Category: Basketball

The (#17) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they lost both of them.  On Wednesday (03/05/2025), they lost to (#13) Maryland 71-65 in Crisler Arena, and on Sunday (03/09/2025), they lost at (#8) Michigan State 79-62.   Michigan’s record is now 22-9 (14-6 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Going into March, Michigan still controlled their destiny in the Big Ten race.  They were 22-6 overall, and 14-3 in the Big Ten.  If they won their final three games, they would be outright Big Ten champions.  If they won two out of three, they would tie for 1^st place.  What did they do?  They lost all three games, and none of them were very close.  It was a miserable end to the regular season.

Game Flow

The Maryland game was close in the early going.  Maryland started with a small lead (7-4) at the 14:17 mark, but Michigan went on a 10-0 run to go up 14-7 with 11:26 to go.  That was the high point for Michigan.  Maryland went on a quick 9-0 run to go back ahead (16-14) with 8:24 left, and they never trailed again.  They finished the half on a 17-8 run to lead by 11 points (33-22) at halftime.  The 2^nd half wasn’t much better.  Maryland kept their lead in the 9-11 point range for the first 6 minutes of the half.  They still led by 9 points (44-35) at the 13:46 mark, when Michigan made a small run at them.  Michigan got within 5 points (44-39) with 13:11 to go, and the crowd woke up.  It didn’t do much good.  Maryland promptly pushed the lead back up to 11 points (50-39) with 12:14 left.  Michigan made a couple other runs at Maryland’s lead, and actually got within 2 points a couple times (54-52 and 59-57), but Maryland held them off down the stretch, winning by 6 points.  With 6:51 to go, Michigan was within 2 points (59-57), then they fell apart.  They shot 1-for-6 on 2-point shots, 2-for-5 on 3-point shots, 0-for-3 on free throws, and committed 4 turnovers and 5 fouls.

The MSU game was miserable from start to finish.  Michigan led exactly once: 3-2 at the 18:04 mark.  That was it.  MSU pulled out to a 20-6 lead with 12:21 to go, and Michigan was done.  They occasionally got within 10 points, but MSU was usually ahead by 15-20 points.  They were ahead by 22 points (50-28) at halftime, and they kept the lead in the 18-20 point range for most of the 2^nd half.  Michigan got as close as 11 points (61-50) with 9:23 to go, but MSU pushed it back up to 15 points and kept it there the rest of the way.

Stats

The stats for the Maryland game were pretty weak.  Michigan shot poorly overall (27-for-62 = 43.5%), they shot 3-pointers decently (7-for-20 = 35.0%), and they shot free throws poorly (4-for-7 = 57.1%).  They won the rebounding battle (39-37), but lost the turnover battle badly (16-8).  They lost this game with mediocre shooting and poor rebounding.

The stats for the Michigan State game were miserable.  Michigan shot poorly overall (19-for-52 = 36.5%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (3-for-24 = 12.5%), and they shot free throws decently (21-for-29 = 72.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle (39-30), and tied in the turnover battle (15-15).  They lost this game with terrible shooting and rebounding.

Who Started?

The starters for the Maryland game were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.  Rubin Jones replaced Gayle in the starting lineup for the MSU game.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was great in both games, with 20 and 29 points.  He had 15 rebounds vs. Maryland, for a double-double.  He more than did his part.

Wolf hit double figures in both games, with 20 and 18 points, but had too many turnovers in both games (5 and 3), and he shot poorly vs. MSU: 5-for-15 overall, 1-for-4 from deep.

Donaldson had one decent game (10 points vs. Maryland) and one lousy game (2 points vs. MSU).

Burnett had one decent game (8 points vs. Maryland) and one mediocre game (5 points vs. MSU).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Gayle was worthless this week, with 2 points vs. Maryland and 1 point vs. MSU.

Jones was worthless this week, with 0 points vs. Maryland and 3 points vs. MSU.

Will Tschetter was worthless this week, with 3 points vs. Maryland and 0 points vs. MSU.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen scored 0 and 2 points.

L.J. Cason scored 2 and 2 points.

Phat Phat Brooks played for 2 minutes in the MSU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again this week.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.

Jace Howard was the other scholarship player who didn’t play this week.

None of the Scout Team players played this week: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

The regular season is over, and it’s a relief.  After losing their last 3 games of the regular season, Michigan finished tied for 2^nd place in the Big Ten with Maryland.  Since Maryland beat Michigan in their only head-to-head matchup, Maryland gets the #2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and Michigan gets the #3 seed.  MSU won the Big Ten title outright, so they are the #1 seed.  Three teams tied for 4^th place (Wisconsin, UCLA, and Purdue), and UCLA won the tiebreakers for the #4 seed.  The complete bracket for the tournament is here.

