Nothing But ‘Net – Week #18 – 02/10/2025 – Winning The Close Ones

The (#24) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Wednesday (02/05/2025), they beat Oregon 80-76 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/08/2025), they beat Indiana 70-67 in Bloomington.   Michigan’s record is now 18-5 (10-2 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

As you can see, both of Michigan’s wins this week were very close.  In fact, Michigan has now won four games in a row, all by either 3 or 4 points:

  • 01/27/2025 – Michigan 76 Penn State 72
  • 02/01/2025 – Michigan 66 Rutgers 63
  • 02/05/2025 – Michigan 80 Oregon 76
  • 02/08/2025 – Michigan 70 Indiana 67

The wins this week were both big: the Oregon game since Oregon had been ranked (#16) the week before, and the Indiana game since any win on the road in the Big Ten is a big deal, but even bigger since Michigan hasn’t won very often in Bloomington.

It’s great that Michigan is winning these close games now, since they lost 4 close games earlier in the season:

  • 11/10/2024 – Michigan 70 Wake Forest 72
  • 12/10/2024 – Michigan 87 Arkansas 89
  • 12/18/2024 – Michigan 86 (#14) Oklahoma 87
  • 01/16/2025 – Michigan 81 Minnesota 84 (overtime)

The only frustrating thing about all those losses is that Michigan had comfortable leads in all of them, and let all the leads melt away to make the games close at the end.

Game Flow

The Oregon game was close most of the time.  Oregon jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead at the 16:19 mark, but Michigan fought back and finally took the lead (10-9) with 13:07 to go.  The lead went back and forth for the next couple minutes, and Oregon was ahead 16-15 with 10:27 left.  Michigan went on a quick 11-0 run to go up 26-16 at the 8:25 mark, and they kept the lead in the 7-9 point range for the next 5 minutes.  With 3:19 to go in the half, Michigan still led by 7 points (37-30), but Oregon went on a 6-0 run to get within a point, 37-36, with 2:07 to go.  Fortunately, Michigan scored the last 4 points of the half, and led 41-36 at halftime.

Michigan started the 2nd half strong, and pushed their lead to 14 points (64-50) at the 12:21 mark.  They kept the lead in the 10-12 point range for the next few minutes, and they were up 10 points (70-60) with 8:52 to go.  At this point, Oregon made their move.  They cut the deficit down to 2 points (74-72) with 2:45 left, and the game was close the rest of the way.  Michigan pushed their slim lead to 3 or 4 points a couple times, but Oregon got back within 2 points each time: 76-74 with 49 seconds left, and 78-76 with 15 seconds to go.  Michigan made their free throws, and hung on for a 4 point win.

Michigan never trailed in the IU game.  There were a few ties in the early going (2-2, 5-5, and 16-16), but once Michigan went ahead 19-16 at the 10:57 mark, they opened up a nice 16 point lead (35-19) with 5:53 to go in the half.  Michigan kept the lead in the 14-16 point range for the rest of the half, leading by 16 at halftime, 43-27.

The 2nd half started out OK, with Michigan keeping their lead in the 15-17 point range for the first few minutes.  With 17:18 left, Michigan was still up by 17 points, 49-32, and then they just went cold.  Over the next 7+ minutes, IU went on a 20-4 run to get within 1 point (53-52) at the 9:30 mark.  The rest of the game was a nail-biter.  Michigan built up a small lead again (59-52) with 6:56 to go, but IU went on a 7-0 run to tie it up, 59-59, with 4:08 left.  Michigan went ahead again, 66-61, at the 1:25 mark, but IU got back within 2 points (66-64) with 12 seconds left.  Michigan made their free throws, and got the stop they needed, to build up an insurmountable 70-64 lead with 2 seconds left, so it didn’t matter that IU hit a 70-foot shot at the buzzer to make it a 3 point game.  Only the gamblers cared about that.

Stats

The stats for the Oregon game were just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (27-for-63 = 42.9%), they shot 3-pointers decently (9-for-27 = 33.3%), and they shot free throws well (17-for-21 = 81.0%).  They tied in the rebounding battle (38-38), and lost the turnover battle (15-12).  For the 2nd game in a row, they won this game at the free throw line.  They scored 17 points at the free throw line vs. 9 (for 11) for Oregon.

