UMGOBLUE.COM Michigan Wolverine Football & Basketball
By Fans…For Fans Since 1999
Phil and Drew break down a disappointing season for Michigan Wolverine basketball. Topics include the state of the program, why the team struggled, and whether Head Coach Juwan Howard is on the hot seat.
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TBD
The University of Michigan men’s basketball team is done for the 2022-2023 season, and the only way to describe it is “disappointing”. Michigan ended up with a final record of 18-16 (11-9 in Big Ten). They finished tied for 5th place in the league standings, missed the NCAA Tournament, and lost in the 2nd round of the NIT.
Season Wrap-up
Michigan started the season ranked #22 in the preseason AP poll, and big things were expected of them. Certainly, they were expected to contend for the Big Ten title and make it to the NCAA Tournament. That’s not how things worked out.
There were 31 regular season games and 3 post-season games, but one game ruined the whole season: the Central Michigan game in Crisler Arena on 12/29/2022. Michigan played like they expected to win by just showing up, and by the time they realized that they could actually lose to a lower-division MAC team in their own arena, it was too late. They lost 63-61, and the season was in tatters. It really didn’t matter much how many quality wins they got the rest of the season, that one horrible loss kept them out of the NCAA Tournament.
The theme for that game, and the rest of the season, was “keep the game close, and lose in the last 2 minutes”. Michigan lost to the following 13 teams by 6 points or less, or in overtime:
They could have won every one of those games, but they managed to lose them all, often in creative new ways. They often had double-digit leads late in the game. It was heartbreaking.
On the positive side, Michigan did have 9 impressive wins:
Most of those wins were against teams that eventually made the NCAA Tournament, and several of them were by impressive margins (Pitt, Maryland, Northwestern, and MSU).
The remaining 12 games were a mixed bag of blowout losses (3) and unimpressive wins over lesser opponents (9):
All of these losses were away from Crisler, and two of the three were to NCAA Tournament teams (Arizona State and Penn State).
Looking at the complete season, the real story was the CMU loss and all the close losses in the last 2 minutes. That’s where the season went down the drain.
Stats
The season stats show that Michigan shot decently overall (898-for-1884 = 45.0%), they shot 3-pointers fairly well (261-for-744 = 35.1%), and they shot free throws reasonably well (437-for-615 = 71.1%). They barely won the rebounding battle for the season (1248-1200), but they lost the turnover battle (356-338). These are not very impressive stats.
Here are the individual leaders this season.
Scoring:
Points per game:
Overall shooting percentage (minimum 100 attempts):
3-point shooting percentage (minimum 50 attempts):
Free throw shooting percentage (minimum 50 attempts):
Rebounding:
Assists:
Final Grades
Here are the final grades for this season’s team, with mid-term grades listed first.
Freshman Eligibility
Sophomore Eligibility
Junior Eligibility
Senior Eligibility
Looking Ahead
It’s almost pointless to try to predict who’s going to be on the team next season. Between the transfer portal and the NBA Draft, half the team could be gone by then. At this point, only two players have definitively said they are leaving: Isaiah Barnes (transfer portal) and Jett Howard (NBA Draft). There’s a rumor that Kobe Bufkin might also enter the NBA Draft, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Gregg Glenn III decided to transfer to get some playing time. Will anyone else leave over the summer? Who knows?
So, what about Hunter Dickinson? His best season was probably his freshman season, but he’s been the heart and soul of the team all 3 years. Will he come back for his senior season? On the one hand, he doesn’t appear to be getting much NBA interest, but some team might take a chance on him late in the 2nd round of the draft. On the other hand, he seems to be enjoying his college experience, and Michigan would love to have him back for another year. So, who knows?
What about the two grad student transfer players, Joey Baker and Jaelin Llewellyn? In theory, Baker should be done, but he has applied for a waiver for a 6th year of eligibility. If he is granted the waiver, and if he decides to stay at Michigan, would Michigan still want him? Probably. He was wildly unpredictable, but he showed what he could do in the Toledo game, with 21 points. Llewellyn is another player who would appear to be out of eligibility, but he might be granted a medical redshirt. It was telling that he didn’t participate in the Senior Day festivities, only Baker did. Once again, if he were given another season of eligibility, would he decide to stay at Michigan? And, if he wanted to stay, would Michigan want him? Where would he fit in with the rapid development of Dug McDaniel? So many possibilities!