At this point, Michigan is probably looking at a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  They can improve on that with a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays in the Big Ten Tournament, in Indianapolis.  They start play on Friday (03/14/2025, 9:00 p.m., BTN) vs. the winner of the game between the #6 seed (Purdue) and the winner of the game between the #14 seed (USC) and the #11 seed (Rutgers).  For reference, Michigan beat both USC and Rutgers, but they split with Purdue.

If Michigan wins their game on Friday, they play again on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS vs. the winner of the game between the #2 seed (Maryland) and the winner of the #7 seed (Illinois) and the winner of the game between the #15 seed (Iowa) and the #10 seed (Ohio State).

If Michigan makes it to the Championship game on Sunday, it’s at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.

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

Go Blue!

The (#15) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games this past week, and they won two and lost one.  On Monday (02/24/2025), they beat Nebraska 49-46 in Lincoln, on Thursday (02/27/2025), then beat Rutgers 84-82 in Crisler Arena, and on Sunday (03/02/2025), they lost to Illinois 93-73 in Crisler Arena.   Michigan’s record is now 22-7 (14-4 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

All three games this week were ugly, in three different ways.  The Nebraska game was a lousy game for both teams, with terrible shooting percentages and plenty of errors, but Michigan was just a little less lousy than Nebraska, and came away with the win.  The Rutgers game was a lousy game for Michigan, but they woke up just in time to sneak past Rutgers in the final seconds for the win.  The Illinois game was a terrible game for Michigan, certainly the ugliest of the three, and it was a decisive loss for Michigan.

Here’s the depressing part: Michigan has looked pretty bad in most of their games since their West Coast trip in early January.  They managed to win most of those games, but they “played down” to lesser competition in many of them, and they just snuck by against teams they should have beaten soundly.  The layups and dunks that they were making early in the season were rolling off, and their 3-point shooting has been trending downward steadily in the last month.  This is a team that depends on shooting a reasonable percentage from 3-point range, and they have struggled in games where they haven’t shot 3-pointers well.  They look tired, and their confidence appears to be shaken.

Game Flow

The Nebraska game was slow and low-scoring, and it was close most of the time.  Neither team was able to get more than 5 points ahead, and there were 5 ties and 9 lead changes.  Michigan scratched out a 25-21 lead at halftime, but Nebraska tied it up in the 2^nd half, and it was more of the same: slow, low-scoring, neither team able to pull away.  It wasn’t even good defense, it was just matching bad offenses.  With 1:36 left in the game, Michigan was ahead 45-44, and they managed to hold on for a 49-46 win.  It was truly ugly.

The Rutgers game was a little less ugly, but not much.  At least it was faster-paced and had more scoring.  Michigan was favored by 11.5 points, but no one told Rutgers.  Michigan opened a nice 14-7 lead at the 14:16 mark, and they managed to keep the lead in the 4-6 point range for a few minutes, but Rutgers kept creeping closer and closer.  They caught up to Michigan, and went ahead 25-23 with 9:52 left in the half.  The lead went back and forth for a few minutes, with Michigan leading 35-34 with 6:26 to go.  At this point, Rutgers took over, and pulled out to a 13-point lead (57-44) at the 1:13 mark.  Michigan managed to score the last 5 points of the half to pull within 8 points (57-49) at halftime.

The 2^nd half was more of the same, as Rutgers kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for the first 9 minutes of the half.  They were up 12 points (74-62) at the 11:14 mark, and the game was looking pretty bad for Michigan, when things suddenly turned around.  After being hot for the first 29 minutes, Rutgers suddenly lost their touch, and Michigan finally woke up.  UM started a slow, steady comeback, and the sell-out crowd got back into it.  Michigan went on a 10-0 run over the next 5 minutes, and got within 2 points (74-72) with 5:54 left.  They finally tied it up (76-76) with 4:33 to go, and again 78-78 with 2:34 left.  The lead went back and forth, and Rutgers was ahead by a single point (82-81) with 12 seconds left.  Michigan held for the last shot, and Nimari Burnett was the hero, swishing a 30-footer at the buzzer for the win.  It was very exciting.

The Illinois game was close and tense for the first 8+ minutes, with lots of ties and lead changes, and neither team able to pull ahead by more than 3-4 points.  At the 11:31 mark, Michigan was up 13-12, when Illinois opened up a 7-point lead (24-17) with 6:49 to go.  It was still a 6-point lead (31-25) with 2:06 left, but Michigan closed the half with a 5-0 run to get within 1 point at halftime, 31-30.

