The feeling of comfort has been notably absent from the Michigan basketball team throughout the nonconference season.

And as the Wolverines’ confidence waned with each of their six early-season losses, perhaps the most important thing gained from Michigan’s 73-64 win over No. 15 Ohio State was the team's realization that it still has the ability to think clearly in critical moments.

Sophomore guard Stu Douglass is at the center of this positive trend for Michigan this season. The Carmel, Ind. native tallied nine points, four rebounds and no turnovers in Sunday’s victory, his fourth consecutive game as a starter. In that span, Douglass has been slowly earning back his sniper reputation, nailing 14 of his past 29 shots from behind the arc, while shooting 44.7 percent overall.

It’s taken the better part of 13 games, but Douglass finally has a firm grasp on what Michigan coach John Beilein expects from him in the offense: letting the offense run through its progressions, smarter individual shot selection and having a short memory during a cold streak.

Those simple tasks all add up to an overarching mentality — thinking less on the court.

“The focus has been on the team a little bit, and that helps,” Douglass said. “You just try to think about what their players are trying to do on offense, where Manny (Harris) is going to be, where DeShawn (Sims) is going to be and where are we going to be on defense.

“That helps me, (because) instead of putting pressure on myself to play, I just play because I know where everything else is going to happen.”

It was also something that translated into Douglass' defensive game.

Twelve minutes into the contest, everything for Ohio State happened through junior guard Jon Diebler, who torched the Wolverines early with four triples and 14 quick points, despite Michigan coach John Beilein throwing four different players at him. The Buckeyes’ chief sharpshooter consistently found open looks off a litany of picks and double-screens, and was having by far his best game in six contests without Ohio State’s star swingman Evan Turner.

But then, Michigan coaching staff assigned Douglass to guard Diebler the entire second half — with surprisingly great results. Not known for his defensive prowess by any means, Douglass guarded Diebler off the ball much tougher up close and more aggressively after halftime. Diebler shot just 1-for-5 in the final 20 minutes.

“We made the switch (on Diebler) because, we get back, I’m supposed to be the first one back on transition defense,” Douglass said. “So the point guard usually brings it up and Laval (Lucas-Perry usually) picks him up, so we just made the switch and it worked.”

Overnight Discipline After committing 23 personal fouls and allowing 29 free throw attempts in its loss at Indiana on Dec. 31, the Wolverines’ defense took an encouraging step forward against the Buckeyes, particularly in the second half. Michigan held Ohio State to just 11-of-39 shooting (28.2 percent) in the final frame, taking just seven fouls in the process. The Wolverines were whistled just 12 times on the night, a stat which Michigan coach John Beilein seemed relieved to have had mentioned to him after the game.

“When we were in Indiana, we got in foul trouble very quickly,” Beilein said. “I think (our players) saw the effect of it. When you get in foul trouble, you’re on your heels because they’re going to drive it at you and drive it at you. So we were good at not fouling (tonight). Still, you also can’t foul and give easy layups, so that mix is what you’re looking for right now.”

Keep calling the reserves Though it was a minor lift, Michigan did find some offense off their bench from freshmen guards Darius Morris and Matt Vogrich. The two combined for 4-of-6 shooting, nine points and five rebounds.

Those nine points accounted for all the bench scoring the Wolverines would need on a night when Harris and Sims dominated the Buckeyes with a combined 52 points. Nevertheless, it has become apparent that the secondary scoring will have to improve exponentially in Big Ten play for Michigan to have any shot at turning its season around. In Michigan’s past six games, the foursome of Morris, Vogrich, fifth-year senior Zach Gibson and redshirt junior Anthony Wright have combined for just 19-of-53 shooting from the field.