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Posted on by Drew Montag

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #14 – 01/30/2023 – Two Big Runs = Two Sad Losses

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they lost both of them.  On Thursday (01/26/2023), they lost to (#1) Purdue 75-70 in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (01/29/2023), they lost at Penn State 83-61.  The two losses lower Michigan’s record to 11-10 (5-5 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Both games were close, until the other guys had a big run to make it “not close”.  In the Purdue game, Michigan was up 28-26 with 8:02 to go in the 1st half when Purdue went on a long, grinding 15-0 run to go up 41-28 with 3:06 left in the half.  Michigan never led again.  In the PSU game, Michigan was only down one point (31-30) with 4:34 to go in the 1st half when PSU went on a long, grinding 18-0 run to go up 49-30 with 31 seconds left in the half.  Michigan never got close again.  In that 18-0 run, PSU hit five 3-pointers in a row without a miss, then a short jumper, while Michigan missed four 3-pointers and a jumper.  Michigan couldn’t buy a basket.

Game Flow

As mentioned above, both games were close in the early going, with Michigan leading in both.  In the Purdue game, UM led by as many as 6 points, and still led by 2 points when Purdue went on their 15-0 run.  Michigan managed to get close by halftime, pulling to within 6 points (41-35).  Unfortunately, Purdue started the 2nd half hot, Michigan was cold, and Purdue quickly pushed their lead back up to double digits, 48-37, with 17:27 to go.  They kept the lead in the 8-10 point range until the final minute, when Michigan got as close as 3 points (73-70) before losing by 5.  It was a noble effort against an obviously better team.

In the PSU game, Michigan only led once, 6-4, with 17:45 to go in the 1st half.  They kept the game close for most of the half, trailing by just one point when PSU went on their 18-0 run.  Michigan trailed by 17 points (49-32) at halftime, and never got closer than 20 points in the 2nd half.  PSU pushed their lead up as high as 32, and won by 22.  It was a miserable effort against a team that isn’t any better than Michigan.

Stats

The game stats for the Purdue game were decent.  Michigan shot reasonably well overall (26-for-59 = 44.1%), they shot 3-pointers fairly well (9-for-25 = 36.0%), and they shot free throws just OK (9-for-14 = 64.3%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (34-26), but won the turnover battle handily (6-12).  They lost this game with rebounding and fouls: Purdue was 16-for-20 at the free throw line.

The game stats for the PSU game were sad.  Michigan shot OK overall (25-for-59 = 42.4%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (6-for-22 = 27.3%), and they shot free throws fairly well, just not often enough (5-for-8 = 62.5%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (36-27), but won the turnover battle (8-9).  They lost this game with rebounding and 3-point defense: PSU was 13-for-30 from 3-point range.

Who Started?

The starters for the Purdue game were Joey Baker, Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Dug McDaniel, and Terrance Williams II.  Baker started in place of Jett Howard, who injured his ankle in the Minnesota game last week.  He missed the Purdue game, but was back in the starting lineup for the PSU game.

Who Looked Good?

Jett Howard looked good in his only game this week, scoring 21 points on good shooting: 8-for-13 overall, 5-for-7 from 3-point range.  He was Michigan’s whole offense in the early going, while the game was still close.

Dickinson had one good game and one mediocre game, scoring 21 points vs. Purdue and 6 points vs. PSU.  He actually outscored Purdue’s monster center (7’4” Zach Edey, with 19 points), and played him about even.  He was pathetic against PSU.

Bufkin had one good game and one decent game, scoring 16 points vs. Purdue and 8 points vs. PSU.

Baker had one good game and one lousy game, scoring 11 points in his start against Purdue, but only 2 points (on 1-for-5 shooting) vs. PSU.

McDaniel had a decent game against Purdue (9 points), but a lousy game against PSU (4 points, on 1-for-7 shooting).  He ran the offense pretty well.

Williams had a decent week: 4 and 7 points.

Tarris Reed, Jr. did a decent job backing up Dickinson.  He scored 2 and 3 points, and played solid, rugged defense.

Will Tschetter chipped in 3 and 4 points, and played solid defense.

Jace Howard chipped in 2 and 6 points, and played solid defense.  He was the only other Michigan player to hit a 3-pointer vs. PSU, along with his younger brother Jett.  Jett was 5-for-7 shooting 3-pointers, and Jace was 1-for-3, for a combined 6-for-10 for the Howard brothers.  The rest of the team was 0-for-12.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked not-so-good this week, although several players had one good game and one mediocre game.

Who Else Played?

Isaiah Barnes played in both games, scoring 2 and 0 points.

Cooper Smith played in the PSU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Gregg Glenn III and Youssef Khayat were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play this week.

Ian Burns and Jackson Selvala were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play this week.

What Does It Mean?

I’m afraid this is looking like a lost season for Michigan.  Barring a miracle run in February or the Big Ten Tournament, they probably aren’t going to a post-season tournament.  It looks highly unlikely that they’ll make the NCAA Tournament, and they probably won’t finish at or above 0.500 and qualify for the NIT.

At this point, they are playing for pride, along with getting some quality playing time for the younger players.  They can still upset some teams in the race for 2nd place, since Purdue has got the title firmly in their grasp.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Thursday (02/02/2023, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2), they play at Northwestern, then on Sunday (02/05/2023, 1:00 p.m., CBS), they play Ohio State in Crisler Arena.

Northwestern is currently 15-5 (6-3 in Big Ten).  Michigan beat them in Crisler a couple weeks ago (01/15/2023) 85-78, and since then Northwestern has won 3 games in a row, over lower-division teams (Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota).  Michigan had a tough time putting them away in Crisler, and Michigan has played worse against teams they beat the first time around (Minnesota, Maryland, and Penn State), so this looks to be a very challenging game.

Ohio State is currently 11-10 (3-7 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Cincinnati, (#21) Texas Tech, and Rutgers, and unimpressive losses to Minnesota and Nebraska.  They have one noteworthy player (super freshman Brice Sensabaugh) and one tall guy (6’11”).  OSU started the season hot, and they were ranked for 3 weeks, as high as #23, before they lost 7 out of their last 8 games.  This is a game that Michigan can win, and in a dismal season, they need to grab every win they can.

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

Go Blue!

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