The start of the 2^nd half was still close and tense.  Michigan actually reclaimed the lead (32-31) in the opening seconds, and still led 39-38 at the 16:59 mark.  It was all tied up (41-41) with 16:05 to go, and Illinois was up by 2 points (43-41) with 15:27 left.  With 14:32 to go, Michigan missed a 3-pointer that would have put them back out front, and that was the game.  Suddenly, Illinois couldn’t miss, Michigan couldn’t buy a point, and the rout was on.  Illinois pushed their lead to 9 points (52-43) at the 12:39 mark, then 11 points (59-48) with 10:26 to go.  Every time Michigan made a little run at the lead, Illinois responded with a couple 3-pointers to push the lead even further.   When they weren’t hitting their first shots, they were getting offensive rebounds for second-chance points.  It was very demoralizing.  When they pushed the lead up to 15 points (67-52) with 8:42 left, the game was over.  Michigan never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way, and Illinois cruised to an easy win.

Stats

The stats for the Nebraska game were horrible, just horrible.  Michigan shot terribly overall (18-for-61 = 29.5%), they shot 3-pointers horribly (5-for-27 = 18.5%), and they shot free throws poorly (8-for-13 = 61.5%).  They won the rebounding battle (50-43), but lost the turnover battle (14-11).  I don’t know how they managed to win this game.  Rebounding, maybe?

The stats for the Rutgers game were only slightly better than the Nebraska game.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-54 = 53.7%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5-for-21 = 23.8%), and they shot free throws poorly (21-for-32 = 65.6%).  They won the rebounding battle (38-27), but they lost the turnover battle (14-8).  They won this game (barely) with good overall shooting and solid rebounding.

The stats for the Illinois game were pretty weak.  Michigan shot decently overall (28-for-61 = 45.9%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (4-for-18 = 22.2%), and they shot free throws decently (13-for-19 = 68.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (43-32) and the turnover battle as well (11-9).  They lost this game with poor 3-point shooting and terrible rebounding.  They gave up 19 offensive rebounds!  19!

Who Started?

The starters for all 3 games were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin had two good games and one decent game.  He was the high scorer for Michigan in the Rutgers (24) and Illinois (22) games, and he almost hit double figures in the low-scoring Nebraska game (8).  He had 10, 11, and 7 rebounds, giving him a double-double in the Rutgers game.

As mentioned above, Burnett was the hero of the Rutgers game, with the game-winning 30-footer at the buzzer.  He had 20 points in that game, on decent shooting.  The other two games?  Not so much: he had 2 points in the Nebraska game, on terrible shooting (1-for-7 overall, 0-for-4 from deep), and 6 points in the Illinois game, on decent shooting.

Gayle had one good game (12 points vs. Nebraska) and two mediocre games (5 points vs. Rutgers and 4 points vs. Illinois).  He was the high scorer for Michigan in the Nebraska game.  He didn’t shoot very well in any of the games, and he has had a lousy time shooting 3-pointers in 2025: he’s 1-for-25 since the Western Kentucky game on 12/29/2024, including 0-for-15 since the away Purdue game on 01/24/2025.  The team needs him to break out of this slump.

Will Tschetter had one good game (16 points vs. Rutgers), one decent game (9 points vs. Illinois), and one mediocre game (3 points vs. Nebraska).

Wolf had three decent games: 10 points vs. Nebraska, 8 points vs. Rutgers, and 9 points vs. Illinois.  He didn’t shoot very well in any of them.  He had 10 rebounds vs. Nebraska, giving him another double-double.

Donaldson had a good game vs. Nebraska (11 points), a sad game vs. Rutgers (5 points), and a decent game vs. Illinois (9 points).  He didn’t shoot very well in any of them.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Rubin Jones only played in one game this week (Illinois) due to illness, and he missed his only shot attempt.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen scored 0, 1, and 6 points.

L.J. Cason scored 3, 5, and 5 points.

Phat Phat Brooks finally got in a game!  He played for 3 minutes in the Illinois game, making his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.

Ian Burns played for the last 32 seconds of the (doomed) Illinois game, since it was Senior Day.  He missed his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again this week.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.

Jace Howard didn’t play this week.  Jace was honored for Senior Day, with Juwan in the house.  Since Ian Burns got in for the last 32 seconds of the Illinois game but Jace didn’t, I’m wondering if Jace is sick or injured.

None of the other Scout Team players played this week: Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

Well, it was a fun pennant race, but Michigan blinked first, and Michigan State looks like they’re going to win it.  With two games left, MSU has a one-game lead.  Of course, if Michigan wins their last two games, they can still tie with MSU for 1^st place.  It could happen, but not if Michigan plays like they have for the last couple weeks.  They need to get back to the way they were playing in early January.

