Author: Drew Montag

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won one and lost one.  On Thursday (02/17/2022), they beat Iowa 84-79 in Iowa City, then on Sunday (02/20/2022), they lost at (#15) Wisconsin 77-63.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 14-11 (8-7 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

The good news?  Michigan won a Big Ten road game in an arena where they’ve had trouble in the past.  The very bad news?  Michigan lost to Wisconsin on the road.  But wait, that’s only “regular” bad news, not “very” bad news.  The very bad news is that Coach Howard punched/slapped a Wisconsin assistant coach in the handshake line after the game, and it turned into a minor brawl.  Howard will probably be suspended for at least one game, maybe more.  A couple Michigan players might also get suspended for one or more games, since they joined in the melee.  I’ve watched the replays of the fight, and read a lot of details on what was said and done leading up to the fight, and it looks like there’s enough blame to go around.  It looks like Wisconsin started it, but Howard shouldn’t have reacted the way he did.  Once it got going, I can’t blame any of the players who were caught up in it.  It’s a mess, and the punishments haven’t been decided yet.

The Iowa game was close and exciting the whole way.  The teams traded slim leads all game, with Iowa up 2 points (39-37) at halftime.  It was all tied up (50-50) with 15:14 to go, when Michigan finally started pulling away.  They got the lead up to 7 points (57-50) at the 13:10 mark, then pushed it into the 9-11 point range.  Michigan led by 12 points (78-66) with 3:25 left, then they just fell asleep.  Iowa scored 9 straight points, to pull within 3 points (78-75) with 1:20 to go, when Michigan woke up, and started scoring again.  Iowa got within 2 points (81-79) with 6 seconds left, but they missed a 3-pointer with 1 second left, Michigan got the rebound, got fouled, and made the free throws to make it a 5-point win.  It was very exciting.

The Wisconsin game went fine until it didn’t.  For the whole first half, it was close and exciting, with lots of runs and lead changes.  The game was tied (31-31) at halftime, and Michigan exploded out of the gate for the 2^nd half, going up 38-33 with 18:40 to go.  Just when things were looking promising, Michigan fell asleep, again.  This time, they didn’t wake up in time.  They let Wisconsin go on a miserable 14-1 run to make it 47-39 at the 13:25 mark, and they never recovered.  Wisconsin quickly pushed the lead up into double digits, and Michigan never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Stats

The stats for the Iowa game are decent.  Michigan shot well overall (31-for-62 = 50.0%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (4-for-20 = 20.0%), and they shot free throws well (18-for-23 = 78.3%).  They won the rebounding battle (40-37), and tied in the turnover battle (11-11).  They won this game with overall shooting, but NOT with 3-point shooting.  They were lucky to win a Big Ten road game shooting 20% from deep.

The stats for the Wisconsin game are miserable.  Michigan shot poorly overall (25-for-64 = 39.1%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (4-for-25 = 16.0%), and they shot free throws decently (9-for-13 = 69.2%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (38-28), but lost the turnover battle (12-8).  They lost this game with horrible 3-point shooting.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson had a good week, with 14 points vs. Iowa and 21 points vs. Wisconsin.  He did his part, but he needed more support vs. Wisconsin.

Brooks also had a good week, with 13 points vs. Iowa and 14 points vs. Wisconsin.

Jones hit double figures in both games, with 11 points in each.  He also had 10 rebounds in the Iowa game, for a double-double.

Diabate had one great game, followed by a lousy game.  He was the star of the Iowa game, with a new career-high 28 points, but he disappeared in the Wisconsin game, with a meager 3 points on 1-for-3 shooting and a free throw.  If he could have played just an average game vs. Wisconsin, Michigan might have stood a chance, but he was a no-show.

Kobe Bufkin had a nice game (10 points) vs. Iowa, but didn’t do much vs. Wisconsin (2 points).

Jace Howard played in both games, and scored 2 points in each game.  He played good defense again.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Houstan had a lousy week, with 6 points in each game.  His shooting was horrible: 2-for-9 (0-for-5 from deep) vs. Iowa, and 2-for-10 (2-for-7 from deep) vs. Wisconsin.