The stats for the Indiana game were mediocre.  Michigan shot decently overall (24-for-54 = 44.4%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5-for-21 = 23.8%), and they shot free throws very well (17-for-20 = 85.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (37-30), but lost the turnover battle (12-7).  For the 3rd game in a row, they won this game at the free throw line.  They scored 17 points at the free throw line vs. 11 (for 15) for Indiana.  A note about the 3-point shooting in this game: Michigan was hot in the 1st half (5-for-12 = 41.7%) and ice cold in the 2nd half (0-for-9), which is why IU was able to come back and make it close.

Who Started?

The starters for the Oregon game were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny WolfRubin Jones started in place of Gayle for the Indiana game.  Gayle played in the IU game, but he lost his starting position due to poor production.

Who Looked Good?

Wolf was the 2nd leading scorer in the Oregon game, with 15 points, and the leading scorer in the IU game, with 20 points.  He also had 12 rebounds vs. Oregon, for another double-double.  He almost had a double-double vs. IU, with 9 rebounds.

Goldin was tied for the 2nd leading scorer in the both games, with 15 and 18 points.

Wait; if Wolf and Goldin were tied for 2nd high scorer in the Oregon game, who was the high scorer?  Will Tschetter, with 17 points!  He also chipped in 4 points in the Indiana game.

Donaldson had a decent game vs. Oregon (12 points) and was tied with Goldin as the 2nd leading scorer in the IU game, with 18 points.  He shot decently in the IU game (7-for-15 overall, 2-for-7 from deep), but not so well in the Oregon game (5-for-14 overall, 2-for-7 from deep).

Burnett had one good game (13 points) vs. Oregon, and one lousy game (3 points) vs. Indiana.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Gayle had a decent game vs. Oregon (8 points), but still lost his starting spot.  He responded with a terrible game vs. Indiana (2 points).  This is not good.

Jones had a terrible game vs. Oregon (0 points), but replaced Gayle in the starting lineup for the IU game.  He responded with a terrible game vs. IU (3 points).  This is not good.  Michigan has a problem at small forward, since both Gayle and Jones are playing poorly.

Who Else Played?

Sam Walters chipped in 0 and 2 points off the bench.

Justin Pippen played in both games.  He didn’t attempt a shot vs. Oregon, and he missed his only shot attempt vs. Indiana.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks, L.J. Cason, and Jace Howard were the scholarship players who didn’t play.

None of the Scout Team players played: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

Remember two weeks ago (after Purdue thrashed Michigan) when I said that Michigan could forget about contending for the Big Ten title, and that Michigan State was running away with it?  How quickly things can change!  MSU went out west and lost to USC and UCLA (both teams that Michigan beat, out there), and suddenly Michigan is in the thick of a pennant race.  Purdue is in 1st place at 11-2, and Michigan and Michigan State are tied for 2nd place at 10-2.  Everyone else has at least 4 losses.  Since Michigan plays Purdue and Michigan State (and Ohio State) in the next 2 weeks, the standings will probably change quite a bit.

At this point, Michigan probably already has enough wins to get into the NCAA Tournament, but they can hold onto a good seed (currently projected at 5 or 6) by continuing to win games.  They can also help themselves to a good seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Tuesday (02/11/2025, 7:00 p.m., Peacock), they play (#7) Purdue in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (02/16/2025, 1:00 p.m., CBS), they play at Ohio State.

Purdue is currently 19-5 (11-2 in Big Ten).  Michigan last played them on 01/24/2025, and got thrashed 91-64.  Since then, Purdue has won 3 games against lower-division teams (Indiana, Iowa, and USC).  Michigan can beat Purdue in Crisler, but they will need to play their best game of the season.  They certainly can’t let Purdue run out to a 20-point lead in the first 9 minutes like they did last game.

Ohio State is currently 14-10 (6-7 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#19) Texas, (#4) Kentucky, (#11) Purdue, and (#18) Maryland, and unimpressive losses to Pittsburgh, Indiana, and Nebraska.  They have one noteworthy player (Bruce Thornton), and a lot of height: one 6’10” player and two 7’1” players.  This is going to be a tough game, especially on the road.  Michigan can win, but they need to play a solid, clean game.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #17 – 02/03/2025 – Hanging In There

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Monday (01/27/2025), they beat Penn State 76-72 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/01/2025), they beat Rutgers 66-63 in Piscataway, NJ.   Michigan’s record is now 16-5 (8-2 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Michigan didn’t win big this week, but at least they won.  At the halfway point of the Big Ten schedule, they’re currently in 3rd place in the Big Ten, and they’re hanging in there in the standings.  They won two games against teams that they were expected to beat, and they looked decent doing it.  It’s always hard to win a game on the road in the Big Ten, even against a lower-division team like Rutgers, so that was a big win.