Regardless of whether Michigan wins or loses their next two games, they are guaranteed at least a tie for 2^nd place, which will earn them a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament  They are also looking good for a nice seed (#4 or #5) in the NCAA Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Wednesday (03/05/2025, 6:30 p.m., BTN), they play (#16) Maryland in Crisler Arena, and on Sunday (03/09/2025), 12:00 p.m., CBS), they play at (#8) Michigan State.

Maryland is currently 22-7 (12-6 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Villanova, Syracuse, (#22) UCLA, (#17) Illinois, and (#17) Wisconsin, and unimpressive losses to Washington, Northwestern, and Ohio State.  They have one noteworthy player (Derik Queen), and decent height: a 6’10” player (Derik Queen) and a 7-footer.  They’ve been hot lately, and this will be a very challenging game.  If Michigan can get back to their mid-season swagger, they can beat Maryland, but if they play the way they’ve been playing lately, this could be another blowout loss.

MSU is currently 24-5 (15-3 in Big Ten).  Michigan has already played (and lost to) MSU this season, so we know what to expect.  MSU has been hot lately, and they are very tough to beat in Breslin.  This game could be for all the marbles, and Michigan can beat MSU, but they need to play their best game of the season.

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

Go Blue!

The (#12) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this past week, and they lost it.  On Friday (02/21/2025), they lost to (#14) Michigan State 75-62 in Crisler Arena.   Michigan’s record is now 20-6 (12-3 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Everything was in place: Crisler Arena was sold out, and 99% full.  The crowd was pumped up, and the atmosphere was electric.  Both teams were ranked in the Top 15, and the winner would be all alone in first place.  Michigan had it all there, ripe for the picking, then … thud.  The “second half blues” did them in.

Michigan outplayed MSU in the first half, but MSU really outplayed Michigan in the second half, and that was the difference.  The second half was one of the worst halves that Michigan has played this season, right up there with the first half of the game at Purdue.  The final score is a little deceptive, since MSU scored a bunch of meaningless points in the final minutes when Michigan was trying desperation plays to catch up.  It was really a 4-5 point loss, not a 13 point loss.  Still, a loss is a loss, and a home loss is doubly depressing.  This is Michigan’s first home loss of the season, after 12 straight wins.

Game Flow

As they have so many times lately, Michigan got off to a poor start, falling behind 7-2 at the 17:05 mark, then 16-8 with 12:53 to go.  They finally got on track, and tied the game up (16-16) with 11:02 left, and went ahead by 7 points (23-16) at the 8:02 mark.  It was a very satisfying 15-0 run, and it put Michigan ahead for the rest of the half.  State got as close as 3 points (26-23) with 4:44 to go, but Michigan pushed the lead back up to 8 points (33-25) with 2:20 left.  State cut the lead to 4 points (38-34) at halftime.

The 2^nd half was miserable.  MSU started the half with two 3-pointers in a row, and suddenly Michigan’s lead was gone: State led 40-38 at the 17:55 mark.  Michigan fought back, and got the lead (42-40) with 16:26 left.  That was Michigan’s last lead.  State took back the lead, and kept it in the 4-6 point range for a while, then pushed it up to the 9-11 point range.  They led by 11 points (62-51) with 7:52 to go, before Michigan made one last push.  UM got within 3 points (62-59) at the 5:37 mark, but that was it for Michigan.  Look at the final score: 75-62.  MSU outscored Michigan 13-3 in the last 5:37.  During that stretch, Michigan shot 1-for-3 at the free throw line, 1-for-1 on 2-point shots, 0-for-3 on 3-point shots, and committed 4 fouls and 2 turnovers.  Three points in 5:37 is really sad.

Stats

The game stats were just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (23-for-50 = 46.0%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5-for-21 = 23.8%), and they shot free throws poorly (11-for-18 = 61.1%).  They lost the rebounding battle (34-25) and the turnover battle (15-11).  They lost this game due to poor rebounding and too many turnovers.  In particular, they gave up way too many offensive rebounds (14).

Who Started?

The starters were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Vladislav Goldin, Rubin Jones, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was the leading scorer, with 21 points.  He battled in there, and did his part.

Burnett had 12 points, and only one turnover.  He did his part.

Wolf had 11 points, and was the leading rebounder for Michigan with 7.  He also led Michigan in assists with 8.  He did his part.

Will Tschetter chipped in 5 points off the bench.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Donaldson was the main problem in this game.  He scored 3 points on terrible shooting: 1-for-5 overall, 1-for-4 from deep.  This was his second-worst game of the season (0 points at Wisconsin).  It was a bad time for him to have a bad game.

Jones was no help, with 2 points.

Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 5 points on terrible shooting: 1-for-6 overall, 0-for-2 from deep.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen scored 2 points.

L.J. Cason scored 1 point.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.

Phat Phat Brooks and Jace Howard were the other scholarship players who didn’t play.

None of the Scout Team players played: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

Despite the loss, Michigan (12-3) still controls their own destiny.  They are currently a half game out of first place behind MSU (13-3), but they have a game in hand over MSU.  They play MSU one more time, in East Lansing, on the last day of the regular season (03/09/2025).  If Michigan can win the rest of their games, they’ll win the Big Ten title outright.  Can they do that?  Maybe.  They have 5 games left:

• 02/24/2025 at Nebraska
• 02/27/2025 vs. Rutgers
• 03/02/2025 vs. Illinois
• 03/05/2025 vs. (#20) Maryland
• 03/09/2025 at (#14) Michigan State

The three games against unranked opponents look winnable, but the two games against ranked opponents will tell the story.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays three games, which is rare.  On Monday (02/24/2025, 8:00 p.m. EST, FS1), they play at Nebraska, on Thursday (02/27/2025, 9:00 p.m., Peacock), they play Rutgers in Crisler Arena, and on Sunday (03/02/2025), 3:45 p.m., CBS), they play Illinois in Crisler Arena.

Nebraska is currently 17-10 (7-9 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#14) Creighton, Indiana, (#15) UCLA, (#18) Illinois, and (#16) Oregon, and unimpressive losses to St. Mary’s (CA), Iowa, Rutgers, USC, and Penn State.  They have one noteworthy player (Brice Williams), and they have a lot of height: three 6’10” players and a 7’1” player.  This will be quite a challenging game.  Nebraska is 10-3 at home, and they have beaten some good teams this season.  Michigan needs to bounce back from a disappointing performance against MSU on a short turnaround.  They can win this game, but they need to play with poise and control.

Rutgers is currently 14-14 (7-10 in Big Ten).  Michigan has already played them, and beat them, on the road on 02/01/2025.  Since then, they have gone 3-3, with a win over (#23) Illinois.  This is a game that Michigan needs to win.  If they can beat them on the road, they should be able to beat them at home.

Illinois is currently 17-11 (9-8 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#19) Arkansas, (#20) Wisconsin, (#9) Oregon, and UCLA, and unimpressive losses to Northwestern, USC, Nebraska, and Rutgers.  They have one noteworthy player (Kasparas Jakucionis), and they have some height: two 6’10” players and one 7’1” player.  Even though Illinois is currently unranked, they were ranked for much of the season.  This will be a very challenging game for Michigan, even in Crisler Arena.  Even though it’s not reciprocated, Illinois thinks they have a deep rivalry with Michigan, and they are still nursing a grudge about the 2020-2021 season, when Michigan won the Big Ten.  They still insist that they won the title, based on number of conference wins, not winning percentage, and they are nursing the disrespect as much as they can.

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

Go Blue!

The (#20) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (02/11/2025), they beat (#7) Purdue 75-73 in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (02/16/2025), they beat Ohio State 86-83 in Columbus.   Michigan’s record is now 20-5 (12-2 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

When Michigan beat Purdue on Tuesday evening, they climbed into a tie for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan State.  When MSU lost to Indiana later that evening, Michigan moved into first place all by themselves.  They had to beat Ohio State on Sunday to stay alone in first place, and they did it.  They have now won 6 games in a row, all by 2-4 points.

Obviously, these were two huge wins for Michigan, for many reasons; Purdue, because they were highly ranked, because they had thrashed Michigan in West Lafayette a couple weeks ago, because Michigan was (and still is) undefeated at home this season, and because it was a battle for first place.  Ohio State, because it’s a rivalry game, because they were favored, because it was another road win, and because Michigan wanted to stay in first place all alone.

Game Flow

The Purdue game started off very poorly, just like the disastrous game in West Lafayette a couple weeks ago.  In that one, Purdue led 6-0 in less than 2 minutes, on their way to a deflating 13-2 lead.  In this game, Purdue led 7-0 in less than 2 minutes (18:04 mark), and it was looking like another Purdue blowout.  Fortunately, Michigan didn’t let this one get out of hand, going ahead 15-14 with 13:18 to go.  Purdue quickly went back on top, and kept their lead in the 3-5 point range for the next 4 minutes.  With 9:45 left in the half, Purdue was up 24-20, but Michigan let them push their lead up to 8 points (32-24) with 5:02 to go.  Things were starting to look grim, and Purdue expanded their lead to 11 points (37-26) at the 3:46 mark.  Fortunately, Michigan scored the last 9 points of the half to pull within 2 points (37-35) at halftime.

