Going into the final home game of the regular season, Michigan coach John Beilein said he wasn’t going to shift the lineup.

Instead, he changed the way his team approached a home game.

Beilein used more of a road-game routine Tuesday before playing Minnesota. With Michigan on spring break, he could do that.

He drilled his players hard for three days before the game. Then, he had a shootaround for them at 11 a.m. on Tuesday and gathered again at 3 p.m.

That’s a usual road game day. 

“I had some concern we practiced too hard at times, whether the legs would be there and would we be able to shoot it,” Beilein said. “We actually did a shootaround today like we were on the road. We never do a shootaround at home, like to save their legs.”

That didn’t seem to be a worry once the game started.

Michigan had its best shooting night of the year - 60.4 percent - and its best 3-point shooting night in a while, going 42.1 percent behind the 3-point line.

Beilein isn’t sure whether it mattered and with practice hour limits imposed by the NCAA if he can have his team do it again before Michigan State on Sunday when it has the same three-day window, but it did give his team one thing.

Belief. For the first time in a while.

“It certainly gives us some kind of confidence in ourselves going into arguably now, if we’re going to have any success in the season, it has to go through Michigan State and it has to go through the Big Ten tournament.”

Senior memories

Three seniors played their final regular season games at Crisler on Tuesday - forwards DeShawn Sims, Anthony Wright and Zack Gibson.

For Gibson, many of his memories centered around games won.

“Beat Duke, beating UConn, things like that were some pretty huge moments,” Gibson
said. “And a lot of fun.”

Sims listed a lot of things Monday he’d likely miss and remember as highlights but when asked after Michigan’s win Tuesday, he said he’d miss the Wolverines’ color - maize.

“Always seeing maize,” Sims said. “Everything is maize here and that Big M and the fans.”

Wright plays again

After playing one minute over the past four games this season, Wright played six minutes in his likely home finale, scoring three points.

He also hit his first shot and received an ovation when he exited the game with 1:06 left.

“It was good because I haven’t really played in three or four games now,” Wright said. “It felt good being out there to hit my first shot off of Manny’s penetration. I was solid on defense, too, but it was nice to see the chemistry on the team was really, really good tonight.”

He said he wasn’t emotional about senior night, though, “not at all. Not emotional at all.”

Play of the day

In the second half with the shot clock winding down, sophomore guard Stu Douglass found himself between a plethora of Minnesota defenders outside the three-point line with nowhere to go.

What transpired was a play that seemed to surprise everyone inside Crisler Arena.
Douglass dribbled back, then spun through three Gophers defenders, pulled up at the free-throw line and swished a jump shot at the shot clock buzzer.

“I was trying to just find any little spot I could,” Douglass said. “I had (Damian) Johnson on me and he’s one of the better defenders in the league if not the best. I was looking for anything. So I tried to go behind-the-back, couldn’t get anywhere and I finally saw a little opening and just went with it.

“Luckily, he didn’t come from behind and block it. Just got enough space to get it off. It was crazy.”

It also gave Michigan a 71-47 lead.

This and that

Wright declined to discuss his future after the game. He has another year of eligibility remaining after this season, but Beilein indicated Monday he won’t be back next season. … With 23 points, Sims moved into 16th place all-time in scoring at Michigan, passing Juwan Howard (1,526 points) and Jimmy King (1,542 points). Next up is Roy Tarpley, at 1,589 points. … With 22 points, Manny Harris moved into 11th all-time in scoring with 1,616 points. He passed No. 12 Daniel Horton (1,614), No. 13 Dion Harris (1,599) and No. 14 Antoine Joubert (1,594)… With three assists, Harris moved into the Top 10 all time with 355, passing King, who had 354.

Michael Rothstein covers University of 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.