Game Flow

The PSU game was close the whole way, with Michigan leading for most of the first 14 minutes.  Michigan would open up a 3-5 point lead, then PSU would tie it up.  This happened 4 or 5 times.  With 6:18 left to go in the 1st half, Michigan led 27-25.  Penn State went ahead 28-27 at the 5:54 mark, for their only lead in the 1st half.  Michigan promptly went back ahead, but PSU tied the score at halftime, 35-35.

In the 2nd half, Michigan finally got some breathing room.  They got their lead as high as 8 points (52-44) at the 13:46 mark, and kept the lead in the 4-6 point range for the next 8 minutes.  With 5:09 left, Michigan still led by 4 points (65-61), but things turned ugly.  PSU hit three 3-pointers in a row, while Michigan could only manage a single 2-point basket, and in less than 2 minutes PSU went from 4 down to 3 up: 70-67 with 3:12 to go.  PSU added a pair of free throws, to go up by 5 points (72-67) with 2:08 to go, and things were looking grim.  However, look at the final score: 76-72.  Yes, Michigan outscored PSU 9-0 in the last 2:08 to win by 4.  The crowd was as loud as it’s been in Crisler in a couple years, and it was very exciting.

The 1st half of the Rutgers game was a see-saw battle, with lots of ties and lead changes.  Neither team got more than 7 points ahead, but Rutgers had their last lead of the game with 5:48 left, 21-20.  Michigan went on a 12-4 run to end the half, up 32-25.  They held onto that lead for the rest of the game, although they never got it higher than 8 points (38-30 at the 15:58 mark), and Rutgers got within 2 points a couple times: 46-44 with 7:53 left, and 48-46 with 6:45 to go.  Michigan kept the lead in the 5-7 point range for most of the rest of the game, and made just enough plays to hold Rutgers off for the win.

Stats

The stats for the PSU game were just OK.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (30-for-62 = 48.4%), they shot 3-pointers well (12-for-28 = 42.9%), but they shot free throws terribly (4-for-9 = 44.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle (34-26), but won the turnover battle (9-18).  They won this game with 3-point shooting and a reasonable number of turnovers.

The stats for the Rutgers game were mediocre.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (22-for-46 = 47.8%), they shot 3-pointers decently (7-for-20 = 35.0%), and they shot free throws pretty well (15-for-21 = 71.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle (37-36) and the turnover battle (17-12).  They won this game at the free throw line, if you can believe it.  They scored 15 points at the free throw line vs. 9 (for 13) for Rutgers.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

After a few lousy games in a row, Wolf looked better this week.  He’s still not clicking like he did for the first half of the season, but he looked better.  He was the leading scorer in the Rutgers game with 16 points, to go with 14 rebounds, for a nice double-double.  He shot pretty well: 5-for-9 overall, 1-for-3 from deep.  He wasn’t as sharp in the PSU game, with 11 points (and 9 rebounds) on mediocre shooting: 4-for-11 overall, 2-for-2 from deep.  The 3-pointers really helped.  Still, it was good to see him break out of his slump.

Donaldson was the hero in the PSU game, with 21 points, including 7 of the 9 points in the final 9-0 run that won the game.  He also had 7 assists and 4 steals, with no turnovers.  He scored 10 points vs. Rutgers, with 6 more assists, but 3 turnovers.

Goldin was sick for the PSU game, and although he started, he only played for 17 minutes and he only scored 4 points.  He was a lot healthier vs. Rutgers, with 14 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes of playing time.

Burnett was the only other player to hit double figures this week, with 10 points vs. PSU.  He only had 3 points vs. Rutgers, and he shot poorly in both games: 4-for-10 overall, 2-for-8 from deep vs. PSU, and 1-for-3 overall, 0-for-2 from deep vs. Rutgers.

Gayle almost hit double figures vs. PSU (9 points), but he only had 6 points vs. Rutgers.  He also shot poorly in both games: 4-for-11 overall, 0-for-2 from deep vs. PSU, and 1-for-5 overall, 0-for-3 from deep vs. Rutgers.

Will Tschetter chipped in 7 and 6 points off the bench.

Sam Walters chipped in 5 and 6 points off the bench.

Rubin Jones chipped in 6 and 2 points off the bench.

Justin Pippen chipped in 3 points in each game.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Nobody looked not-so-good this week.

Who Else Played?

L.J. Cason played for 3 minutes in the PSU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks and Jace Howard were the scholarship players who didn’t play.