After all that hard work to make the game close again, Michigan opened the 2^nd half by giving up an 11-3 Purdue run, which pushed their lead back up to 10 points (48-38) with 14:44 to go.  Purdue kept that lead in the 7-9 point range for the next 5 minutes, and they were up by 8 points (53-45) at the 9:17 mark.  Michigan finally started making some progress, and got the deficit down to 3 points (53-50) with 8:11 to go, then 1 point (55-54) with 6:32 left.  They tied it up (57-57) at the 6:01 mark, and the game was a see-saw battle the rest of the way, with neither team able to pull more than 4 points ahead.  Michigan finally got ahead by 6 points (73-67) with 39 seconds left, and traded points with Purdue down the stretch to win by 3 points.  It was an impressive win.

The OSU game was a see-saw battle from the beginning, with neither team able to get more than a 4 point lead for the first 7 minutes.  OSU got their biggest lead of the game (5 points) at the 13:10 mark, 21-16.  Michigan went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 24-21 with 10:19 to go.  The lead went back and forth for the next few minutes, and OSU had their last lead of the half (29-28) at the 7:31 mark.  Michigan went on a 7-0 run to lead 35-29 with 5:48 to go, then let OSU creep back within 2 points (35-33) with 2:35 left.  Fortunately, Michigan outscored OSU 9-6 before halftime, to lead 44-39 at the break.

OSU tightened things up to start the 2^nd half, and got within 1 point (46-45) at the 18:59 mark.  Michigan stayed ahead, but OSU got within 2 points a couple times (51-49, 53-51, 59-57, and 61-59), before tying it up (61-61) with 13:37 to go.  The lead went back and forth, with many ties, and Michigan was leading by 1 point (71-70) with 7:06 left.  Michigan led for a while, by 2-4 points, but OSU tied it up again (80-80) at the 2:06 mark.  Michigan pulled ahead for good, up 84-80 with 52 seconds left, and made enough free throws and got enough stops to win by 3 points.

Stats

The stats for the Purdue game were just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (25-for-56 = 44.6%), they shot 3-pointers decently (7-for-23 = 30.4%), and they shot free throws pretty well (18-for-26 = 69.2%).  They lost the rebounding battle (38-34), and tied in the turnover battle (11-11).  For the 4^th game in a row, they won this game at the free throw line.  They scored 18 points at the free throw line vs. 6 (for 8) for Purdue.

The stats for the OSU game were also just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (33-for-68 = 48.5%), they shot 3-pointers decently (7-for-21 = 33.3%), and they shot free throws well (13-for-17 = 76.5%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (46-31), but lost the turnover battle (12-9).  They won this game with rebounding and (relatively) low turnovers.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Vladislav Goldin, Rubin Jones, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

What a great forecourt Michigan has this season!  Wolf and Goldin have been among the high scorers in almost every game, and this week was no exception.

Wolf was the leading scorer in the Purdue game, with 15 points, and the 2^nd leading scorer in the OSU game, with 17 points.  He also had 11 rebounds vs. OSU, for another double-double.  He almost had a double-double vs. Purdue, with 9 rebounds.

Goldin was the leading scorer in the OSU game, with 20 points, and the 3^rd leading scorer in the Purdue game with 12 points.  He also had 10 rebounds vs. OSU, for another double-double.  Yes, both Wolf and Goldin had double-doubles vs. OSU.

Welcome back, Roddy Gayle Jr.  After a string of forgettable performances that cost him his starting role, Gayle responded with 14 points vs. Purdue and 9 more vs. OSU.  The win over OSU was particularly sweet for him, since he played for 2 years at OSU.

Donaldson had a good game vs. Purdue (12 points), and a decent game vs. OSU (8 points).  He shot pretty well vs. Purdue (4-for-8 overall, 2-for-3 from deep), but he had a rough time vs. OSU (3-for-10 overall, 0-for-4 from deep).

Burnett had a steady week, with 9 and 11 points.

Jones had a decent week, with 6 and 8 points.  It was good to see him play with confidence and score a few points this week, after a few forgettable games.

Will Tschetter chipped in 5 and 8 points off the bench this week.

L.J. Cason chipped in 2 and 5 points off the bench this week.  It was good to see him get in there again and contribute.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked “not so good” this week.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen played in both games.  He didn’t score in either game, going 0-for-1 and 0-for-2.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play in either game this week.  Apparently, he has a lower back injury, and is “day to day”.  He also missed a couple practices due to a death in his family.

Phat Phat Brooks and Jace Howard were the other scholarship players who didn’t play.

