Michigan played one game without Zavier Simpson, four games without Franz Wagner and 10 games without Isaiah Livers.
But on Thursday night, the Wolverines learned how bad life can get without Eli Brooks.
U-M's other starting guard sat out the 81-74 loss at home to Wisconsin with a broken nose suffered last Saturday at Purdue. And his absence had a noticeable impact on the game.
"That guy is an Army Swiss Knife," said coach Juwan Howard. "Today we missed him not only on the defensive end but also offensively, being able to just keep our offense running at a nice, smooth pace.