Blog

The (#4) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week in the Big Ten Tournament, and they won the first and lost the second.  Both games were in Indianapolis, IN.  On Friday (03/12/2021), they beat the #8 seed, Maryland, 79-66, then on Saturday (03/13/2021), they lost to the #5 seed, (#9) Ohio State, 68-67.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 20-4.

What Happened?

The Maryland game was a nice win, but the OSU game was a heartbreaking loss.

The Maryland game didn’t start out very well.  Michigan led briefly, 2-0, then Maryland took control.  They were ahead 15-6 with 13:13 to go in the 1^st half, when Michigan got back within 2 points (17-15) at the 11:05 mark.  Maryland pushed the lead back up to 12 points (36-24) with 4:45 left in the half, but that’s when Michigan woke up.  They ended the half on a 16-2 run, to lead by 2 at halftime, 40-38.  Maryland tied the score up (40-40) to start the 2^nd half, then Michigan went ahead for good.  They pushed the lead up to 9 points (51-42) with 15:50 to go, and kept it in the 8-10 point range for the rest of the game.

The only dicey part came at the 10:44 mark: Maryland was down 10 points (57-47), and shot a 3-pointer that missed.  The ball went out of bounds, and it sure looked like it should have been Michigan’s ball, but the refs gave it to Maryland.  There was a media timeout, so Coach Howard headed out onto the floor on the Maryland side of midcourt to talk to the refs about the call, and somehow he got into a yelling match with Maryland’s head coach (Mark Turgeon).  Turgeon got a technical, and Howard got two technicals and was ejected from the game.  After the timeout, Maryland shot two free throws and got the ball.  They cut the Michigan lead to 5 points (57-52) with 9:49 to go, but Michigan shook it off, and pushed the lead back up to 13 points (65-52) at the 7:23 mark, and that was the game.  Maryland got as close as 6 points once (67-61 with 5:15 to go), but Michigan quickly pushed the lead back into the teens, and won by 13.  It was a good, solid win.

The OSU game was close for the entire 1^st half, and well into the 2^nd half.  OSU led for much of the 1^st half, but Michigan went ahead (22-21) with 4:06 left in the half, and still led by one point (27-26) at halftime.  The 2^nd half was more of the same, with OSU leading for most of the half, but Michigan finally getting a 1-point lead (43-42) with 11:40 to go.  That was Michigan’s last lead.  OSU went on an 11-0 run, to push the lead up into the 8-10 point range, and kept it there until the 1:55 mark, when it was 68-60.  That’s when Michigan made a final push, outscoring OSU 7-0 in the last 1:55, but they couldn’t get the last basket that they needed to win.  They had the ball, with no shot clock, and ran the clock down to 2 seconds before taking a low-percentage shot for the win.  It missed, and the clock ran out.  It was heartbreaking.

Stats

The stats for the Maryland game are very nice.  Michigan shot well overall (31-for-60 = 51.7%), they shot 3-pointers well (10-for-22 = 45.5%), and they were perfect shooting free throws (7-for-7 = 100.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (32-26) and the turnover battle (8-11).  They won this game with all-around play: overall shooting, 3-point shooting, rebounding, and defense.

The stats for the OSU game are terrible.  Michigan shot poorly overall (20-for-57 = 35.1%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (6-for-19 = 31.6%), but they did shoot free throws well (21-for-23 = 91.3%).  They barely lost the rebounding battle (37-36), and they won the turnover battle handily (2-9).  They lost the game with poor shooting, compounded by very hot 3-point shooting by OSU: 12-for-22 (54.5%).

Who Started?

The starters for the Maryland games were Eli Brooks, Hunter Dickinson, Isaiah Livers, Mike Smith, and Franz Wagner.  Unfortunately, it turned out that Livers had been playing with a broken bone in his foot since the Illinois game (03/02/2021), and he didn’t play in the OSU game.  Instead, Brandon Johns, Jr. started in his place.

Who Looked Good?

Smith was the star of the Maryland game, with a team-high 18 points and a tournament-record 15 assists.  He also hit double figures in the OSU game (10 points), but he was ice-cold in that game: 1-for-11, including the terrible final shot that missed badly.  He scored 7 of his 10 points in the OSU game from the free throw line, to go with a 3-pointer.