None of the Scout Team players played: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

These were games that Michigan had to win, and they took care of business.  They weren’t dominant wins, and they weren’t against upper-division opponents, but they were important wins.  They kept Michigan in the upper half of the Big Ten standings, and they got Michigan closer to their goal of making it back to the NCAA Tournament.  There are still a lot of games to play (10 regular season games, to be precise), and most of the remaining games are against upper-division teams, so Michigan still has some work to do.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Wednesday (02/05/2025, 6:30 p.m., BTN), they play (#16) Oregon in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/08/2025, 1:00 p.m., CBS), they play at Indiana.

Oregon is currently 16-6 (5-6 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#20) Texas A&M and (#9) Alabama, and unimpressive losses to UCLA (twice), (#22) Illinois (by a lot: 109-77), Minnesota, and Nebraska.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they don’t have much height: just one 7-footer.  This will be Michigan’s first chance in a while to beat a ranked Big Ten team.  They beat (#11) Wisconsin on the road back in December, and they beat (#22) UCLA on the road in early January, but they got thrashed by (#11) Purdue a couple weeks ago.  This is a game that Michigan can win, but they need to play a lot more consistently than they have for the last couple weeks.  Oregon is ranked #16 for a reason, and Michigan will need to play a good clean game to beat them.

Indiana is currently 14-8 (5-6 in Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and unimpressive losses to Louisville, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois (by a lot: 94-69), Northwestern, and Maryland.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: a 6’10” player, and two 7-footers.  It’s always a challenge when Michigan plays IU, especially in Bloomington.  This isn’t a dominant Indiana team, but they always seem to give Michigan trouble.  Michigan can win this game, but they need to play a solid game.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #16 – 01/27/2025 – Thrashed

The (#21) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this past week, and they lost it, badly.  On Friday (01/24/2025), they lost at (#11) Purdue 91-64.   Michigan’s record is now 14-5 (6-2 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Purdue just thrashed Michigan, from start to finish.  They jumped out to a big early lead, built on it steadily the whole 1st half, then just traded baskets with Michigan for the whole 2nd half to win big.  It was a dominating performance, and Michigan was helpless to do anything about it.  It was easily Michigan’s worst game this season, by a long shot.

Game Flow

Michigan won the opening toss, committed their first turnover (of many) just 13 seconds in, and Purdue went down and scored an easy basket.  2-0.  Next possession, another turnover, and it’s 4-0 with 56 seconds gone.  When they weren’t turning the ball over, Michigan was missing 3-pointers.  They missed two of them, Purdue got the rebound of the 2nd miss, and they scored again.  6-0 at the 18:28 mark.  Michigan finally scored, to make it 6-2 with 18:04 left.  More missed 3-pointers and more turnovers, and just like that, it’s 13-2 with 16:33 to go.  At this point, the game was essentially over.  Michigan never got much closer than 9 points down, and the Purdue lead blossomed to 20 (29-9 at the 11:18 mark) then 29 (44-15 with 5:29 to go).  Purdue kept the lead in the 24-26 point range for the rest of the half, up 51-26 at halftime.

The 2nd half was a little better, but only because Purdue backed off a bit.  They got their lead as high as 30 points, and kept it between 24-26 points for the rest of the game.

Stats

The game stats were horrible.  Michigan shot poorly overall (20-for-54 = 37.0%), they shot 3-pointers very poorly (6-for-29 = 20.7%), but they shot free throws well (18-for-21 = 85.7%).  They won the rebounding battle (35-30), but they lost the turnover battle badly (22-6).  They lost this game due to bad shooting and way too many turnovers.  The final 3-point shooting stats don’t tell the story; Michigan missed their first four 3-point shots, made #5, then missed the next 11 attempts in the first half.  That’s right, they shot 1-for-16 (6.2%) from deep in the 1st half.

Who Started?

The starters were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

How can you say that anyone looked good in a 27-point blowout loss?  Actually, 4 of the starters hit double figures, and 3 of those 4 players shot decently, but still…

Goldin was the high scorer for Michigan, with 14 points.  He shot OK: 5-for-10 overall, 0-for-2 from deep.

Donaldson had 11 points, on pretty good shooting: 3-for-6 overall, 3-for-5 from deep.

Gayle also had 11 points, on pretty good shooting: 3-for-5 overall, 1-for-2 from deep.

Sam Walters chipped in 6 points off the bench.  He shot decently: 2-for-5 overall, 2-for-4 from deep.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Wolf was the biggest problem in this game.  He shot terribly (1-for-7 overall, 0-for-5 from deep), and he had 4 turnovers.  That’s two bad games in a row for him.

Burnett scored 11 points, but he shot terribly: 3-for-10 overall, 0-for-4 from deep.