None of the Scout Team players played: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

We’ve got a pennant race, and Michigan controls their own destiny.  They have already beaten one of the contenders (Wisconsin), played (and split with) another one of the contenders (Purdue), and they still have two games to go against still another contender (Michigan State).  They are in good position to be in the thick of the title race for the remainder of the season.

At this point, Michigan is a shoo-in for the NCAA Tournament, and they can help themselves with an even better seed, currently estimated at #4.  They can also help themselves with a good seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan only plays one game, and it’s a big one.  On Friday (02/21/2025, 8:00 p.m., Fox), they play (#11) Michigan State in Crisler Arena.

Michigan State is currently 20-5 (11-3 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over North Carolina, Illinois (twice), and Oregon, and unimpressive losses to Memphis, USC, UCLA, and Indiana.  They have a couple noteworthy players (Jaden Akins and Xavier Booker), and a lot of height: a 6’10” guy, two 6’11” guys, and a 7-footer.  This is THE game so far this season.  MSU is very good, but they’re not unbeatable.  I expect another close, tense game that will be decided in the last seconds.

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

Go Blue!

The (#24) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Wednesday (02/05/2025), they beat Oregon 80-76 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/08/2025), they beat Indiana 70-67 in Bloomington.   Michigan’s record is now 18-5 (10-2 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

As you can see, both of Michigan’s wins this week were very close.  In fact, Michigan has now won four games in a row, all by either 3 or 4 points:

• 01/27/2025 – Michigan 76 Penn State 72
• 02/01/2025 – Michigan 66 Rutgers 63
• 02/05/2025 – Michigan 80 Oregon 76
• 02/08/2025 – Michigan 70 Indiana 67

The wins this week were both big: the Oregon game since Oregon had been ranked (#16) the week before, and the Indiana game since any win on the road in the Big Ten is a big deal, but even bigger since Michigan hasn’t won very often in Bloomington.

It’s great that Michigan is winning these close games now, since they lost 4 close games earlier in the season:

• 11/10/2024 – Michigan 70 Wake Forest 72
• 12/10/2024 – Michigan 87 Arkansas 89
• 12/18/2024 – Michigan 86 (#14) Oklahoma 87
• 01/16/2025 – Michigan 81 Minnesota 84 (overtime)

The only frustrating thing about all those losses is that Michigan had comfortable leads in all of them, and let all the leads melt away to make the games close at the end.

Game Flow

The Oregon game was close most of the time.  Oregon jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead at the 16:19 mark, but Michigan fought back and finally took the lead (10-9) with 13:07 to go.  The lead went back and forth for the next couple minutes, and Oregon was ahead 16-15 with 10:27 left.  Michigan went on a quick 11-0 run to go up 26-16 at the 8:25 mark, and they kept the lead in the 7-9 point range for the next 5 minutes.  With 3:19 to go in the half, Michigan still led by 7 points (37-30), but Oregon went on a 6-0 run to get within a point, 37-36, with 2:07 to go.  Fortunately, Michigan scored the last 4 points of the half, and led 41-36 at halftime.

Michigan started the 2^nd half strong, and pushed their lead to 14 points (64-50) at the 12:21 mark.  They kept the lead in the 10-12 point range for the next few minutes, and they were up 10 points (70-60) with 8:52 to go.  At this point, Oregon made their move.  They cut the deficit down to 2 points (74-72) with 2:45 left, and the game was close the rest of the way.  Michigan pushed their slim lead to 3 or 4 points a couple times, but Oregon got back within 2 points each time: 76-74 with 49 seconds left, and 78-76 with 15 seconds to go.  Michigan made their free throws, and hung on for a 4 point win.

Michigan never trailed in the IU game.  There were a few ties in the early going (2-2, 5-5, and 16-16), but once Michigan went ahead 19-16 at the 10:57 mark, they opened up a nice 16 point lead (35-19) with 5:53 to go in the half.  Michigan kept the lead in the 14-16 point range for the rest of the half, leading by 16 at halftime, 43-27.

The 2^nd half started out OK, with Michigan keeping their lead in the 15-17 point range for the first few minutes.  With 17:18 left, Michigan was still up by 17 points, 49-32, and then they just went cold.  Over the next 7+ minutes, IU went on a 20-4 run to get within 1 point (53-52) at the 9:30 mark.  The rest of the game was a nail-biter.  Michigan built up a small lead again (59-52) with 6:56 to go, but IU went on a 7-0 run to tie it up, 59-59, with 4:08 left.  Michigan went ahead again, 66-61, at the 1:25 mark, but IU got back within 2 points (66-64) with 12 seconds left.  Michigan made their free throws, and got the stop they needed, to build up an insurmountable 70-64 lead with 2 seconds left, so it didn’t matter that IU hit a 70-foot shot at the buzzer to make it a 3 point game.  Only the gamblers cared about that.