Brooks hit double figures in both games (16 vs. Maryland, 12 vs. OSU), which was even more impressive because it wasn’t clear whether or not he’d even be able to play, due to an ankle injury in the away MSU game last week (03/07/2021).  He not only played, he played well.

Dickinson was the leading scorer in the OSU game (21 points), but he had a sub-par game vs. Maryland (6 points).

Wagner had a solid game vs. Maryland (16 points), but he had a miserable game vs. OSU (8 points, on 2-for-10 shooting).  He was held scoreless in the 2^nd half of the OSU game.

Chaundee Brown, Jr. had a good game vs. Maryland (10 points), but didn’t do much vs. OSU (3 points, on 1-for-6 shooting).

Austin Davis had a solid week, with 6 points in each game.

Johns also had a solid week, with 7 points in each game, one off the bench (Maryland) and one as a starter (OSU).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Livers only played in the Maryland game, and he was lousy: 0 points on 0-for-5 shooting.  Of course, we now know that he was playing with a broken foot.

Terrance Williams II only played in the OSU game, and he looked like a freshman, with 0 points.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

None of the scholarship players who aren’t part of the main rotation (Jace Howard, Zeb Jackson, and Adrien Nuñez) played in either game.

None of the scout team players (C.J. Baird, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, Brandon Wade, and Luke Wilson) played in either game.

What Does It Mean?

Michigan didn’t win the Big Ten Tournament, which is disappointing.  They played very poorly for much of the OSU game, and OSU played better than they have all season.  That’s a bad combination.  On the other hand, it’s kind of impressive that Michigan managed to stay in that game, and have a chance to win it at the buzzer, without Livers.

On to the NCAA Tournament.  The good news is: Michigan is a #1 seed, in the East Region.  The bad news is: Michigan is staggering into the playoffs.  They have lost 3 of their last 5 games, and they haven’t won 2 games in a row in a couple weeks.  They are the weakest #1 seed I can remember.  I think anything beyond the Sweet 16 would be a pleasant surprise.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan is scheduled to play in the NCAA Tournament, in the Indianapolis area.  As mentioned above, they’re a #1 seed, and they start play on Saturday (03/20/2021, 3:00 p.m. EDT, CBS) in Purdue’s Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN, vs. the winner of the (#16 seed) play-in game between Mount St. Mary’s and Texas Southern, which is scheduled for Thursday (03/18/2021).  They should be able to win that game, regardless of the opponent, even without the services of Livers, who is questionable.

If they win that game, they’ll play on Monday (03/22/2021, TBA, TBA), vs. the winner of the game between the #8 seed (LSU) and the #9 seed (St. Bonaventure), which is also on Saturday.  This game will be trickier, but Michigan can still win it and move on to the Sweet 16.  Maybe by the next weekend Livers will be back at full strength, and Michigan will be able to play with the big boys sure to be around in the Sweet Sixteen and beyond.

The other top teams in the East Region are: (#2) Alabama, (#3) Texas, and (#4) Florida State.  The other Big Ten teams in the East Region are: (#10) Maryland and (#11) Michigan State, but MSU has to win a play-in game vs. UCLA to get in the main bracket.  The full bracket is here.

Check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

The (#2) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games this past week, and they lost two and won the other one.  On Tuesday (03/02/2021), they lost to (#4) Illinois 76-53 in Crisler Arena, on Thursday (03/04/2021), they beat Michigan State 69-50 in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (03/07/2021), they lost to Michigan State 70-64 in East Lansing, MI.  The losses and win leave Michigan with a final regular season record of 19-3 (14-3 in the Big Ten).  Michigan won the Big Ten regular season championship outright.

What Happened?

Talk about a good news/bad news week.  The good news is: Big Ten Champs!  Michigan led the race for the title from wire to wire, and formally clinched the title when they beat MSU in the Thursday game.  Not only did they beat their arch-rival, on national TV, to win the Big Ten title, but they did it on Senior Night.  It was a wonderful moment.

The bad news is: Michigan lost two games, after going 18-1 for the rest of the season.  Michigan looked very ordinary in their home loss to Illinois, and pretty weak in the away MSU game.  Losing two out of three games is no way to end the season.  Ugh.