Who Else Played?

Will Tschetter scored 4 points.

Rubin Jones scored 1 point, but he was the leading rebounder for Michigan, with 8.

L.J. Cason scored 2 points.

Justin Pippen scored 0 points, on 0-for-2 shooting.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks and Jace Howard were the scholarship players who didn’t play.

None of the Scout Team players played: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

This is Michigan’s first definitive loss.  The other 4 losses (Wake Forest by 2, Arkansas by 2, Oklahoma by 1, and Minnesota by 3 in overtime) all could have been wins, but the Purdue loss was not even close.

Michigan can forget about contending for the Big Ten title.  It looks like Michigan State is going to run away with it, and Purdue looks good for 2nd place.  Hopefully, Michigan can stay in the top half of the standings and finish above 0.500 in the league.  That will certainly get them into the NCAA Tournament with a reasonable seed.

I worry about the mental state of this team and their confidence.  They looked solid after their West Coast trip (wins over USC and UCLA) and the Washington game, but since then they’ve looked tentative and out of sorts.  The Minnesota loss almost carried over to a loss against Northwestern, and they looked whipped against Purdue.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Monday (01/27/2025, 6:30 p.m., BTN), they play Penn State in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/01/2025, 3:30 p.m., Fox), they play at Rutgers.

Penn State is currently 13-7 (3-6 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Virginia Tech and (#8) Purdue, and unimpressive losses to Rutgers and Iowa.  They have one noteworthy player (Ace Baldwin Jr.) and some height (a 6’11” player and a 7-footer).  This is a game that Michigan has to win to stay in the top half of the standings, and it’s a game they can win, if they can get their old swagger back.

Rutgers is currently 10-10 (3-6 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Notre Dame, Seton Hall, and UCLA, and unimpressive losses to St. John’s, Kennesaw State, Princeton, and Penn State.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: three 6’10” players.  This is another game that Michigan needs to win to stay in the upper half of the standings, and it’s a game they can win.  Sure, it’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, but Michigan has already won at Wisconsin, USC, and UCLA.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #15 – 01/20/2025 – Overtime Games, Good And Bad

The (#20) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they lost one and won the other.  On Thursday (01/16/2025), they lost at Minnesota 84-81 in overtime, then on Sunday (01/19/2025), they beat Northwestern 80-76 in Crisler Arena, also in overtime.   Michigan’s record is now 14-4 (6-1 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

The Minnesota game was so sad.  Michigan is obviously way better than Minnesota, but they picked the wrong time to play the worst half of the season, and it cost them.  The Northwestern game wasn’t much better.  Michigan is obviously better than Northwestern, but they almost gave that game away as well.  Still, a win, even a shaky win, is better than a loss.

Game Flow

Michigan led for most of the 1st half vs. Minnesota, but the 2nd half was a nightmare.  Michigan went ahead 7-5 at the 16:22 mark, and kept the lead in the 3-5 point range for the next few minutes.  Minnesota came back, and even briefly led, 15-14, at the 11:01 mark.  Michigan regained the lead, and kept it in the 4-6 point range for a while.  Once again, Minnesota crept back, and they were within 1 point (30-29) with 4:23 to go in the 1st half.  Michigan went on a nice 10-0 run, to lead 40-29 with 1:23 left.  Minnesota scored 2 more points, to make it 40-31 at halftime.

The 2nd half was “slow death”.  Minnesota crept closer and closer, getting within 4 points (45-41) at the 17:06 mark, before Michigan pushed their lead back up to 10 points (51-41) with 12:50 to go.  It only took Minnesota a little over 2 minutes to erase that deficit, and it was tied 51-51 with 10:17 left.  Michigan regained the lead, and kept it in the 3-5 point range for the next few minutes, still leading by 3 points (61-58) at the 5:17 mark.  Minnesota went back ahead 64-61 with 3:30 to go, but Michigan tied it right up, 64-64, and the rest of regulation was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team getting more than 2 points ahead.  Michigan led by 2 points (71-69) with 7 seconds left, but Minnesota hit 2 free throws to send the game into overtime.

Overtime was not good.  Minnesota hit a 3-pointer to start, and never trailed.  However, Michigan did tie it up 81-81 with 7 seconds left, but Minnesota hit a 40-foot buzzer-beater to win by 3 points.  It was a heartbreaking loss.

