When John Beilein switched the Michigan basketball team's starting lineup two weeks ago, he cited looking for better starts as a reason to replace freshman forward Evan Smotrycz with junior guard Stu Douglass.

The Wolverines have started games better, but have received another byproduct: Production from the Michigan bench has fallen off.

Douglass had been the off-the-bench spark midway through halves. He played starter's minutes, but also gave a change of pace to the Wolverines. Since entering the starting lineup, his numbers have remained steady.

But the bench has barely scored. Michigan had seven bench points against Northwestern in the initial game of the switch. That was followed by three against Indiana, seven against Illinois and two against Iowa.

“It’s really a tradeoff,” Beilein said. “There were several times this year that Evan started but didn’t play many more minutes than he’s playing right now. We’d like to get a little something more. Matt Vogrich has to be left open right now to get his shots, or be in transition, and people don’t leave him open because they know he’s deadly.

“It’s got to be rebound baskets. We don’t have a lot of scorers right now. We’re fixing that with recruiting, et cetera, so if they take something away from a few of our guys it’s tough to find something.”

What matters most, though, is the record. Michigan is 3-1 since the switch. The host Wisconsin on Wednesday (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network).

Bartelstein update Sophomore guard Josh Bartelstein has been sidelined with a concussion for the past three weeks, has still not dressed for a game and has barely practiced.

He was scheduled to meet with Michigan neurologist Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher on Tuesday evening to discuss what can be done to try and remedy his issues. Since being concussed during a practice prior to the Iowa game on Jan. 30, Bartelstein has tried unsuccessfully to practice on a few occasions.

“I don’t know enough about that area of injury to really do much other than just keep encouraging him,” Beilein said. “And don’t try to come back too soon.”

Beilein said he stays away from involvement of the actual diagnosis and recovery other than offering support for the Chicago-area native who has traveled but not played.

For Bartelstein, the injury came at a time where he could have ended up seeing some minutes, especially Saturday when four Michigan starters were in foul trouble in the first half.

Officiating questions After almost every game this season, it seems like someone has asked Beilein about officiating or a specific call in the game.

Questions about officials, some of whom work seemingly every day in leagues across the country, are nothing new and Beilein said he has been happy “overall” with the way games have been called this season.

But he feels there has been more review of officials this season than in prior years.

“They are all independent contractors and even though they work Big Ten games, there’s not the same accountability as there is in the NBA when you work in one league,” Beilein said. “As a result, I like that there is more review going on between the officials.

“I shouldn’t say more, but I get the sense there is a lot of review going on to make them better officials.”

Beilein said he doesn’t chart which officials have done the most Michigan games this year and he often doesn’t know who will be officiating games until he walks onto the floor.

According to statsheet.com, Mike Eades, Rick Hartzell and Mark Whitehead have done the most Michigan games this year — five each.

This and that Wisconsin is the only team in the Big Ten that Beilein has not beaten and the Wolverines have lost nine straight to the Badgers. … Jim Jackson will call Wednesday’s game. … Worth noting: Wisconsin is 3-5 on the road this year. … Bo Ryan is 14-4 in his career against Michigan.

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.