Category: Basketball

Happy New Year!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this past week, and they won it.  On Saturday (01/04/2025), they beat USC 85-74 in Los Angeles.   Michigan’s record is now 11-3 (3-0 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Every Big Ten team played two conference games in early December, including Michigan, who beat Wisconsin on the road and Iowa in Crisler.  The last 3 weeks of December were all non-conference games for the Big Ten, but the conference schedule started up again with the new year.  Michigan’s schedule called for them to restart the Big Ten schedule on the road, in Los Angeles, to play two of the new Big Ten teams: USC and UCLA, formerly of the Pac-12.  It was nice that the Big Ten scheduled both games a few days apart, so the team could fly out there just once and take care of both games in one trip.  Michigan started the road trip with a bang, beating a good USC team on their home court.

Game Flow

Michigan led for a good portion of the game, although there were a few stretches where the game was close, and there lots of ties and lead changes.  Michigan opened up several good leads, then watched them fritter away.  Fortunately, Michigan opened up a good lead in “crunch time”, and they were able to protect it for the win.

UM started the game on fire, hitting their first 5 shots, all 3-pointers.  They led 15-6 at the 16:01 mark, and it looked like they might run away with the game.  Unfortunately, USC ripped off a 14-4 run, and suddenly USC was ahead (20-19) with 9:35 to go.  For the next 8 minutes, the lead went back and forth, with a bunch of tie scores, and neither team got more than 2 points ahead.  With 1:42 left in the half, USC was up 38-36, then Michigan scored the last 6 points of the half to lead at halftime, 42-38.

Just like the 1^st half, Michigan opened the 2^nd half on fire.  USC scored first, to get within 2 points (42-40), then Michigan went on a 13-0 run, to open a 15-point lead (55-40) at the 16:03 mark.  That was the high-water mark for Michigan.  They let USC slowly creep back into the game, and it was all tied up (63-63) with 9:50 left.  It was more than 2 minutes before either team scored again, and USC went up 65-63 with 7:33 to go.  That was their last lead, as Michigan finally got going again, and opened up an 8-point lead (73-65) at the 5:09 mark.  USC fought back, and got within 2 points (73-71) with 3:23 to go.  Michigan responded with a 10-0 run to push the lead up to 12 points (83-71) with 0:49 left, and that was the game.

Stats

The game stats were very good.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-55 = 52.7%), they shot 3-pointers well (10-for-24 = 41.7%), and they shot free throws well (17-for-21 = 80.9%).  They won the rebounding battle (33-32), but they lost the turnover battle (14-12).  They won this game with good shooting.  By the way, the 3-point shooting number could have been much better.  They started out 5-for-5, and shot a blazing 10-for-16 (62.5%) in the 1^st half, but they shot 0-for-8 in the 2^nd half.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

All five starters hit double figures, so there were lots of players who looked good.

Wolf was the hero in this game, with a career-high 21 points, 13 rebounds (another double-double), 7 assists, and 6 blocked shots.  Wow!  He shot well: 9-for-12 overall, 2-for-3 from deep.  He was great.

Burnett had 16 points, on pretty good shooting: 4-for-7 overall, 3-for-5 from deep.

Donaldson also had 16 points, on good shooting: 5-for-7 overall, 4-for-6 from deep.  He hit his first four 3-point shots, all in the 1^st half, and didn’t score much in the 2^nd half.

Gayle was the opposite of Donaldson: he was scoreless in the 1^st half, then he exploded for 12 points in the 2^nd half.

Goldin was the 5^th starter in double figures, with 11 points.  He shot pretty well: 4-for-7.

Will Tschetter was the only bench player to have much impact, with 5 points.  He hit a key 3-pointer during a wild scramble late in the 1^st half.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

L.J. Cason had 2 points on free throws in 3 minutes of action.

Rubin Jones had 2 points on an acrobatic putback dunk of a missed shot.

Justin Pippen was scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting.

Sam Walters was scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks 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?

This was an important win for Michigan.  It’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, and there were so many intangibles working against Michigan in this game: the long flight out to the West Coast, the first time playing USC as a Big Ten member, USC wanting to guard their home court as a new member of the conference, and USC wanting to beat Michigan for former UM player Terrance Williams II, who is on USC’s team but didn’t play due to a wrist injury.

After the first 2 games in early December, there were 3 teams tied for 1^st place in the Big Ten at 2-0: Michigan, Michigan State, and UCLA.  UCLA was upset by Nebraska this weekend, but MSU won their game, so now only UM and MSU are undefeated in league play, at 3-0.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Tuesday (01/07/2025, 10:00 p.m. EST, Peacock), they play at (#15) UCLA, then on Sunday (01/12/2025, 2:00 p.m., BTN), they play Washington in Crisler Arena.