Frankie Collins played in both games, but didn’t score.

Brandon Johns, Jr. played in both games, but didn’t score.

Terrance Williams II didn’t play in the Iowa game (minor ankle injury), and scored 4 points vs. Wisconsin.

Who Else Played?

Jaron Faulds played in both games, but didn’t score.

Adrien Nuñez played in the Wisconsin game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play in either game.

Ian Burns and Brandon Wade are the players on the scout team who didn’t play in either game.

What Does It Mean?

As I’ve said many times before, any win on the road in the Big Ten is a good win, and the Iowa win was a very nice win.  The odds of beating Wisconsin in Madison were very low, but it would have been nice if Michigan had put up more of a fight (before the handshake line).  Still, the win and the loss leave Michigan just on the right side of “the bubble” for the NCAA Tournament.  Unfortunately, they play 3 ranked teams in their last 5 games, and they’re likely to be playing some of those games without Coach Howard and maybe a couple players.  They probably need to win 3 of the 5 games to sneak into the Big Dance, and that could be tough.

What’s Next?

This week Michigan is scheduled to play two games.  On Wednesday (02/23/2022, 7:00 p.m., BTN) they are scheduled to play Rutgers, then on Sunday (02/27/2022, 2:00 p.m., CBS) they are scheduled to play (#12) Illinois.  Both games are in Crisler Arena.

Rutgers is currently 16-10 (10-6 in Big Ten).  At this point, they are the hottest team in the Big Ten. Before losing to (#5) Purdue on Sunday, they had 4 wins in a row against ranked opponents: (#13) Michigan State, (#16) Ohio State, (#14) Wisconsin, and (#12) Illinois.  They beat Michigan 75-67 back on 01/04/2022 in Piscataway, and it felt like an upset at the time, but with Rutgers continued success, it looks like a well-deserved win.  Back in December, they also beat then (#1) Purdue.  They are good, and the two players I noted last time have been very good: Geo Baker and Ron Harper, Jr.  This will be a very challenging game for Michigan.  If they play the way they did last week vs. Purdue, they can win, but if they play like they did in the 2^nd half of the Wisconsin game, they’re going to be in big trouble.

Illinois is currently 19-7 (12-4 in Big Ten).  They beat Michigan 68-53 back on 01/14/2022 in Champaign, and since then they have beaten (#10) Michigan State, (#11) Wisconsin, and (#19) Michigan State.  The players I noted last time have been very good: Kofi Cockburn and Trent Frazier.  Once again, Dickinson will have his hands full with Cockburn, who I still think is the most powerful basketball player I’ve ever seen.  This will be a very challenging game for Michigan.  Illinois is in the thick of the Big Ten title race, and they will be out for blood.  Michigan can win, but only if they play a flawless game.

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

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games this past week, and they won two and lost the third.  On Tuesday (02/08/2022), they beat Penn State 58-57 in State College, on Thursday (02/10/2022), they beat (#3) Purdue 82-58 in Crisler Arena, and on Saturday (02/12/2022), they lost to (#16) Ohio State 68-57 in Crisler Arena.  The two wins and one loss leave Michigan with a record of 13-10 (7-6 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

This was a very busy week for Michigan, with three games in five days, and they should be mildly pleased with winning two out of three, especially the middle one.  Michigan was expected to beat PSU, even on the road, the home game vs. Purdue looked like a very unlikely win, and the home game vs. OSU was a toss-up.  Michigan (barely) took care of business in the PSU game, they looked tired and out-of-sorts in the OSU game, but they played their best game in years vs. Purdue.

