The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game last week as the 2-seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament in Anaheim (CA), and they lost it. On Thursday (03/28/2019), they lost to (3-seed) (#9) Texas Tech 63-44. The loss leaves Michigan with a final record of 30-7.
Time for more Questions & Answers:
Q: A bad day to have a bad day?
A: That’s what Coach Beilein said, and I can’t disagree. In a single-elimination tournament like the Big Dance, you can’t afford to have a bad day, but that’s what Michigan had. Texas Tech played great defense, but Michigan still got enough good looks to win this game, they just didn’t hit them, at all. A wide-open 3-pointer is a wide open 3-pointer, regardless of who your opponent is. If you can’t hit the shot, you’re probably going to lose.
Q: So, what happened?
A: Michigan played the worst half I’ve ever seen them play offensively, and it put them in a deep enough hole that they couldn’t climb out. TTU held UM to 16 points in the 1st half, and that was the game. It was the earliest I’ve ever seen a Michigan team fall behind with no chance to come back. It was embarrassing.
Q: How were the game stats?
A: Absolutely horrible. Michigan shot terribly overall (16-for-49 = 32.7%), they shot 3-pointers the worst I’ve ever seen (1-for-19 = 5.3%), but they shot free throws decently (11-for-17 = 64.7%). They won the rebounding battle (35-31), but they lost the turnover battle badly (14-8). These stats are ridiculous.
Q: Who looked good for Michigan?
A: No one? Actually, two UM players hit double figures, and a third got close:
- Ignas Brazdeikis was high scorer for Michigan with 17 points. He also had 13 rebounds, for a double-double. He shot 2-pointers very well (7-for-11) and 3-pointers very poorly (0-for-5).
- Charles Matthews had 12 points. He also shot 2-pointers pretty well (3-for-5), but couldn’t hit a 3-pointer (0-for-4).
- Jordan Poole actually had a decent game, with 8 points on 4-for-8 shooting, but he was 0-for-3 shooting from deep.
Q: Who looked not-so-good for Michigan?
A: Everyone else:
- Zavier Simpson had the worst game of his life: 0 points on 0-for-5 shooting, 1 assist, 4 turnovers.
- Jon Teske was a non-factor in this game. He had 4 points on 1-for-4 shooting, and only played 22 minutes. He also had 4 turnovers.
- Isaiah Livers played 21 minutes, took 3 shots, all 3-pointers, and missed them all. That’s right – 0 points.
- Eli Brooks played 18 minutes, took 2 shots, and missed them both. Another 0 points.
Q: Who else played?
A: Coach Beilein emptied the bench in the last minute of the game: Colin Castleton, Austin Davis, David DeJulius, Brandon Johns, Jr., and Adrien Nuñez all played, but didn’t score.
Q: Wait a minute. Who had the lone 3-pointer?
A: Our hero, C.J. Baird! He was only in there for 1 minute, but he took and made his only shot.
Q: What did we learn this week?
A: We learned that Michigan can’t win it they can’t shoot. They played good-to-great defense all season, and it kept them in some games when the shots weren’t falling, but even great defense won’t keep you in a game where you shoot 1-for-19 from 3-point range, and only score 16 points in the 1st half.
Q: What’s next for Michigan?
A: Clean out their lockers. The season is over. It’s going to be a long off-season, especially given the success of That Other Team.
That’s it for this week. Check back next week for the season wrap-up.
Go Blue!