At this point, Michigan has two players signed up to enter the program as incoming freshmen next season:
In the age of the transfer portal, it seems obvious that Coach Howard is going to go shopping this off-season. Regardless of who stays and who leaves, Michigan desperately needs more outside shooters, either as guards or wings. If Dickinson and Reed both stay, and Kante is used as a center, that position is all set. If Michigan has both McDaniel and Llewellyn as point guards, that position is all set. If Bufkin comes back, that’s one outside shooter, but with Jett Howard leaving and Baker being so unpredictable, Michigan needs at least two more pure shooters. Maybe Washington will be one of them, but it’s risky counting on a freshman too much.
Check back in mid-October for the start of next season.
Go Blue!
The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), and they won one and lost the other. On Tuesday (03/14/2023), they beat Toledo 90-80 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (03/18/2023), they lost at Vanderbilt 66-65. The win and the loss leave Michigan with a final record of 18-16 (11-9 in Big Ten). Their season is over.
What Happened?
Michigan looked good in beating Toledo in Crisler, and they were in control of the Vanderbilt game, with a comfortable lead in the final 67 seconds. Those last 67 seconds were a nightmare, and Michigan lost the game, ending their season. It was a sad way to end a sad season.
Game Flow
The Toledo game started out very poorly, with Toledo running to a quick 9-2 lead at the 18:27 mark. Michigan finally got going, and pulled to within a point (11-10) with 16:28 to go in the half. UM finally tied it up (18-18) at the 13:41 mark, then fell behind again, 27-18, with 11:11 to go. Michigan fought back again, and tied it up again (29-29) with 7:13 left in the half. They fell behind again, but finally got their first lead of the game (35-33) at the 4:13 mark. The lead went back and forth for the rest of the half, with Toledo hitting a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left to lead by 2 at halftime, 42-40. The first 2:14 of the second half were amazing. Michigan hit three 3-pointers and a jumper to go up by 9, 51-42. They kept the lead in the 7-9 point range for the next 6 minutes, then Toledo started creeping closer. The Michigan lead was down to 3 points (64-61) at the 10:09 mark, but UM kept pushing the lead back up to the 5-7 point range, with Toledo getting within 3 points a couple more times. Michigan finally pushed the lead up to the 10-12 point range, winning by 10. It was a solid win against the MAC regular season champions. As I had predicted, the crowd was pretty evenly divided, and it didn’t feel like a home game for Michigan.
The Vanderbilt game started out well, with Michigan grabbing a quick 5-0 lead, then UM went stone cold. Vanderbilt ripped off a 17-0 run, and the score was 17-5, at the 12:53 mark. Michigan fought back, and tied it up (20-20) with 9:21 to go. The lead went back and forth for the rest of the half, with neither team leading by more than 3 points. Michigan scored last in the half, and led by one point (30-29) at halftime. The lead went back and forth a couple more times at the start of the 2nd half, before Michigan started pulling away. UM led by 10 (52-42) at the 10:52 mark, and kept the lead in the 6-8 point range for most of the rest of the half. With 1:45 left in the game, Michigan had an 8-point lead (65-57), and they got a big stop on defense. With 1:07 to go, Michigan missed an easy layup, and the rest of the game was a nightmare. If UM had made that layup, they would have won the game. Instead, they committed dumb fouls and made dumber turnovers, and didn’t even attempt another shot until the last 2 seconds. It was disgusting to watch.
Stats
The game stats for the Toledo game were fabulous. Michigan shot very well overall (32-for-55 = 58.2%), they shot 3-pointers very well (13-for-23 = 56.5%), and they shot free throws very well (13-for-16 = 81.3%). They won the rebounding battle handily (39-29), but they lost the turnover battle badly (14-4). They won this game with excellent shooting.
The game stats for the Vanderbilt game were weak. Michigan shot poorly overall (23-for-53 = 43.4%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (3-for-12 = 25.0%), but they did shoot free throws well (16-for-19 = 84.2%). They won the rebounding battle handily (39-23), but they lost the turnover battle badly (15-7). They lost this game with poor shooting and turnovers.
Who Started?
The starters for the Toledo game were Joey Baker, Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Dug McDaniel, and Will Tschetter. Baker started in place of Jett Howard, who is still nursing an ankle injury, and didn’t play in either game.
The starters for the Vanderbilt game were Joey Baker, Hunter Dickinson, Youssef Khayat, Dug McDaniel, and Terrance Williams II. Bufkin also had an ankle injury for the Vanderbilt game, so Khayat started in his place. Bufkin didn’t play in the Vanderbilt game. Williams started in place of Tschetter, who came off the bench.
Who Looked Good?
Dickinson was great in both games, with 19 and 21 points. He also had 9 and 11 rebounds, so he had another double-double vs. Vanderbilt.