Any road win in the Big Ten is a good win, and Michigan deserved to win the PSU game.  It was a close game for the first 10 minutes, with the teams trading leads.  With 10:45 left in the half, Michigan led 19-18, then PSU rattled off a 13-2 run, to lead 31-21 at the 5:10 mark.  They still led by 10 (34-24) with 3:30 to go, when Michigan went on a 10-0 run to end the half, tied at 34-34.  Michigan never trailed again, but they didn’t pull away very far either.  Their biggest lead of the 2^nd half was 6 points (45-39) with 11:20 to go, but PSU managed to tie it up (48-48) at the 3:37 mark.  Michigan led the rest of the way, including a 5-point lead (56-51) with 8 seconds left, but PSU managed to get it down to one point at the buzzer.  Still, it was a win, but certainly not a dominating one.

The Purdue game was one of the most surprising results in several seasons.  Michigan had just lost to Purdue by 6 points in West Lafayette five days before, so even the most optimistic fans were hoping for a 2-3 point Michigan win in Crisler.  Instead, Michigan dominated Purdue from start to finish, and could have won by 35 points if they hadn’t put in the scrubs at the end.  Purdue led briefly in the first couple minutes, up 4-2 with 18:47 to go in the half.  Michigan tied it up (4-4) at the 18:35 mark, then pulled ahead 6-4 with 17:41 left.  They pushed the lead as high as 8 points, and still led by 3 points (24-21) with 9:05 to go.  Purdue tied it up (24-24) at the 8:16 mark, and that was the last time it was close.  Michigan went on a sweet 14-5 run to lead by 9 (38-29) at halftime, and still led by 9 (43-34) with 16:46 left in the game.  Once Michigan pushed the lead up into double digits, they kept it there, leading by as many as 29 points (82-53) with 2:23 to go.  They put in the scout team against Purdue’s starters, and Purdue managed to score the last 5 points to make it look closer than it really was.  It was a fabulous win, and the students had a great time storming the court.

After all the excitement and emotion of the big Purdue win, the OSU game felt flat and bloodless.  Michigan just couldn’t recapture the fire and enthusiasm they showed in the Purdue game, and they went down quietly.  They looked tired out there, and they shot poorly.  Good players shoot with their legs, and Michigan looked to have tired legs.  The teams traded leads for most of the 1^st half, with Michigan clinging to a one-point lead (28-27) with 2:10 to go in the half.  OSU went on a 6-2 run to end the half up 3 points (33-30).  Michigan got within a point (33-32) with 19:04 to go, and that was as close as they got.  OSU pushed the lead up into the 7-9 point range, and kept it there.  Michigan did manage to get within 5 points (57-52) with 3:20 left, but that was it.  OSU pushed the lead back up into double digits, and Michigan fouled them to try to get the ball back, but OSU made their free throws.  It was a sad, sorry game.

Stats

The stats for the PSU game are pretty bad, especially for a win.  Michigan shot poorly overall (17-for-54 = 31.5%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5-for-21 = 23.8%), but they did shoot free throws very well (19-for22 = 86.4%).  They won the rebounding battle (39-30), and tied in the turnover battle (7-7).  They won this game at the free throw line, scoring 19 points to PSU’s 6 points (6-for-7).

The stats for the Purdue game are wonderful.  Michigan shot well overall (32-for-62 = 51.6%), they shot 3-pointers very well (12-for-21 = 57.1%), and they shot free throws well, but not enough (6-for-7 = 85.7%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (35-25) along with the turnover battle (7-14).  They won this game with 3-point shooting.  When Michigan shoots over 50% from deep, they’re going to win most of the time.

The stats for the OSU game are mediocre.  Michigan shot OK overall (24-for-58 = 41.4%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (4-for-17 = 23.5%), and they shot free throws well, but not enough (5-for-6 = 83.3%).  They actually won the rebounding battle (32-26), but they lost the turnover battle (11-8).  They lost this game with plain old poor shooting, especially from deep.

Who Started?

The starters for all three games were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Once again, Dickinson was the star in the two wins, although he wasn’t as sharp in the loss.  He scored 19 points vs. PSU, 22 points vs. Purdue, and 14 points vs. OSU.  He also had 15 rebounds vs. PSU (tying his career high), for a big “double-double”.  Even more impressive, he shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range vs. Purdue, a new career high for him in 3-pointers made.  He’s playing like an All American again.