UCLA is currently 11-3 (2-1 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#12) Oregon, Arizona, and (#14) Gonzaga, and puzzling losses to New Mexico and Nebraska.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: a 6’10” player and a 7’3” player.  The 7’3” guy is the tallest player Michigan has played this season.  This will be a tough game for Michigan to win.  UCLA has a great record in Pauley Pavilion, and they’re in the Top 15 for a reason.  This game will be a lot like the Michigan game at Wisconsin in early December: unranked Michigan at a Top-15 team on the road in a tough venue.  Michigan won that one, and they can win this one, but they’ll have to play their best game of the season.

Washington is currently 10-5 (1-3 in Big Ten), with an impressive win over (#24) Maryland, and losses to Nevada, UCLA, USC, Seattle, and Illinois.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: two 6’10” guys and a 6’11” guy.  This is a game that Michigan should win, but it won’t be easy.

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

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this past week, and they won it.  On Sunday (12/29/2024), they beat Western Kentucky 112-64 in Crisler Arena.   Michigan’s record is now 10-3 (2-0 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

The WKU game was the last non-conference game of the season, and Michigan’s chance to make it through the non-conference portion of the schedule with no “bad losses”.  They responded with an emphatic blowout.

Michigan’s 3 losses have all been to quality opponents by 2 points or less, and are not considered to be “bad losses”.  It would have been better if a couple of them had been “close wins”, but oh well.

Game Flow

Michigan never trailed in the WKU game, and steadily built their lead for the whole game.  Their first big lead was 16-4 at the 16:17 mark, but WKU cut it to 4 points (18-14) with 14:38 left.  That was the only time they got close, as Michigan built the lead up to 19 points (39-20) with 7:05 to go in the half, then 28 points (55-27) at the 2:37 mark.  It was still a 28 point lead (59-31) at halftime.

The 2^nd half was more of the same.  UM started the half with an 8-2 run, to go up 34 points (67-33) at the 18:05 mark, then pushed the lead up to 39 points (83-44) with 11:50 to go.  They pushed the lead through the 40s, and as high as 50 points (102-52) with 5:49 left.  At this point, the game turned into a 3-point shooting contest, which Michigan won.  The Scout Team came in for Michigan with 2:15 left, and they managed to score 7 more points, ending up with a nice 48 point win.

Stats

The game stats were very good.  Michigan shot well overall (33-for-64 = 51.6%), they shot 3-pointers very well (19-for-40 = 47.5%), and they shot free throws pretty well (27-for-35 = 77.1%).  They absolutely clobbered WKU on the boards (54-27), but they lost the turnover battle (17-14).  They won this game with great shooting and rebounding.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

All five starters hit double figures, along with one bench player, so there were lots of players who looked good.

Burnett was tied for high scorer for Michigan with 17 points on great shooting: 5-for-8 overall, 5-for-7 from deep.  He also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 0 turnovers.  A great performance.

Goldin was the other player who tied for high scorer, also with 17 points.  He shot even better than Burnett: 7-for-8 overall, 2-for-2 from deep.  Let’s stop for a moment to consider Vlad’s 3-point shooting.  Keep in mind that he never attempted a 3-pointer in his first 4 seasons (1 at Texas Tech and 3 at Florida Atlantic).  He made his first career 3-pointer (on his first career attempt) vs. Xavier, missed his secondcareer attempt vs. Wisconsin, then went 2-for-2 in the WKU game.  So now he’s shooting 3-for-4 (75%) from deep for his career.  Amazing!

Donaldson managed to score 12 points, but his shooting was off: 4-for-12 overall, 2-for-5 from deep.  He was the leading rebounder for Michigan, with 11 rebounds.

Wolf also had 12 points, on much better shooting than Donaldson: 4-for-6 overall, 2-for-3 from deep.  He had 10 rebounds, for a nice double-double.

Gayle was the 5^th starter in double figures, with 11 points.  He shot pretty well: 3-for-5 overall, 2-for-4 from deep.

Sam Walters was the bench player who hit double figures, with 13 points on decent shooting: 4-for-8 overall, 2-for-6 from deep.

L.J. Cason almost hit double figures, with 9 points.

Will Tschetter had 7 points, on terrible shooting: 1-for-4, all from deep.  The rest of his points were from 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line.

Justin Pippen also had 7 points, on decent shooting: 2-for-4, all from deep.

Jace Howard had 4 points.

Phat Phat Brooks played for 7 minutes and had 3 points, on 3-for-4 shooting from the free throw line.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

All the mainstream players looked OK.

Who Else Played?

Ian Burns played for 2 minutes, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Howard Eisley Jr. played for 1 minute, and missed his only shot attempt.