As I predicted/feared, the Illinois game came down to the battle between Hunter Dickinson and Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn, and Cockburn was too much for Dickinson to handle.  The key moment was when Dickinson picked up his 2^nd foul with 5:09 left in the 1^st half.  At that point, Illinois was up by 7 points (21-14), and Michigan managed to get within 3 points (21-18) at the 4:11 mark, but then Dickinson came out for the last 3:58 of the half, and Cockburn and Illinois went wild.  They finished the half on a 12-4 run, to lead by 11 (33-22) at halftime.  Dickinson picked up his 3^rd foul with 17:51 to go in the game, and that was it for him.  He played the rest of the game like a freshman, and Cockburn owned him.  Michigan never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way.  Once the game got away from them, they didn’t stand a chance.

The home MSU game was much better.  Michigan led the whole way, and they played well.  Michigan led early, 7-0, with 17:04 to go in the 1^st half.  Michigan kept the lead in the 5-7 point range until the 7:43 mark, when MSU crept to within 2 points (18-16).  Michigan finished the half strong, up 11 points (39-28).  State scored the first 4 points of the 2^nd half, to get within 7 points (39-32), and then Michigan went on a beautiful 10-0 run to push the lead up to 17 points (49-32).  The teams traded baskets, then Michigan went on another great 10-0 run to push the lead up to 28 points (64-36) with 6:20 to go, and the game was over.  Michigan could have won by 35-40 points, but Coach Howard emptied the bench with 3:19 left, and MSU made the score look a little more respectable.

The away MSU game was miserable.  Michigan played like they had nothing to play for, and MSU was fired up for their Senior Night.  That’s a bad combination.  Michigan only led a couple times, and never by more than 4 points.  They were ahead 21-17 with 5:21 to go in the 1^st half, when the wheels started coming off.  They let State go on a 13-5 run to end the half, up 30-26.  Michigan got within 1 point (30-29) early in the 2^nd half, but they never got the lead back, and once the game started slipping away, Michigan was unable to catch up.  MSU pushed the lead into the 8-10 point range until the last 2 minutes, when Michigan got back within 2 points (61-59, with 1:13 to go), but Michigan couldn’t get a stop, and MSU made their free throws.  It was a very disheartening loss.

Stats

The stats for the Illinois game are sad.  Michigan didn’t shoot very well overall (17-for-49 = 34.7%), they shot 3-pointers very poorly (2-for-7 = 28.6%), and they shot free throws decently (17-for-24 = 70.8%).  They were crushed on the boards (42-26), but they did win the turnover battle narrowly, 11-12.  They lost this game with poor shooting and rebounding.

The stats for the home MSU game are pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (26-for-52 = 50.0%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (7-for-16 = 43.8%), and they shot free throws decently (10-for-14 = 71.4%).  They won the rebounding battle (34-28), but lost the turnover battle (14-12).  They won this game with 3-point shooting, especially since they held MSU to 0 made 3-pointers (0-for-9).  That’s my favorite stat from this game.

The stats for the away MSU game are miserable.  Michigan didn’t shoot very well overall (25-for-60 = 41.7%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (7-for-22 = 31.8%), and they shot free throws poorly (7-for-11 = 63.6%).  They lost the rebounding battle (38-32), and tied in the turnover battle (8-8).  They lost this game with poor shooting and rebounding.

Who Started?

The starters for all three games were Eli Brooks, Hunter Dickinson, Isaiah Livers, Mike Smith, and Franz Wagner.

Who Looked Good?

Since almost no one looked good in the Illinois game and the away MSU game, no one looked good for the whole week.  So, “who looked good” is relative this week.

Brooks was the only Michigan player to hit double figures in the Illinois game, with 11 points, and he almost hit double figures (9 points) in the home MSU game.  He had a decent game going early in the away MSU game (5 points), but he twisted his ankle at the 15:36 mark of the 1^st half, and didn’t return to the game.  At this point, his status is unknown.

Wagner had a terrible game (2 points, on 1-for-9 shooting) vs. Illinois, but he was the star of the home MSU game, with 19 points.  He had a decent game in the away MSU game (10 points, on 4-for-12 shooting), but he was a non-factor for most of the game, coming alive in the last few minutes.  If he had contributed earlier, his late-game heroics wouldn’t have been necessary.