McDaniel had a great week, scoring 16 and 19 points. He was very efficient in the Toledo game, shooting 4-for-6, all from deep. He also had 8 assists that game. Wow! He wasn’t quite as efficient in the Vanderbilt game, shooting 7-for-14 (2-for-4 from deep).
Bufkin was the high scorer for Michigan in the Toledo game, with 23 points, along with 8 rebounds. It sure would have helped to have him vs. Vanderbilt.
Baker was the big (pleasant) surprise in the Toledo game. After averaging about 5 points/game for the regular season, he caught fire vs. Toledo, scoring a season-high 21 points. He shot very well: 8-for-11 overall, 5-for-7 from deep. He also hit double figures in the Vanderbilt game, with 11 points, but he sure didn’t shoot well in that one: 3-for-10 overall, 0-for-3 from deep.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
Williams should get a separate section for “worse than not-so-good”. He actually was respectable in the Toledo game (4 points and 7 rebounds), and decent for the first 39 minutes of the Vanderbilt game (6 points and 5 rebounds), but he singlehandedly lost the Vanderbilt game in the final 67 seconds. He had 2 turnovers and a foul, and he should have been credited with a 3rd turnover on a pass from McDaniel that he should have been able to chase down. He didn’t do a single positive thing in those 67 seconds. Ugh.
Tschetter was ineffective, scoring 5 and 0 points.
Khayat was ineffective, scoring 0 and 3 points. He hit a nice 3-pointer very early in the Vanderbilt game, and he grabbed 3 rebounds, but that was it.
Tarris Reed, Jr. was ineffective, scoring 0 and 5 points.
Jace Howard was ineffective, scoring 2 and 0 points.
Who Else Played?
No one else played.
Who Didn’t Play?
Isaiah Barnes and Gregg Glenn III were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play in either game. Barnes announced after the game that he is entering the transfer portal.
Ian Burns, Jackson Selvala, and Cooper Smith were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play in either game.
What Does It Mean?
Michigan seriously underperformed this season. Check back next week for the Season Wrap-up, where I’ll try to figure out what went wrong.
What’s Next?
Clean out the lockers. The season is over.
Check back next week for the Season Wrap-up, Final Grades, and Looking Ahead.
Go Blue!
The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this past week, and they lost it. On Thursday (03/09/2023), they lost to Rutgers 62-50 in the 2nd round of the Big Ten Tournament, in Chicago. The loss drops Michigan’s record to 17-15 (11-9 in Big Ten).
What Happened?
What’s that “popping” sound you hear? It’s the “NCAA Tournament bubble” that Michigan was maybe, sort of, possibly sitting on going “pop”. No Big Dance for Michigan this season. They had their chances. They just had to win one of the last three games to have a fighting chance, and they lost all three of them. Sure, the first two were on the road, and Michigan went to overtime in both games, but they were still losses. Sure, the Rutgers game was looking promising at halftime, but the 2nd half was a nightmare. In the end, it was just three losses.
Game Flow
As with so many games this season, Michigan had a decent lead several times in the 1st half: 7-0, 9-2, 18-11, and 23-17, then they went cold on offense. The game was all tied up, 25-25, with 56 seconds left in the 1st half, and Michigan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead 28-25. That was the high point of the game. The rest was downhill, steeply. Michigan COULD NOT MAKE A BASKET in the 2nd half. They made a few free throws in the early going of the 2nd half, and they made a 3-pointer at the 15:01 mark to pull within 3 points (37-34). The rest of the half was just free throws, no baskets until the last minute. Michigan actually got within one point (40-39) with 11:06 to go, then they let Rutgers pull away. It got as bad as 16 points (58-42) at the 2:03 mark. Stop to take a look at that: in 9 minutes, Michigan scored 3 points, all free throws. With 59 seconds left, Michigan hit their second basket of the half, another 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 13 points (58-45). They went from 15:01 to 0:59, 14 minutes and 2 seconds, between baskets. Before they made that 3-pointer with 59 seconds left, they were 1-for-17 in the 2nd half, with 7 turnovers. Unbelievable.
Stats
The game stats were predictably bad. Michigan shot horribly overall (16-for-46 = 34.8%), they shot 3-pointers decently (6-for-18 = 33.3%), and they shot free throws decently (12-for-17 = 70.6%). They lost the rebounding battle (37-30) and the turnover battle (14-9). They lost this game with poor overall shooting, poor rebounding, and turnovers.
Who Started?
The starters were Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, Dug McDaniel, and Will Tschetter.
Who Looked Good?
Dickinson was basically all of Michigan’s offense, with 24 of their 50 points. Nobody else hit double figures.
Bufkin got close to double figures, with 9 points. He was OK.