Brooks appears to be out of his scoring slump.  He hit double figures in all 3 games, with 16, 18, and 17 points.  He was 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the Purdue game.

Diabate had quiet game vs. PSU (3 points), but he was a huge factor in the Purdue win (15 points), and he almost hit double figures in the OSU game (9 points).  Many of his baskets this week were emphatic slam dunks, which fired up the crowd and the team.

Jones only hit double figures in one game (11 points vs. Purdue), but he scored a reasonable number of points in the other two games (7 vs. PSU and 8 vs. OSU), and he contributed in other ways: 5 rebounds and 5 assists vs. PSU, 4 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Purdue (for a double-double), and 10 rebounds and 8 assists vs. OSU.  He almost had a triple-double in the OSU game.

Houstan had a decent week, with 6, 14, and 5 points.  He was very good in the Purdue game, shooting 5-for-10 overall and 4-for-6 from deep, but he kind of disappeared in the other two games.  3 of his 5 points vs. OSU came in the waning seconds when the game was out of reach.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Kobe Bufkin played in all 3 games, but didn’t score in any of them.

Frankie Collins played in all 3 games, and scored 0, 0, and 4 points.  He looked OK in the OSU game.

Brandon Johns, Jr. played in all 3 games, and scored 5, 2, and 0 points.  He looked OK in the PSU game.

Terrance Williams II played in all 3 games, and scored 2, 0, and 0 points.

Who Else Played?

Ian Burns, Jaron Faulds, and Adrien Nuñez all played in the last 2+ minutes of the Purdue game, but didn’t score.  Burns took the only shot attempt.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Jace Howard, and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play in any of the games.

Brandon Wade is the only player on the scout team who didn’t play in any of the games.

What Does It Mean?

Since Michigan was expected to beat PSU, lose to Purdue, and lose to OSU, this week’s results are actually better than expected.  The loss to OSU doesn’t change things much, but the big win over Purdue nudges Michigan a little closer to “the bubble” for the NCAA Tournament.  They still need to win the games they’re expected to win, plus they probably need one more upset victory, to get solidly “on the bubble”.  They showed us in the Purdue game that they can beat anyone in the country when they’re “on”, but they showed us in the OSU game that they don’t have the stamina or firepower to be “on” every game.

What’s Next?

After a heavy week with three games, this week Michigan is scheduled to only play two games.  On Thursday (02/17/2022, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN) they are scheduled to play at Iowa, then on Sunday (02/20/2022, 1:00 p.m. EST, CBS) they are scheduled to play at (#14) Wisconsin.

Iowa is currently 17-7 (7-6 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over Virginia and Indiana, and unimpressive losses to Rutgers and Penn State.  Thankfully, Luka Garza is gone, but they still have Jordan Bohannon.  They do have some height: two 6’11” centers.  Every game on the road is tough, especially in the Big Ten, and Michigan doesn’t have a very good record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  This will be a very challenging game.

Wisconsin is currently 19-5 (10-4 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over Texas A&M, (#12) Houston, Georgia Tech, Marquette, Indiana, (#3) Purdue, Iowa, (#16) Ohio State, and (#17) Michigan State.  They have unimpressive losses to Providence and Rutgers.  They have a couple noteworthy players: probable Big Ten Player-of-the-Year Johnny Davis and 9^th-year senior Brad Davison.  OK, Davison is only in his 5^th season, it just seems like 9.  He’s regarded as the dirtiest player in the Big Ten, and I’m sure he’ll “accidentally” trip a couple Michigan players.  He’s sneaky good at it.  Wisconsin has some height: two 6’9” forwards and a 7-footer at center.  This will be another very challenging game.  Wisconsin is very good at home, and Michigan has a dismal record in the Kohl Center.

