The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won one and lost the other. On Wednesday (01/26/2022), they beat Northwestern 72-70 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (01/29/2022), they lost at (#10) Michigan State 83-67. The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 10-8 (4-4 in Big Ten).
What Happened?
Even though the final score was close in the Northwestern game, Michigan led for almost the whole game. They led by 3-5 points for most of the 1st half, and by 3 at halftime (34-31). They pushed the lead up to 11 points quickly in the 2nd half (48-37 with 17:10 to go), then they just … stopped. In the next 7 minutes, here’s what they did on offense:
- Missed 3-pointer
- Made basket
- Offensive foul
- Turnover
- Offensive foul
- Turnover
- Missed free throw
- Made free throw
- Offensive foul
- Missed basket
- Missed basket
At this point, Northwestern had scored 14 more points, so the score was tied 51-51 with 10:06 to go. Once they got back in the game, Northwestern pulled ahead, and got up 7 points (62-55) at the 5:09 mark. Fortunately, Michigan went on a 7-0 run to tie it up, 62-62 with 3:24 left. Northwestern led one last time, 64-62 at the 2:29 mark, then Michigan got the lead back for good. They led by 5 (70-65) with 58 seconds left, and survived a furious Northwestern rally to win by 2 points. It was a close, hard-fought game. It was also a very poorly officiated game, with 46 fouls called in 40 minutes, 24 of them on Michigan. All three of the offensive fouls listed above were … questionable.
It’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, it’s tougher to win at Michigan State, and it’s even tougher still to win at Michigan State when you’re Michigan, in a big rivalry game. Michigan managed the tempo, built a decent lead in the 1st half, and kept things under control for the first 18 and a half minutes. With 1:32 left in the 1st half, MSU led by 1 point (36-35), and they added a 3-pointer to make it a 4-point lead at halftime, 39-35. Unfortunately, Michigan couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle, and MSU opened the 2nd half with a 6-0 run in the first 3:10 to go up by 10 points, 45-35. Once they had a double-digit lead, they kept it there for virtually all of the 2nd half, and won by 16 points.
Stats
The stats for the Northwestern game are great. Michigan shot well overall (23-for-41 = 56.1%), they shot 3-pointers really well (8-for-12 = 66.7%), and they shot free throws well enough (18-for-26 = 69.2%). They won the rebounding battle, barely (25-24), but lost the turnover battle (13-9). They won this game with solid overall and 3-point shooting.
The stats for the MSU game are terrible. Michigan shot miserably overall (23-for-62 = 37.1%), they shot 3-pointers horribly (3-for-19 = 15.8%), but they did shoot free throws reasonably well (18-for-25 = 72.0%). They actually won the rebounding battle (36-32), and they tied in the turnover battle (13-13). They lost this game with miserable shooting. It didn’t help that MSU shot 50% (9-for-18) from 3-point range.
Who Started?
The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones.
Who Looked Good?
Houstan was the only player to hit double figures in both games, with 18 points vs. Northwestern and 11 vs. MSU. He shot a very nice percentage (5-for-7 overall, 3-for-5 from deep) vs. Northwestern, and a reasonable percentage (3-for-6 overall, 1-for-3 from deep) vs. MSU.
Dickinson almost hit double figures in both games, with 9 points vs. Northwestern and 25 points vs. MSU. He was limited to 30 minutes in the Northwestern game by the whistle-happy officials. He fouled out with 2:29 left in that game.
Diabate also almost hit double figures in both games, with 8 and 11 points. He was limited to just 22 minutes in the Northwestern game by the whistle-happy officials. He fouled out with 1:51 left in that game.
Jones had one good game (15 points vs. Northwestern) and one mediocre game (6 points vs. MSU). He shot very well vs. Northwestern (4-for-5 overall, 1-for-1 from deep), but not so well vs. MSU (2-for-7 overall, 0-for-3 from deep).
Brooks finally had a good game (12 points) vs. Northwestern, but a mediocre game vs. MSU (8 points). He shot well vs. Northwestern (4-for-7 overall, 3-for-4 from deep), but not so well vs. MSU (3-for-11 overall, 1-for-4 from deep).
Terrance Williams II didn’t score many points this week (3 and 2), but he played a crucial role in the Northwestern game. With Dickinson and Diabate limited by phantom fouls, he was called on to play power forward for 11 minutes, even though he’s about 3 inches too short for a Big Ten power forward. He only hit one shot, but it was a huge 3-pointer with 2:08 left in the game that put Michigan back in the lead. Even more importantly, he played solid defense against bigger, taller players. He didn’t do much in the MSU game.
Jaron Faulds only played in the Northwestern game, he didn’t attempt a shot, and he missed 2 free throws with 8 seconds left, but he was still an important part of the win. He played for 5 minutes at center, including the last 1:51 when both Dickinson and Diabate were fouled out, and he held the fort. He and Williams played tough, solid defense against the Northwestern big men, and managed to bottle them up just enough to save the win.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
Kobe Bufkin had a tough week, with 2 and 3 points.
Frankie Collins had a tough week, with 2 and 1 points.
Brandon Johns, Jr. had a tough week, with 3 and 0 points.
Who Else Played?
Jace Howard only played in the Northwestern game. He didn’t attempt a shot.
Who Didn’t Play?
Isaiah Barnes, Zeb Jackson, Adrien Nuñez, and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play.
Ian Burns and Brandon Wade are the scout team players who didn’t play.
What Does It Mean?
Michigan was expected to win the Northwestern game and lose the MSU game, and that’s what they did. These results don’t change Michigan’s chances for post-season play. They’re still a little ways from “on the bubble” for the NCAA Tournament. They need to spring a few upsets to solidify their chances. The MSU game was one such opportunity, but Michigan didn’t take advantage of it.
What’s Next?
This week, Michigan is scheduled to play two games. On Tuesday (02/01/2022, 9:00 p.m., BTN) they are scheduled to play Nebraska in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/05/2022, 2:30 p.m., FOX) they are scheduled to play at (#6) Purdue.
Nebraska is currently 6-15 (0-10 in Big Ten). They have no impressive wins, and a few unimpressive losses: Western Illinois, Creighton, and Rutgers (twice). Michigan has already played them once, in Lincoln, and they whomped them 102-67. In that game, one of their players (Alonzo Verge) scored 31 points against Michigan, but he didn’t have much help. Their big men were no match for Dickinson and Diabate. If Michigan can beat them by 35 points on the road, they can certainly handle them at home.
Purdue is currently 18-3 (7-3 in Big Ten). They have several impressive wins: (#18) North Carolina, (#5) Villanova, Iowa (twice), NC State, (#17) Illinois, and (#16) Ohio State. 2 of their 3 losses have been puzzling: Rutgers and Indiana. They have several noteworthy players (Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey, Sasha Stefanovic, and Trevion Williams), and great height (a couple 6’10” guys, and a 7’4” monster). Edey is the tallest player in the Big Ten, and while he’s not as powerful or physical as Kofi Cockburn of Illinois (no one is as powerful as Cockburn), he’ll be a tall challenge (pun intended) for Dickinson. Even more, Williams is strong and physical, and he’ll be an even bigger challenge for Diabate. Michigan is used to having an advantage down low, but they’ll be the underdogs in this matchup. Mackey Arena is a tough place to play, and Michigan hasn’t had much luck there lately. This will be a major upset if Michigan can pull it off, but a blowout loss is much more likely.
Check back next week to find out what happened and why.
Go Blue!