Joey Baker chipped in 5 points off the bench.
That’s it. Nobody else looked good.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
Jett Howard was ineffective, with 6 points on 2-for-8 shooting.
McDaniel ran the offense pretty well, but only scored 2 points, both free throws.
Tschetter was worthless, with 0 points.
Terrance Williams II scored 3 points, and didn’t contribute much.
Tarris Reed, Jr. was ineffective, scoring 1 point.
Who Else Played?
Jace Howard played for 2 minutes, but didn’t attempt a shot.
Who Didn’t Play?
Isaiah Barnes, Gregg Glenn III, and Youssef Khayat were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play.
Ian Burns, Jackson Selvala, and Cooper Smith were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play.
What Does It Mean?
As mentioned above, Michigan had to win at least one game in the Big Ten Tournament to stand a chance of a bid to the NCAA Tournament. They blew it, and now they’re in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) instead. They had their chances, and they blew them. They get another chance, but it’s for a much lesser prize. It will be interesting to see if they take this last chance with a positive attitude, or if they pout about not making it to the Big Dance.
What’s Next?
This week, Michigan plays in the NIT as a #3 seed. They were originally listed as a 2-seed, which would make a big difference for whether or not they get a second home game if they advance, but they were mysteriously changed to a 3-seed overnight. On Tuesday (03/14/2023, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play Toledo in Crisler Arena. If they win that game, they would play the winner of the Vanderbilt/Yale game on Saturday (03/18/2023), location, time, and TV to be announced. The complete NIT bracket is here.
Toledo is currently 27-7 (16-2 in the MAC). They were the regular season MAC champions, but they lost in the championship game of the MAC tournament. They have no impressive wins, and unimpressive losses to Kansas City, East Carolina, George Mason, Marshall, Ball State, and Kent State (twice). Of course, they did beat Central Michigan twice, which is much better than Michigan did against CMU. They have one noteworthy player, RayJ Dennis, but they don’t have much height, one 6’10” guy. This is a game that Michigan can and should win, but it won’t be easy. Toledo is only 40 miles down US-23, and they’ll bring a large and loud crowd into Crisler. It will feel more like an away game or a neutral site game. I was there in 1981 when Michigan hosted Toledo for an NIT game, and it was raucous. The crowd was about 65% Michigan and 35% Toledo, and the crowd carried the Michigan team past Toledo 80-68.
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 lost both of them. On Thursday (03/02/2023), they lost at Illinois 91-87 in double overtime, then on Sunday (03/05/2023), they lost at (#15) Indiana 75-73 in overtime. The two losses lower Michigan’s record to 17-14 (11-9 in Big Ten). They finished the regular season tied for 5th place in the Big Ten.
What Happened?
Michigan had a chance to win both of these games, but they just couldn’t get it done. They had nice leads late in both games, but they couldn’t hold them. They had a chance to finish in 2nd place in the Big Ten, but they couldn’t win a game. It was very frustrating.
Game Flow
The Illinois game was close the whole way. Michigan led for most of the 1st half, but only by 2-4 points. It was all tied it up (31-31) with 40 seconds left in the half, and Illinois led by 2 at halftime, 33-31. Illinois led for most of the 2nd half, keeping the lead in the 7-9 point range. Michigan fought back, and got the lead (57-56) at the 7:47 mark. Illinois went right back on top, and led by 4-6 points for most of the rest of regulation. With 2:35 to go in regulation, Illinois led by 7 points, 70-63. Michigan went on a 7-0 run to tie it up, 70-70, with 47 seconds to go. They got the stop they needed, and held the ball for the last shot. They missed it, and went to overtime.
The 1st overtime looked very promising. Michigan pulled out to a 7-point lead (81-74) with 1:49 to go, then they went cold. Illinois scored the last 7 points to tie it up (81-81) with 24 seconds left. Michigan had the ball for the last shot again, and they missed it again. On to overtime #2.
The 2nd overtime was miserable. Illinois went ahead right away, and never trailed. They led by as many as 5 points (88-83 with 3:07 to go), but Michigan managed to get within a point, 88-87, with 41 seconds left. Michigan was forced to foul, Illinois made their free throws, and that was the game. It was a real shame to lose the game after leading by 7 points with 1:49 to go in the first overtime.
The IU game was just as frustrating. After brief 3-0 and 4-2 leads by Michigan, IU led for almost all of the 1st half, by as many as 14 points. They were up 27-13 with 4:32 to go in the 1st half when Michigan went on a 14-2 run to end the half, down by only 2 points, 29-27. The 2nd half started out great, with Michigan finally getting a decent lead. They were up by 12 points (54-42) with 12:26 left in regulation when IU started coming back. IU finally got the lead back (66-65) with 2:49 to go in regulation, but Michigan went back ahead, 69-66, at the 1:15 mark. IU tied it up (69-69) with 59 seconds to go, and Michigan had the ball for the last shot, again, and they missed it, again. On to overtime, for the third game in a row.