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

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won one and lost the other.  On Tuesday (02/01/2022), they beat Nebraska 85-79 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/05/2022), they lost at (#4) Purdue 82-76.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 11-9 (5-5 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

The win over Nebraska was embarrassingly close, and felt like a loss, and the loss at Purdue was closer than expected, and felt like a win.  After the way Michigan crushed Nebraska in Lincoln back in December, 102-67, it was reasonable to expect them to win by at least that much in Crisler, but no.  Instead, Michigan played a miserable game and Nebraska played with fire and determination.  The lead bounced back and forth in the early going, with neither team able to get a lead bigger than 4 points.  It was all tied up, 20-20, with 10:21 left in the 1^st half when Nebraska started pulling away.  They got the lead up to 10 points (36-26) with 4:57 to go, let Michigan creep to within 3 points (36-33) with 2:40 left, built it back to 10 points (43-33) at the 1:17 mark, and led by 7 points (44-37) at halftime.  Michigan came roaring back out of the halftime break, ripping off a 20-3 run to lead by 10 points (57-47) with 13:57 to go.  Just when it looked like Nebraska was going to fold and give up, they went on a 19-3 run of their own, to reclaim the lead, 66-60, with 8:51 to play.  They pushed the lead up to 7 points (73-66) with 6:08 to go, when the biggest play of the game turned the tide.  Keisei Tominaga of Nebraska had come in off the bench and scored 5 big points, including a huge 3-pointer at the 6:08 mark, and he was all fired up.  He was all over the court, hustling and diving and playing good defense.  He got a little too much of Hunter Dickinson’s arm when he tried to block his shot, and he got called for the foul.  He lost his mind, and ran around the court yelling and waving his arms.  It was the most out-of-control reaction I’ve seen since Bobby Knight threw a chair back in the 70’s.  Well, he certainly deserved a technical foul, and he got it.  Michigan made all 4 free throws, which cut the lead to 3 points (73-70), and Nebraska never recovered.  Michigan finally went ahead for good, 77-75, with 2:27 left, although Nebraska did tie it up, 79-79, with 1:20 to go.  Michigan scored the last 6 points of the game to win by 6.  It shouldn’t have been that close.  Thank goodness for Tominaga losing his cool at a crucial moment.  He cost his team the game.

So much of supporting a team depends on expectations.  Michigan was expected to blow out Nebraska, and they just squeaked by, so it felt like a loss.  Michigan was expected to get clobbered by big, bad Purdue on the road, and they only lost by 6 points, so it felt like a win.  Purdue jumped out to a decent lead early, 20-8 with 12:33 left in the 1^st half.  They kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for much of the half, but Michigan clawed their way back to within 1 point (32-31) at the 4:31 mark.  Purdue pushed it back up to 6 points at halftime, 39-33, but Michigan cut it back to 1 point (41-40) with 18:24 left in the game.  The teams traded baskets, and it was still a 1-point game (45-44) at the 16:47 mark.  This was the turning point in the game.  Twice during this stretch, Michigan was down 1 point with the ball, made a basket that would have finally given them the lead, only to see it waved off as an offensive foul.  Twice in two minutes.  It really felt like Michigan could have pulled off the big upset if they could have gotten the lead, even just by 1 point, but the two offensive fouls killed any chance of that.  Both calls were highly questionable, and Purdue got the benefit of “home cooking”.  After the second offensive foul, Purdue pulled away, pushed the lead up into the 9-11 point range, and kept it there for most of the rest of the game.  Michigan did manage to get within 4 points (76-72) with 2:19 left, and they got the ball back, but they turned the ball over and that was the game.

Stats

The stats for the Nebraska game are just so-so.  Michigan shot decently overall (28-for-60 = 46.7%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (2-for-15 = 13.3%), and they shot free throws well enough (27-for-33 = 81.8%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (39-24), and tied in the turnover battle (11-11).  They won this game with decent overall shooting and good rebounding.

