Michigan F Isaiah Livers admits players are 'not too excited' to play on Christmas Day
Isaiah Livers was honest when asked about Michigan’s Christmas Day hoops matchup against Nebraska.
On Wednesday, Livers and the Wolverines returned to the court for a game against Toledo. Michigan was originally scheduled to take on NC State as a part of the B1G/ACC Challenge, but the Wolfpack was forced to postpone due to COVID-19 concerns.
As a result, the Wolverines quickly scrambled to set a game against Toledo, a contest that Michigan won by a final score of 91-71. It moved the team to 5-0 with Livers bouncing back from a five-point outing and poor shooting performance against UCF.
Against the Rockets, Livers put up 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting – including 3-for-4 from three-point range – to go with six rebounds, an assist, two steals, and a block. It is the kind of all-around performance head coach Juwan Howard has grown accustomed to from Livers.
After the game, Livers was asked about traveling to Lincoln to play the Huskers on Christmas Day, a change-up from year’s past. Not only will Michigan miss spending Christmas Day with their families, but the Wolverines – and college basketball teams in general – will not be able to return home over the Christmas break due to concerns with COVID-19.
That means teams will be isolated on campuses over the holidays with a number of teams playing on or around Christmas. Livers admitted a lot of players are not super excited about that.
Here is his full response, courtesy of Brendan Quinn with The Athletic:
Here is Isaiah Livers' full answer when asked about Michigan playing on Christmas and the sacrifices of not having a typical holiday break: pic.twitter.com/4Fj2wZMBYg
— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) December 10, 2020