The Northwestern game was a disaster waiting to happen, but Michigan managed to play just well enough to win, barely.  NU jumped out to an early lead (7-0) at the 17:03 mark, and still led by 4 points (9-5) with 13:10 to go.  Yes, Michigan only scored 5 points in the first 8 minutes.  Michigan finally caught up and went ahead (10-9) with 11:11 left.  For the next 5 minutes, the teams traded baskets and the lead, with neither team getting more than 5 points ahead.  At the 5:19 mark, Michigan led by 5 points (25-20), and it felt like they were finally going to open a comfortable lead and take control of the game.  Hah!  NU went on a 15-5 run to end the half, up 35-30 at halftime.

The 2nd half was more of the same.  Michigan managed to catch and pass NU again, up 38-37 at the 17:50 mark.  The rest of the 2nd half was a see-saw battle, with lots of ties and lead changes, and neither team getting more than 4 points ahead.  The score was tied 65-65 at the end of regulation; on to overtime, again.

The overtime period was also close and exciting, but Michigan never trailed.  NU tied it up once, and Michigan never got more than 4 points ahead, but they made just enough plays and free throws to hang on for the win.

Stats

The stats for the Minnesota game were surprisingly pretty good.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (28-for-62 = 45.2%), they shot 3-pointers well (11-for-22 = 50.0%), and they shot free throws pretty well (14-for-20 = 70.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (44-39), but they lost the turnover battle (13-6).  They lost this game due to turnovers.

The stats for the Northwestern game were pretty sad.  Michigan shot poorly overall (22-for-61 = 36.1%), they shot 3-pointers pretty poorly (7-for-27 = 25.9%), and they shot free throws well enough (29-for-37 = 78.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle (39-41), but they won the turnover battle (11-14).  They won this game with free throw shooting: Michigan scored 29 points at the free throw line, while NU scored 23 points (23-for-31).  By the way, that’s 68 free throw attempts combined.  It was a slow, over-officiated game.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was the star again this week.  He was the leading scorer in the NU game, with 31 points, and the 2nd leading scorer in the Minnesota game, with 18 points.  He shot pretty well in the NU game (9-for-16 overall, 3-for-6 from deep, 10-for-12 from the free throw line), but not as well vs. Minnesota (5-for-15 overall, 1-for-2 from deep, 7-for-10 from the free throw line).  He also had 8 rebounds in each game.  Once again, I have to point out that he had never attempted a 3-pointer in the first 4 years of his career, and now he’s 9-for-16 (56.3%) this season, including 4-for-8 this week.  Amazing.

Wolf had one very good game (23 points vs. Minnesota) and one very bad game (4 points vs. Northwestern).  He shot very well in the Minnesota game (8-for-10 overall, 3-for-3 from deep, 4-for-5 from the free throw line), and terribly vs. Northwestern (0-for-7 overall, 0-for-2 from deep, 4-for-8 from the free throw line).  He did have 10 rebounds vs. Minnesota, and 13 vs. NU, along with 7 assists vs. Minnesota.

Donaldson hit double figures in both games, with 14 and 10 points.

Gayle had one lousy game (2 points vs. Minnesota) and one decent game (10 points vs. NU).  He shot terribly in the Minnesota game (0-for-6 overall, 0-for-3 from deep), and a little better in the NU game (4-for-10 overall, 0-for-1 from deep).

Burnett had one weak game (6 points vs. Minnesota) and one good game (13 points vs. NU).

Will Tschetter had one very good game (15 points vs. Minnesota) and one lousy game (2 points vs. NU).

Rubin Jones contributed significantly in the NU game (8 points), and chipped in 3 points vs. Minnesota.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Sam Walters played in both games, didn’t attempt a shot vs. Minnesota, and missed his only shot attempt in the NU game.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen played in both games, and missed his only shot attempt in each game.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks, L.J. Cason, and Jace Howard were the scholarship players who didn’t play in either game.

None of the Scout Team players played in either game: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

It always hurts to take that first loss in a conference game, and the Minnesota game hurt more than most.  Michigan was tied for 1st place in the conference standings, and Minnesota was 0-6 and in dead last place.  It should have been a straightforward win for Michigan, but instead it was a frustrating loss.  The loss knocked UM out of 1st place in the league, although they’re still in a good position: 3rd place, half a game behind Purdue.  They certainly can’t afford to lose to another non-contender.

The Northwestern game was a battle for survival.  Michigan could not afford to lose to another lower-division team, especially at home.  That they had to go to overtime to beat NU is kind of scary.

So, Michigan is still on track for getting into the NCAA Tournament, currently with a pretty good seed.  There are still lots of games to be played (13), but as long as Michigan can avoid any more upset losses, they’ll be fine.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan only plays one game.  On Friday (01/24/2025, 8:00 p.m., Fox), they play at (#17) Purdue.