The stats for the Purdue game are deceptive.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-52 = 55.8%), they shot 3-pointers well (8-for-18 = 44.4%), and they shot free throws well (10-for-12 = 83.3%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (32-22), and they lost the turnover battle as well (11-7).  They lost this game at the foul line.  Even though Michigan shot free throws well, Purdue shot them a lot more: 17-for-21.  That 7-point difference is just about the difference in the final score.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson has been on a tear, starting with the San Diego State game on 12/04/2021.  He has been the leading scorer for Michigan in 9 of the last 13 games, with 23, 19, 22, 25, 21, 25, 26, and 28 points in those games.  The 28 points vs. Purdue ties his career high.  He outplayed and outscored Purdue’s 7’4” monster.  He just needed more help.

Jones is the only other player to hit double figures in both games this week, with 18 vs. Nebraska and 13 vs. Purdue.  He still isn’t great on his assist/turnover ratio, with 2 assists/2 turnovers vs. Nebraska and 4 assists/3 turnovers vs. Purdue.  He was called for the two costly offensive fouls in the 2^nd half vs. Purdue, although both calls were shaky.

Brooks almost hit double figures in both games, with 20 points vs. Nebraska and 9 points vs. Purdue.  It was nice to see him score some serious points in the Nebraska game.

Houstan had a decent week, with 6 points vs. Nebraska and 11 points vs. Purdue.  His 3-point shooting was off this week: 0-for-3 vs. Nebraska and 2-for-6 vs. Purdue.

Diabate had one decent game (6 points vs. Nebraska) and one sad game (2 points vs. Purdue).

Terrance Williams II had one decent game (6 points vs. Purdue) and one sad game (1 point vs. Nebraska).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Kobe Bufkin had a tough week, with 2 and 3 points.

Frankie Collins had a tough week, with 3 and 0 points.

Brandon Johns, Jr. had a tough week, with 3 and 3 points.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard only played in the Purdue game.  He didn’t attempt a shot, but he did hit a free throw.  He plays great defense, and he helped force Purdue into a backcourt violation, and almost helped force a second one.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Adrien Nuñez, and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play.

Zeb Jackson is no longer on the team.  He entered the infamous “transfer portal” mid-season, which is kind of unusual.  He played a bit last season, but not much this season.  We wish him well.

Ian Burns, Jaron Faulds, and Brandon Wade are the scout team players who didn’t play.

What Does It Mean?

Michigan was expected to win the Nebraska game and lose the Purdue 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 Purdue game was another such opportunity, but Michigan didn’t take advantage of it.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan is scheduled to play three games.  On Tuesday (02/08/2022, 9:00 p.m., ESPN2) they are scheduled to play at Penn State, on Thursday (02/10/2022, 9:00 p.m., ESPN) they are scheduled to play (#4) Purdue in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/12/2022, 6:00 p.m., ESPN) they are scheduled to play (#16) Ohio State in Crisler Arena.  The Purdue game on Thursday is the rescheduled game that was postponed on 01/11/2022.  This means that Michigan will play Purdue twice in 5 days.  It also means that Michigan will play 3 games in 5 days.  Yikes!

Penn State is currently 9-10 (4-7 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Iowa, and no unimpressive losses.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they don’t have much height (a couple 6’9” forwards).  This is a road game that Michigan can win, but they have to be very careful.  PSU is better than their record would indicate, and they’re 7-3 at home.

Purdue is currently 20-3 (9-3 in Big Ten).  Since they just played (and beat) Michigan this past week, they are easy to scout.  Things went pretty much as expected: Purdue had a big advantage down low with 7’4” Zach Edey and 6’10” Trevion Williams.  Michigan has a very slim margin for error, but if they play their best game, they could pull off the upset.

Ohio State is currently 14-5 (7-3 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over (#21) Seton Hall, (#1) Duke, (#22) Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Minnesota, and unimpressive losses to Xavier and Indiana.  They have one noteworthy player (E.J. Liddell) and some height (one 6’11” center).  Obviously, looking at who they have beaten, this will be a very challenging game.  This is a game Michigan can win, but they have to play their “A” game.

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

Go Blue!

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 1^st half, and by 3 at halftime (34-31).  They pushed the lead up to 11 points quickly in the 2^nd 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 1^st half, and kept things under control for the first 18 and a half minutes.  With 1:32 left in the 1^st 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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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!