The overtime period was miserable. Michigan never led, although they had several chances to tie it up or go ahead. They just couldn’t get the stops they needed on defense or make the shots they needed to on offense. It was another game that was a shame to lose.
Stats
The game stats for the Illinois game were decent. Michigan shot OK overall (31-for-70 = 44.3%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (8-for-21 = 38.1%), and they shot free throws acceptably (17-for-24 = 70.8%). They won the rebounding battle (46-45), but lost the turnover battle (12-7). They lost this game at the free throw line. Illinois drove to the basket on almost every possession, and they went to the free throw line a lot (34 attempts) and made most of them (26 made).
The game stats for the Indiana game were weak. Michigan shot poorly overall (26-for-63 = 41.3%), they shot 3-pointers decently (9-for-26 = 34.6%), and they shot free throws poorly (12-for-19 = 63.2%). They won the rebounding battle (45-36), but lost the turnover battle (13-8). They lost this game with turnovers and poor overall shooting.
Who Started?
The starters for both games were Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, Dug McDaniel, and Will Tschetter. Tschetter started in place of Terrance Williams II, who is slowed down with a bruised knee. Williams played in both games, but he didn’t start in either of them.
Who Looked Good?
Dickinson was the leading scorer for Michigan in both games, with 31 and 24 points. He also had 16 and 14 rebounds, for two more double-doubles. On top of all that, he had 3 and 5 blocked shots. He was amazing. He just wasn’t enough.
Bufkin also had a great week, with 23 and 19 points. The only downside? He had a miserable shooting day vs. IU: 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
Jett Howard hit double figures in both games, with 15 and 16 points.
McDaniel almost hit double figures in both games, with 9 and 10 points. He’s doing a great job running the offense, and he’s scoring a lot more than he did earlier in the season.
Tarris Reed, Jr. didn’t score very many points this week (3 and 2), but he played solid, rugged defense, taking some of the pressure off Dickinson. He also grabbed 6 and 9 rebounds.
Williams had a decent week, scoring 6 and 0 points.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
Tschetter had a lousy week, scoring 0 and 2 points. He had 4 fouls in each game. He didn’t contribute much.
Joey Baker had a lousy week as well, with 0 points in each game. He shot 0-for-5 vs. Illinois and 0-for-1 vs. IU. He missed one of the “last shots” that could have won the Illinois game.
Who Else Played?
Jace Howard played in both games, but didn’t attempt a shot.
Who Didn’t Play?
Isaiah Barnes, Gregg Glenn III, and Youssef Khayat were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play this week.
Ian Burns, Jackson Selvala, and Cooper Smith were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play this week.
What Does It Mean?
It was all right there: Michigan just had to win one game this week to finish in 2nd place in the Big Ten and grab a spot in the NCAA Tournament. They had decent leads with not much time left in both games. They had the last shot either at the end of regulation or in overtime to win the game. They blew it every single time. Now, they are on the outside looking in. They probably blew their chance to get to the Big Dance. They still might snag an invitation if they have a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament, but they’re certainly looking like an NIT team.
What’s Next?
This week, Michigan plays in the Big Ten Tournament, in Chicago. Even though Michigan finished the regular season tied for 5th place, they are the #8 seed in the tournament, due to the tiebreakers. As the #8 seed, they play the #9 seed (Rutgers) on Thursday (03/09/2023) at noon EST, televised on BTN. If they win that game, they are scheduled to play the #1 seed (Purdue) on Friday (03/10/2023) at noon EST, televised on BTN. If they can win that one, they play in the semifinals on Saturday (03/11/2023) at 1:00 p.m. EST, televised on CBS. If they make it to the championship game, it’s scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday (03/12/2023), televised on CBS. Here’s the complete bracket.
Michigan played Rutgers once this season, back on 02/23/2023, on the road, and UM won handily, 58-45. They should be able to get by them on a neutral court. Michigan also only played Purdue once this season, on 01/26/2023 in Ann Arbor, and they almost beat them, losing 75-70. Purdue has stumbled often in the second half of the season, and they are beatable. Actually, Michigan has either beaten or almost beaten every team in the Big Ten this season, and they can beat any and all of them in the tournament. They can also lose to any of them, so it should be an interesting tournament.
Check back next week to find out what happened and why.
Go Blue!