Harrison Hochberg played for 2 minutes, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Charlie May played for 2 minutes, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Rubin Jones is apparently injured, and didn’t play.

What Does It Mean?

This was an important game for Michigan to not lose.  It assured that Michigan won’t have a “bad loss” for the first time in 4 seasons, and it gave Michigan another win.  WKU is a decent opponent, and this win will look good at the end of the season.

At this point, Michigan is looking good for making the NCAA Tournament, but there’s still a lot of basketball left to be played: 18 Big Ten games.

Mid-Term Grades

This is not quite the exact middle of the season, with 13 games played and 18 left to go, but it’s a good natural breakpoint, at the end of the non-conference portion of the schedule and before the conference portion starts up again.  Here are the mid-term grades:

Freshman Eligibility

• Durral “Phat Phat” Brooks (C) – Phat Phat has gotten his chances to show what he can do, and he hasn’t taken them.  He’s played in 10 games, and scored 9 points.  He has plenty of potential, but he hasn’t produced yet.

• L.J. Cason (B) – L.J. started the season with some solid games, but he has been uneven since then.  He’s played in 11 games, and scored 65 points.

• Howard Eisley Jr. (Inc.) – Howard is on the Scout Team, and hasn’t played much.  He’s played in 3 games for 4 minutes, and he missed both of his shot attempts for the season.

• Justin Pippen (B-) – Justin missed the first 2 games with an injury, but since then he’s played in 10 games, and scored 22 points.  He looks calm and confident out there.

Sophomore Eligibility

• Harrison Hochberg (Inc.) – Harrison is on the Scout Team, and hasn’t played much.  He’s played in 4 games for 7 minutes, and scored 4 points.

• Charlie May (Inc.) – Charlie is on the Scout Team, and hasn’t played much.  He’s played in 4 games for 6 minutes, and hasn’t attempted a shot yet.

• Sam Walters (B-) – Sam started the season with some solid games, but he has been uneven since then.  He’s played in 13 games, and scored 78 points.

Junior Eligibility

• Nimari Burnett (B) – Nimari has been steady-but-not-flashy so far this season.  He’s started all 13 games, and scored 125 points (9.6 points/game).  He’s the only starter who isn’t averaging double digits.  He’s also the starter with the fewest turnovers (11).

• Tre Donaldson (A) – Tre has had several very good games, several good games, and a couple duds.  Still, he is a leader out there, and he is running the offense very well.  He’s started all 13 games, and scored 160 points (12.3 points/game).  He leads the team in assists (49), against 28 turnovers, not a bad ratio.

• Roddy Gayle Jr. (B+) – Roddy has had a few very good games, several good games, and a few duds.  He’s started all 13 games, and scored 161 points (12.4 points/game).  He’s a ferocious rebounder for his size (47    rebounds), and he’s got 44 assists.

• Will Tschetter (B) – Will has done a nice job coming off the bench and giving the team a spark.  He often plays (small) center, and he holds his own.  He’s played in all 13 games, and scored 89 points.  He’s the leading scorer among the bench players.

• Danny Wolf (A) – Danny has been the biggest surprise on the team so far this season.  He was very good at Yale, but he’s blossomed into a weapon at Michigan.  He’s started all 13 games, and scored 154 points (11.8 points/game).  He’s the leading rebounder on the team (132).  He’s 2^nd on the team in assists, with 46.  Not bad for a 7-footer.  He often brings the ball upcourt in transition, and he plays “point center” quite often.  He runs a mean pick-and-roll game with Goldin.  On the downside, he occasionally gets a little too “creative” (crazy) with the ball, and he leads the team in turnovers (47).

Senior/Grad Eligibility

• Ian Burns (Inc.) – Ian is on the Scout Team, and hasn’t played much.  He’s played in 4 games for 7 minutes, and missed his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.

• Vladislav Goldin (A) – Vlad started the season slow, but he’s gotten better each game for the last month.  He’s started all 13 games, and scored 181 points (13.9 points/game).  He’s the leading scorer on the team, and he has the best shooting percentage (69-for-101 = 68.3%).  He’s the 2^nd leading rebounder on the team (77), and the leading shot blocker (25).  My only complaint about him: he often passes up a dunk for a short jumper or a layup, and he doesn’t shoot as high a percentage on these short shots as he would with a dunk.  Plus, a dunk at home is worth more than 2 points, since it gets the crowd and the rest of the team fired up.

• Jace Howard (C-) – Jace is a scholarship player, but he gets playing time as if he were on the Scout Team.  He’s played in 5 games for 19 minutes, and he’s scored 4 points.

