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Posted on by Drew Montag

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #02 – 11/30/2020 – Warm Up Games

The (#25) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this week, and they won both of them.  On Wednesday (11/25/2020), they beat Bowling Green 96-82, then on Sunday (11/29/2020), they beat Oakland 81-71 (overtime).  Both games were in Crisler Arena.  Michigan’s record is now 2-0.

What Happened?

Beating Oakland is no big achievement, but Bowling Green is a worthy opponent.  They’re picked to win the MAC, which would make them an NCAA Tournament team.  Michigan handled them calmly and efficiently, leading the whole way, and keeping a solid lead for most of the game.  Michigan led BG by 7 points (43-36) at halftime, and pushed the lead up into the 11-13 point range in the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half, then to the 16-18 point range for the last 7 minutes of the game.  Michigan looked good and confident.

Then came the Oakland game.  Oakland came into the game having played (and lost) games on Wednesday (Xavier 101-49), Thursday (Toledo 80-53), and Friday (Bradley 74-60).  Due to COVID-19 quarantine, they had only practiced for 3 days before their opener.  It looked like an easy win for Michigan, but no one told Oakland.  The game was close early, then Michigan jumped out to a nice 8 point lead (27-19) with 7:15 to go in the 1st half.  That’s when the game turned ugly.  Michigan went stone cold, and Oakland went on a 14-4 run to end the half up 33-31.  The 2nd half wasn’t much better, as Oakland extended their lead to 6 points, and Michigan continued to struggle.  UM crept back into the lead, 57-56 with 8:01 to go, then the teams traded the lead for the rest of regulation.  Michigan had a 2 point lead (67-65) with 2:26 to go, but Oakland tied the game (67-67) with 28 seconds left, and we played overtime.

Fortunately, Michigan woke up in overtime, scoring the first 9 points, and holding Oakland scoreless for the first 3:46.  Michigan looked good in the overtime, after looking terrible for most of regulation.

Stats

The stats for the BG game are pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (33-for-61 = 54.1%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (10-for-27 = 37.0%), and they shot free throws pretty well (20-for-26 = 76.9%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (44-34), but lost the turnover battle (10-6).  They won this game with 3-point shooting and rebounding.

The stats for the Oakland game are decent, except for one category: turnovers.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (29-for-62 = 46.8%), they shot 3-pointers decently (8-for-27 = 29.6%), and they shot free throws decently (15-for-22 = 68.2%).  They crushed Oakland on the boards (45-33), but lost the turnover battle in tragic fashion (20-16).  Those 20 turnovers almost cost UM this game.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Austin Davis, Isaiah Livers, Mike Smith, and Franz Wagner.

Who Looked Good?

Livers was the only starter to hit double figures in both games, with 17 points vs. BG and 22 vs. Oakland.  He was the leading scorer in the Oakland game.  He was also the leading rebounder vs. BG, with 9.  He shot pretty well: 7-for-14 (3-for-8 from 3-point range) vs. BG, and 8-for-12 (5-for-7 from 3-point range) vs. Oakland.

Hunter Dickinson was the only other player to hit double figures in both games, with 11 and 19 points.  He also had 8 rebounds vs. BG.  He kept Michigan in the Oakland game, and was the reason UM won.  Oakland couldn’t stop him in the paint.

Smith had a great debut game vs. BG, with 16 points and 8 assists, but he didn’t do much in the Oakland game, with only 2 points and 4 fouls.

Brooks also did well in the BG game, with 11 points, but didn’t do as well vs. Oakland, with only 6 points.

Wagner had a below-average (for him) week, with 9 points vs. BG and 6 points vs. Oakland.  He’s 0-for-6 from 3-point range so far.  He did have a monster game rebounding vs. Oakland, with 13 boards.

Davis started both games, but only played 12 minutes vs. BG and 13 minutes vs. Oakland.  He scored 2 points vs. BG and 6 points vs. Oakland.

Chaundee Brown, Jr. was the leading scorer in the BG game, with 19 points, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range.  He came back to Earth in the Oakland game, with 5 points, on 1-for-10 shooting from 3-point range.

Brandon Johns, Jr. chipped in 7 and 8 points, and looked good out there.

Terrance Williams II chipped in 4 and 7 points, including some important points, steals, rebounds, and assists in “crunch time” in the Oakland game.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked “not so good” this week, although Wagner was a little disappointing.

Who Else Played?

Zeb Jackson played in both games, and failed to score.

Who Didn’t Play?

Of the scholarship players, Jace Howard and Adrien Nuñez were the only ones who didn’t play this week.

None of the scout team players (C.J. Baird, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, and Luke Wilson) played this week.

What Does It Mean?

The good news is that Michigan is 2-0, which is as good a record as they could hope for.  They took care of business.  The bad news is that the BG game exposed some flaws in the Michigan defense, and the Oakland game exposed some flaws in the Michigan offense.  Future opponents will try to exploit these flaws.  We’ll see if Coach Howard can correct these flaws in time.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, both in Crisler Arena.  On Wednesday (12/02/2020, 7:00 p.m., BTN) they play Ball State, then on Sunday (12/06/2020, 4:00 p.m., BTN) they play Central Florida (UCF).

Ball State was 18-13 (11-7 in the MAC) last season.  They have a couple good players, and some height.  This will be another “not your typical cupcake game” for Michigan, similar to the Oakland game.  If Michigan plays poorly, they could be in for a long evening.

UCF was 16-14 (7-11 in the AAC) last season.  They have a couple good players, and they even have some height.  This game should be like the other 3 non-conference games: if Michigan plays well, they should win.  If they bumble around like they did for most of the Oakland game, they could lose.

Go Blue!

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