Michigan basketball will need to overcome its weaknesses with the effort shown in a loss to Virginia

Juwan Howard’s fourth Michigan basketball team has some holes, to the point that it can’t just show up and expect to win even against overmatched opponents. We’ve already seen that a number of times this year (Arizona State, overtime win vs. Ohio, etc.).

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Tuesday night’s game against No. 3 Virginia wasn’t that, obviously. The Cavaliers are disciplined, efficient, and tough defensively, and you need to bring your best effort to beat them.

In that respect, give Michigan credit. The Wolverines played extremely hard from minute one to minute 40. But critical mistakes down the stretch cost them in a 70-68 loss, and against teams like Virginia, it’s going to take effort and great execution to win.

The latter will be there some nights, not on others. But there’s no excuse for anything but the all-out Michigan gave Tuesday night, and it needs to continue if the Wolverines are going to have a good season.

“The way we competed, the effort that we brought for 40 minutes … that’s the great positive you can take away from this game,” Howard said. “To see the energy our fans brought tonight at a late game, at 9:30, that’s another great positive. We have that kind of turn out with folks, the way they cheered tonight and being supportive, it fed life into our group.

“You’re going to see a lot of great, positive things coming from this team.”

But only if they bring it like they did Tuesday. The first half game plan, especially, was outstanding, playing through center Hunter Dickinson and running some cutting action and motion off his passing ability. It helps, of course, when you shoot 53 percent from long range, too, but the looks were there because of a well-constructed offense.

Defensively, they played to take away the three-point line, and they did. The Cavaliers got several easy looks at the rim, though, and in the paint, that made the difference.

On the other end, Michigan simply had too many empty possessions in the second half. Dickinson rushed a few at the rim he’d normally make. Point guard Jaelin Llewellyn, who struggles to get around quicker defenders and picks up his dribble too often, had a critical turnover late that led to an intentional foul and helped secure the Virginia win. Michigan suffered 8 of them in the second half.

The Wolverines’ improvement and ceiling this year starts and ends with better point guard play.

“He saw a window to throw it to Jett [Howard],” Howard said. “Unfortunately, a defender stepped in and deflected the ball.

“Guys took some shots that normally sometimes you make. Hunter has made that running hook before. He’s worked on it. The turnover down the stretch … yes, it hurts. Overall, that’s not the reason why we lost the ball game, nor would I ever come up here and point the finger.”

And there was a lot to like, too. Llewellyn hit some shots, and the Wolverines looked well-prepared.

At the same time, a performance like that makes you question where the intensity was in the games before. It’s only a positive if it continues in every play of every game going forward. This isn’t the NBA. There are no defense optional nights, or possessions that don’t matter. Every possession counts, and valuing and realizing that will be the key for this team going forward.

It won’t win them every game, but it can help make up for the shortcomings. And you hope guys like Llewellyn, sophomore Kobe Bufkin (who played very well in stretches Tuesday) and Dug McDaniel continue to progress.

“I’m really proud of how our guys competed tonight. We could have easily held our heads down when they came out in the second half and made a run,” Howard said. “But we stayed the course and continued to keep competing and did not get down, kept a strong mindset. We made plays when we had to make plays. It’s unfortunate in the game of basketball, sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”

Kentucky is up next Saturday, and another opportunity. It’s a critical, early season game for the Wolverines — and it’s going to require every bit the effort they gave Tuesday.

Howard needs to make it clear it’s not optional. If they come with heat, they can compete.

“College basketball, you have to play tough teams. You always face good teams, and we faced a good one tonight,” Howard said. “Unfortunately, we came up short.

“But we take away a lot of really good things that happened in this ball game. When we come out with the effort we did today for 40 minutes, I love our chances against any college team in the country.”