One of the first encouraging signs came midway through the first half in Michigan’s first game at the Big Ten tournament.

That’s when big man Danny Wolf and point guard Tre Donaldson ran pick-and-roll action from the top of the key. Wolf got the ball, shot-faked, drew two Purdue defenders and threw a pass over to Donaldson for a deep 3-pointer.

Donaldson’s reaction said it all.

“Tre hit that first 3, I just saw a big smile on his face, and I knew he was going to keep going,” Wolf said after Friday’s 86-68 win over Purdue, the first of three victories on the way to capturing the conference tournament title.

“I saw more smiles from my teammates than I’ve seen in a while, which is awesome.”

Things didn’t just look different for the Wolverines, who had limped into the postseason on a three-game skid. Things felt different before they ever stepped on the Gainbridge Fieldhouse court.

During the four-day gap between Michigan’s regular-season finale and Big Ten tournament opener, the team had two of its best practices in months. The sessions were as competitive and as physical as they’ve been this season. The mood shifted and the spirits went up.

“The energy in the locker room — I feel like everybody is much more connected and confident in each other,” guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said. “I feel like we’re rolling right now.”

And now is the best time for that to be happening, with Michigan riding its tournament title run into Thursday’s March Madness matchup against UC San Diego in Denver.

For the Wolverines to be at their best, they need every player to be at his best. After relying on 7-footers Vlad Goldin and Wolf to carry the load much of the past month, Michigan’s backcourt stepped up and raised their level of play.

For starters, there’s Donaldson, who wasn’t pleased with his performance the past couple of weeks. He bounced back by scoring in double figures in all three Big Ten tournament wins. He came away with several 50-50 balls and had a hot stretch against Purdue. He dished out a season-best nine assists against Maryland. He did much of the damage in the decisive 11-2 run in the closing minutes against Wisconsin.

Most notably and importantly, he delivered in crunch time. He scored two clutch baskets in the final 28 seconds against Maryland, including the game-winner on a last-second layup. He drilled a lead-changing 3-pointer with 1:54 to go and made two critical free throws after grabbing a key defensive rebound late against Wisconsin.

“He took control when he needed to take control. That’s what point guards do,” guard Rubin Jones said of Donaldson. “I’ve been telling him you’ve got to get back to yourself. Tre’s best way is when he’s playing with energy, kind of talking to the (other) team, talking crazy. That’s what fuels him to get going.

“I told him to try to get back to that. I’m on him if I don’t see that. If he makes a wide-open layup and he doesn’t say nothing, I’m like, ‘Bro, come on. Get back to you.’ That’s who Tre is. He got back to that.”

Gayle snapped a 13-game, 0-for-18 drought from beyond the arc against Maryland, knocking down his first 3-pointer since Jan. 24. He joked that he didn’t know how to react when he made that shot because it had been so long since he’d seen one drop.

While Michigan coach Dusty May said the best part is seeing Gayle “having fun hooping again,” that deep ball wasn’t the play that stood out to him. Rather, it was when Gayle got into what May described as a “rugby scrum” and helped strip the ball away from the Terrapins.

Gayle, who suffered a hamstring injury against Wisconsin, brushed off the stress and pressure he put on himself worrying about his shooting numbers and “let that burden go.” He put an emphasis on making the little plays that make a big difference, like the one May referenced.

“Conversations with coaches and the respect I got from my teammates goes a long way to where I know that they’re confident in me, and I give all I have and lose myself in the game,” Gayle said.

“Coach came to me and said he needed me to play hard. He kind of questioned if I do play hard. I had to prove him wrong. … I feel like I needed to give a lot more, whether that’s on the glass or running in transition.”

Then there’s Jones and freshman LJ Cason, who both entered the postseason shooting below 25% from 3-point range. Against Purdue, Jones stepped into and drained two 3-pointers. For the first time in a long time, he simply let it fly and shot without thinking twice.

With freshman Justin Pippen in concussion protocol and not making the trip to Indianapolis, Michigan needed more from Cason. He answered with a season-high five assists against Purdue and a season-high five boards against Wisconsin. He was aggressive on offense. And when the Badgers started to pull away in the second half of Sunday’s low-scoring title game, Cason hit two 3-pointers that kept the Wolverines in it.

“Me, Roddy, LJ, we haven’t been shooting the best, but we came into this tournament like it’s a new season for us and we’re going to shoot the ball with confidence,” Jones said. “Going into March Madness, that’s perfect for us.”

Confidence is key, and it’s a word that came up frequently in the postgame locker room. It’s also something that grew and reached an “all-time high,” according to guard Nimari Burnett, as Michigan ripped off three wins in different ways against strong competition in the Big Ten tournament.

It was quite the quick reversal, going from a disappointing finish in the regular season to a thrilling start in the postseason.

“We got knocked down a notch. Then our guys showed up the last week with a reinvigorated mindset,” May said. “When you put in the work and believe in yourself and you have teammates and a staff that believes in you, I think good things typically happen more times than not.

“It’s a group that didn’t waver with their conviction to work and stand together. … For them to have the renewed energy, it just shows what type of guys they are.”

But the Wolverines didn’t necessarily find anything new in Indianapolis. They recaptured their swagger and mentality that Donaldson described as “we’re going to be the biggest dogs, not the small dogs” on the court.

As Wolf put it, the Wolverines know what they’re capable of. They showed it earlier in the season. They simply “got back to our old form.”

That’s a positive sign as they ride a wave of momentum into the NCAA Tournament and the most exciting time of the year.

“We re-found our sense of unselfishness, our sense of playing hard, a little bit of our sense of pace and our sense of physicality most importantly,” forward Will Tschetter said.

“We needed to get back and rediscover our identity. That’s exactly what we did, and we need to continue to stay true to that.”