and into the backcourt, where Harris easily picked it up and laid it in for two points.

The Wolverines took a two-point lead into halftime largely because of their defense.

“Our defense is really getting up to par,” Morris said. “Big Ten defense, we’re rebounding we’re holding opponents to 20 points in the half, which is really big strides for us.”

While the defense continued to play hard and force turnovers in the second half, it was clear that Michigan State’s athleticism down low gave them a key advantage.

What was troubling for the Wolverines was the ease with which Michigan State was able to get some of its baskets. While the Spartans rarely had open looks from outside, Michigan State forward Raymar Morgan killed the Wolverines down low, scoring a game-high 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting including a seemingly preventable layup in the final minutes that pulled Michigan State within one.

And while the defense made many stops and forced turnovers, it failed when it was needed most. Spartan Kalin Lucas found an opening in Michigan’s 1-3-1 zone and buried the game-winner.

“Our defense is our defense,” Beilein said. “It’s good sometimes or sometimes we’re just either outmanned or they’re stronger or their guy just makes a shot and we miss one. It’s that simple.”

Manny benched: After Beilein announced that Harris was to return to the court against Michigan State, everyone expected him to be a contributor. What they didn’t expect was that he would come off the bench in favor of redshirt junior Anthony Wright.

Harris scored 16 points against the Spartans, nine of which came in the second half, and picked off the Spartans five times.
"It wasn't further penalty, it wasn't anything," Beilein said of Harris coming off the bench. "In the Purdue game when we started out strong, Wright went to the bench and then boom we went down. But it was not a penalty. It was just, 'All right, let's get him coming off the bench and just go in and be Manny in there.' "

Throwing elbows: In the first half of last night’s game, sophomore Laval Lucas-Perry was elbowed by Lucas. The play was similar to the one that led to Harris’s flagrant foul and ejection last season against Purdue when the then-sophomore elbowed the Boilermaker’s Chris Kramer in the nose.

While Lucas wasn't called for a flagrant, Beilein agreed with the call. He simply disagreed with how the situation played out last year.

“It was the exact same thing that happened last year to Manny at Purdue," Beilein said. "They should not be thrown out for that. That’s an offensive foul. That’s the way the call should be made. When you’re making a basketball move and the guy’s face is right there it’s an offensive foul.”

Later in the game, on Michigan State’s final possession, Lucas was kicked in the face when Harris tried to force a turnover before Lucas hit the game winning shot.