Purdue is currently 15-4 (7-1 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#2) Alabama, North Carolina State, (#23) Mississippi, and (#13) Oregon, and an unimpressive loss to Penn State.  They finally graduated Zach Edey, but they still have a couple noteworthy players: Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith.  As usual, they have lots of height: a 7’4” player, a 7’2” player, a 6’11” player, and a 6’10” player.  The 7’4” guy doesn’t play much (2 games, 26 minutes, 13 points), and the 7’2” guy has only scored 30 points, so neither of them are Zach Edey 2.0, at least not yet.  Michigan always has a tough time playing at Purdue, and I expect this game to be another tough one.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #14 – 01/13/2025 – Beating Up The Old Pac-12

The (#24) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (01/07/2025), they beat (#22) UCLA 94-75 in Los Angeles, then on Sunday (01/12/2025), they beat Washington 91-75 in Crisler Arena.   Michigan’s record is now 13-3 (5-0 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

See that “(#24)” up there in the first line?  Yes, Michigan is ranked again, sooner than I thought possible.  They were ranked #14 in Week #6 (12/09/2024), then they lost to Arkansas, which dropped them to #24 the next week, then they lost to Oklahoma, which dropped them out of the rankings the week after that.  I figured it would be late January before they cracked the Top 25 again, but here they are.  Thankfully, this time they didn’t lose a game immediately after getting ranked again.

The last three games that Michigan has played have been against new members of the Big Ten that used to be in the old Pac-12: USC, UCLA, and Washington.  Michigan has beaten up all three of them.  Welcome to the Big Ten!

Game Flow

Michigan led UCLA for the entire 1st half, often by double digits, but UCLA caught up and went ahead in the 2nd half, and the game was close for quite a while.  Fortunately, Michigan surged in the last few minutes to win comfortably.

Once again, Michigan started the game on fire.  They jumped out to an early 13-2 lead at the 15:16 mark, and pushed it up to 15 points (28-13) with 8:28 to go.  They got the lead as high as 18 points, and kept it in the 12-14 point range for most of the rest of the 1st half, but UCLA cut it to 10 points (47-37) at halftime.

The start of the 2nd half was a nightmare.  It took UCLA less than 6 minutes to catch Michigan and pass them, going up 52-51 at the 14:17 mark.  That’s a 15-4 run.  Ouch.  UCLA pushed their lead to 4 points (55-51) in 5 seconds (14:12 to go), but that was when Michigan woke up and started fighting back.  UM tied it up (57-57) with 13:17 left, and then the game was close for the next 4 minutes, with several ties and lead changes, and neither team going ahead by more than 3 points.  With 9:22 to go, Michigan was up by 1 point (63-62), then they went on a 7-0 run to get some breathing room, 70-62, at the 8:18 mark.  They pushed the lead up to 12 points (76-64) with 7:23 to go, and kept the lead between 9-11 for the next 3 minutes.  UM led 82-71 with 4:45 left, then they put the game away with a 6-0 run to make it 88-71 at the 2:55 mark.  They outscored UCLA 6-4 in the last 3 minutes to win by 19 points.  It was a huge win.

Michigan had a harder time against Washington than they did against UCLA.  They led for all but 18 seconds of the game, but they couldn’t pull away from Washington until the last couple minutes.  Washington’s one lead was 5-4 at the 18:13 mark, but it only lasted until the 17:55 mark, when Michigan went back ahead for good, 6-5.  Michigan pushed the lead up into the 6-8 point range, and kept it there until the 11:16 mark, when Washington crept within 3 points, 21-18.  The Michigan lead was still only 3 points (29-26) with 7:43 to go, when Michigan pushed the lead up to 9 points (38-29) with 5:57 left.  The teams traded baskets the rest of the half, and Michigan led by 10 points (48-38) at halftime.

The teams continued to trade baskets to start the 2nd half, with Michigan keeping the lead in the 9-11 point range.  With 17:24 to go, Michigan led by 10 points (57-47).  No one scored for the next 3+ minutes, until Washington finally scored to make it 57-49 at the 13:43 mark.  Michigan kept the lead in the 12-14 point range for a while, and it was 12 points (72-60) with 8:39 left.  Michigan went on a nice 7-0 run to put the game out of reach, 79-60, at the 7:45 mark.  Washington didn’t give up, but they never got any closer than 15 points the rest of the way, losing by 16 points.