Stats

The stats for the Oregon game were just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (27-for-63 = 42.9%), they shot 3-pointers decently (9-for-27 = 33.3%), and they shot free throws well (17-for-21 = 81.0%).  They tied in the rebounding battle (38-38), and lost the turnover battle (15-12).  For the 2^nd game in a row, they won this game at the free throw line.  They scored 17 points at the free throw line vs. 9 (for 11) for Oregon.

The stats for the Indiana game were mediocre.  Michigan shot decently overall (24-for-54 = 44.4%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5-for-21 = 23.8%), and they shot free throws very well (17-for-20 = 85.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (37-30), but lost the turnover battle (12-7).  For the 3^rd game in a row, they won this game at the free throw line.  They scored 17 points at the free throw line vs. 11 (for 15) for Indiana.  A note about the 3-point shooting in this game: Michigan was hot in the 1^st half (5-for-12 = 41.7%) and ice cold in the 2^nd half (0-for-9), which is why IU was able to come back and make it close.

Who Started?

The starters for the Oregon game were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.  Rubin Jones started in place of Gayle for the Indiana game.  Gayle played in the IU game, but he lost his starting position due to poor production.

Who Looked Good?

Wolf was the 2^nd leading scorer in the Oregon game, with 15 points, and the leading scorer in the IU game, with 20 points.  He also had 12 rebounds vs. Oregon, for another double-double.  He almost had a double-double vs. IU, with 9 rebounds.

Goldin was tied for the 2^nd leading scorer in the both games, with 15 and 18 points.

Wait; if Wolf and Goldin were tied for 2^nd high scorer in the Oregon game, who was the high scorer?  Will Tschetter, with 17 points!  He also chipped in 4 points in the Indiana game.

Donaldson had a decent game vs. Oregon (12 points) and was tied with Goldin as the 2^nd leading scorer in the IU game, with 18 points.  He shot decently in the IU game (7-for-15 overall, 2-for-7 from deep), but not so well in the Oregon game (5-for-14 overall, 2-for-7 from deep).

Burnett had one good game (13 points) vs. Oregon, and one lousy game (3 points) vs. Indiana.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Gayle had a decent game vs. Oregon (8 points), but still lost his starting spot.  He responded with a terrible game vs. Indiana (2 points).  This is not good.

Jones had a terrible game vs. Oregon (0 points), but replaced Gayle in the starting lineup for the IU game.  He responded with a terrible game vs. IU (3 points).  This is not good.  Michigan has a problem at small forward, since both Gayle and Jones are playing poorly.

Who Else Played?

Sam Walters chipped in 0 and 2 points off the bench.

Justin Pippen played in both games.  He didn’t attempt a shot vs. Oregon, and he missed his only shot attempt vs. Indiana.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks, L.J. Cason, and Jace Howard were the scholarship players who didn’t play.

None of the Scout Team players played: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

Remember two weeks ago (after Purdue thrashed Michigan) when I said that Michigan could forget about contending for the Big Ten title, and that Michigan State was running away with it?  How quickly things can change!  MSU went out west and lost to USC and UCLA (both teams that Michigan beat, out there), and suddenly Michigan is in the thick of a pennant race.  Purdue is in 1^st place at 11-2, and Michigan and Michigan State are tied for 2^nd place at 10-2.  Everyone else has at least 4 losses.  Since Michigan plays Purdue and Michigan State (and Ohio State) in the next 2 weeks, the standings will probably change quite a bit.

At this point, Michigan probably already has enough wins to get into the NCAA Tournament, but they can hold onto a good seed (currently projected at 5 or 6) by continuing to win games.  They can also help themselves to a good seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Tuesday (02/11/2025, 7:00 p.m., Peacock), they play (#7) Purdue in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (02/16/2025, 1:00 p.m., CBS), they play at Ohio State.

Purdue is currently 19-5 (11-2 in Big Ten).  Michigan last played them on 01/24/2025, and got thrashed 91-64.  Since then, Purdue has won 3 games against lower-division teams (Indiana, Iowa, and USC).  Michigan can beat Purdue in Crisler, but they will need to play their best game of the season.  They certainly can’t let Purdue run out to a 20-point lead in the first 9 minutes like they did last game.

Ohio State is currently 14-10 (6-7 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#19) Texas, (#4) Kentucky, (#11) Purdue, and (#18) Maryland, and unimpressive losses to Pittsburgh, Indiana, and Nebraska.  They have one noteworthy player (Bruce Thornton), and a lot of height: one 6’10” player and two 7’1” players.  This is going to be a tough game, especially on the road.  Michigan can win, but they need to play a solid, clean game.

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

Go Blue!