Dickinson had a lousy game (6 points, on 1-for-8 shooting) vs. Illinois, but he did much better in the home MSU game: 14 points, on 6-for-8 shooting, and 10 rebounds, for another double-double.   He had a decent game at MSU (12 points), and, like Wagner, he was too quiet for most of the game, getting most of his points when Michigan was in “desperation mode” at the end.  His poor shooting in the first 35 minutes put Michigan too far behind to come back in the final 5 minutes.

Smith hit double figures in the away MSU game (11 points), but not in the other two games (5 vs. Illinois, 9 in the home MSU game).  Once again, his scoring is secondary; he did a decent job running the offense: 5 assists in the home MSU game, 7 assists in the away MSU game, but 0 assists vs. Illinois.

Chaundee Brown, Jr. was Michigan’s leading scorer in the away MSU game (13 points), but he was a non-factor in the other two games (3 points vs. Illinois, 0 in the home MSU game).  He played a lot in the away MSU game, replacing Brooks when he injured his ankle.

Austin Davis played quite a bit this week, since Dickinson was playing like a freshman.  Davis was one of the few bright spots in the Illinois game (9 points, on 4-for-4 shooting), but he only had 1 point in the home MSU game, and 4 points in the away MSU game.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Livers had a lousy game (7 points, on 2-for-7 shooting) vs. Illinois, and he didn’t do much better in the home MSU game: 9 points, on 3-for-7 shooting.  He also had 9 points in the away MSU game.

Brandon Johns, Jr. chipped in 4, 6, and 0 points.

Zeb Jackson played in the Illinois game (0-for-1) and the away MSU game (0 shot attempts).  He played more than usual, and earlier than usual, in the away MSU game due to Brooks’ injury.   

Who Else Played?

Coach Howard emptied the bench at the end of the Illinois game and the home MSU game, so a lot of players got in.

Among the scholarship players who aren’t part of the main rotation:

Jace Howard played vs. Illinois, and scored 2 points (2-for-4 shooting free throws).

Adrien Nuñez played vs. Illinois, and scored 2 points (1-for-1 shooting).

Terrance Williams II played vs. Illinois, and scored 2 points (2-for-2 shooting free throws).

Among the scout team players:

C.J. Baird played in the home MSU game, and missed his only shot attempt.  He’s a senior, and he got to play on Senior Night.

Jaron Faulds played in the Illinois and home MSU games.  He didn’t attempt a shot vs. Illinois, but he made his only shot attempt in the home MSU game.  He’s a senior, and he got to play on Senior Night.

Rico Ozuna-Harrison played in the home MSU game, and missed both of his shot attempts.  He’s a senior, and he got to play on Senior Night.

Brandon Wade played in the home MSU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Luke Wilson played in the home MSU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.  He’s a senior, and he got to play on Senior Night.

Who Didn’t Play?

Everyone got to play in at least one game this past week.

What Does It Mean?

Michigan won the regular season Big Ten title.  In terms of the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan is the #1 seed, and gets a double bye, starting play on Friday.

In terms of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan is looking OK for a #1 seed.  Of course, a lot depends on how they do in the Big Ten Tournament.  Losing 2 out of 3 this past week sure didn’t help.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan is scheduled to play in the Big Ten Tournament, in Indianapolis, IN.  As mentioned above, they’re the #1 seed, and they start play on Friday (03/12/2021, 11:30 a.m., BTN) vs. the winner of the (#8 seed) Maryland/ (#9 seed) Michigan State game that will be played on Thursday.

If they win that game, they’ll move on to the semifinals on Saturday (03/13/2021, 1:00 p.m., CBS), vs. the winner of the game between the #4 seed (Purdue) and the winner of the quarterfinal game between the #5 seed (Ohio State) and the winner of the 1^st round game between (#12 seed) Northwestern and (#13 seed) Minnesota.

If they win the semifinal game, the championship game is on Sunday (03/14/2021, 3:30 p.m., CBS).  See the bracket here.

As the #1 seed, Michigan should be favored to win the tournament championship, but they will have to play their “A” game all three days.  During the regular season, Michigan beat each of the other Big Ten teams at least once, except for Illinois.  Illinois is the #2 seed, and they are certainly Michigan’s biggest hurdle to winning the tournament title.  Once again, it will all come down to Dickinson vs. Cockburn.

Check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!