Stats

The stats for the UCLA game were very good.  Michigan shot well overall (32-for-52 = 61.5%), they shot 3-pointers very well (15-for-28 = 53.6%), and they shot free throws well (15-for-21 = 71.4%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (35-27), but they lost the turnover battle badly (16-6).  They won this game with good shooting and rebounding.

The stats for the Washington game were pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-55 = 52.7%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (11-for-29 = 37.9%), and they shot free throws just OK (22-for-32 = 68.7%).  They won the rebounding battle (36-34) and the turnover battle (11-12).  They won this game with good shooting.

Who Started?

The starters for the UCLA game were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Vladislav Goldin, Rubin Jones, and Danny Wolf.  Jones started in place of Roddy Gayle Jr., who had a minor injury and missed the UCLA game.  Gayle returned to the starting lineup for the Washington game.

Note: This was the first change to the starting lineup since the exhibition games.  That’s a good thing.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was the star this week.  He was the leading scorer in both games, with 36 points (a career high) vs. UCLA and 19 points vs. Washington.  He was fantastic in the UCLA game, shooting 13-for-18 overall, 1-for-2 from deep, and 9-for-11 from the free throw line.  Awesome!  He also shot well in the Washington game: 6-for-7 overall, 1-for-2 from deep, and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.  He was really fired up in the UCLA game, with several emphatic dunks, followed by great reactions.  He was described as “angry Vlad”, but I prefer the nickname “mad Vlad”.  When he plays with emotion, he’s a beast.

Donaldson had a great game vs. UCLA (20 points, a career high), but a mediocre game vs. Washington (6 points).  He shot well vs. UCLA: 7-for-11 overall, 6-for-10 from deep.

Burnett had a great week: 17 points vs. UCLA and 16 points vs. Washington.  He was almost perfect for the week shooting: 5-for-6 overall, 3-for-4 from deep vs. UCLA, and 6-for-6 overall, 4-for-4 from deep vs. Washington.  When almost everyone else on the team was having trouble making a 3-pointer in the Washington game, Burnett saved the day.

Gayle only played in one game this week (Washington), but he scored 15 points.

Wolf had two good games, but he wasn’t the star in either game for a change.  He had 12 points vs. UCLA, and 11 points vs. Washington.  He was the leading rebounder in both games (8 in each), and he had the most assists in the UCLA game (6).

Sam Walters was the only bench player to hit double figures this week, with 12 points vs. Washington.  He shot 3-for-6 from deep.  He only had 3 points vs. UCLA.

Will Tschetter had one pretty good game (7 points vs. Washington) and one mediocre game (3 points vs. UCLA).

Justin Pippen scored 5 points vs. Washington, but didn’t attempt a shot vs. UCLA.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Jones had 3 points vs. UCLA, and 0 points vs. Washington.

Who Else Played?

L.J. Cason played in both games, but didn’t attempt a shot in either.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks and Jace Howard were the scholarship players who didn’t play in either game.

None of the Scout Team players played in either game: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

These were two important wins for Michigan, especially the UCLA game.  Beating a ranked UCLA team on their famous home court was huge.  Scoring 94 points on them was even bigger, since they had been holding opponents to an average of 57 points/game.  UCLA led the Pac-12 in scoring defense for the last 3 seasons, and they were leading the Big Ten in scoring defense this season, but Michigan shredded them.

It’s still early in the Big Ten season, but at this point there are only 2 teams that are undefeated in Big Ten play: Michigan and Michigan State, both 5-0.  Purdue is 5-1, and everyone else has at least 2 losses.  It’s great to be in a title race for a change.

There’s still a lot of basketball to be played, but Michigan’s chances for the NCAA Tournament are looking good.  They probably need to win at least 9 Big Ten games, and they’re more than halfway there.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Thursday (01/16/2025, 7:00 p.m. EST, FS1), they play at Minnesota, then on Sunday (01/19/2025, 2:00 p.m., BTN), they play Northwestern in Crisler Arena.

Minnesota is currently 8-8 (0-5 in Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and sad losses to North Texas, Wichita State, and Wake Forest.  They have one noteworthy player (Dawson Garcia), and a little bit of height (Garcia is 6’11” and another 6’10” player).  Minnesota is probably the worst team in the Big Ten this season, but they do well in their weird old gym (Williams Arena, aka “The Barn”), so Michigan can’t afford to take them lightly.

Northwestern is currently 10-6 (1-4 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#19) Illinois and Georgia Tech, and sad losses to Dayton, Butler, and Penn State.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: two 7-footers and a 6’10” guy.  This is another team that Michigan should be able to beat, but they have to be careful.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!