• Rubin Jones (B-) – Rubin has been the most disappointing of the transfer players so far this season.  He’s played in 11 games, and scored 40 points (3.6 points/game).

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan only plays one game, resuming Big Ten play.  On Saturday (01/04/2025, 8:00 p.m. EST, FOX), they play at USC.

USC is currently 9-4 (1-1 in Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and a questionable loss to Cal.  They have one noteworthy player: Terrance Williams II, who played for 4 seasons at Michigan, with mixed results.  He’s doing well this season, averaging 10.6 points/game and 4.6 rebounds/game, with decent shooting numbers.  He’s going to be highly motivated to beat his former team.  USC doesn’t have much height (two 6’10” players), but they have an impressive collection of 6’6” – 6’8” players.  This is going to be a tough game, especially on the road.  This is a team that Michigan can beat, but they need to play a clean game, with not too many silly turnovers and reasonable shooting percentages.  They can’t afford 19 turnovers or 4-for-32 3-point shooting.

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 lost the first and won the second.  On Wednesday (12/18/2024), they lost to (#13)  Oklahoma 87-86 in Charlotte, NC, as part of the annual Jumpman Invitational tournament, then on Sunday (12/22/2024), they beat Purdue-Fort Wayne 89-58 in Crisler Arena.   Michigan’s record is now 9-3 (2-0 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

First of all, if you read my article last week, I said that Michigan only played one game this week (Oklahoma); I completely missed the Purdue-Fort Wayne game.  Oops.

Despite what I said last week, Michigan played two games this week, and they lost a heartbreaker to Oklahoma (the tough game), then walloped Purdue-Fort Wayne (the cupcake).  Unfortunately, the win over PFW doesn’t count nearly as much as a win over Oklahoma would have.  Also unfortunately, a close, heartbreaking loss still counts as a loss.

There isn’t much to say about the win over PFW, but there’s a lot to say about the loss to Oklahoma.  Once again, it was a high-profile, winnable game, and Michigan let it slip away in the last minute.  All three of Michigan’s losses have been like that: very close (2 points vs. Wake Forest, 2 points vs. Arkansas, and 1 point vs. Oklahoma), they’ve all been high-profile opponents, they’ve all been on a neutral court, they’ve all been winnable, and they’ve all slipped away in the final minute.   Michigan could very well be 11-0 and ranked in the Top 5, but they’ve thrown away three golden opportunities.

There are only four schools that wear Jumpman gear from Nike: Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.  Michigan has now played each of the other three schools once each in the Jumpman Invitational, and they are 0-3.

On the positive side, Michigan has now won more games (9) than they did all last season (8-24).

Game Flow

The Oklahoma game was close early, with Michigan leading 11-10 at the 15:18 mark.  Michigan went on a 10-3 run to open up a little breathing room, 21-13, with 12:04 to go, and they kept the lead in the 5-7 point range for the rest of the half, leading by 5 points (43-38) at halftime.

As they have done so often in big games this season, Michigan opened the 2^nd half poorly, letting OU tie it up (43-43) at the 19:09 mark.  Fortunately, Michigan went on an 11-0 run over the next 4 minutes, and led by 11 points (54-43) with 15:13 to go.  OU kept chipping away at the lead, getting within 3 points at one point (58-55), but Michigan pushed the lead back up to 11 points (68-57) with 9:55 left.  OU kept grinding, and they finally caught and passed Michigan at the 5:51 mark, 76-74.  OU kept the lead in the 2-4 point range for a few minutes, but Michigan tied the game (82-82) with 2:12 to go.  UM went ahead (86-83) with 1:14 to go, and they even got the stops they needed, but they couldn’t buy a basket in the last minute, and OU hit a 4-point play with 11 seconds left to go up by 1 point (87-86).  Michigan had one last shot to win the game, but they missed, and that was it.

I’ve watched the replay of the game-tying 3-pointer that OU made with 11 seconds left, and I sure can’t see a foul to make it a 4-point play.  The OU player did the right thing by stumbling and falling down after he shot, but no one touched him, and the refs fell for it.

The game flow for the PFW game is irrelevant.  Michigan led the whole way, opening up a nice lead early (23-4 at the 12:11 mark), and never letting PFW get within 10 points.  They finally got the lead over 20 points (35-14 with 6:27 to go), and led by 25 at halftime (54-29).

Unlike the OU game, Michigan opened the 2^nd half on fire.  They went on a 7-0 run in the first 79 seconds, and led 61-29 at the 18:41 mark.  At this point, the game was over.  Michigan pushed the lead into the 30s, and cruised to a 31-point win.

Stats

The stats for the Oklahoma game were just OK.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (30-for-64 = 46.9%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (4-for-28 = 14.3%), and they shot free throws well (22-for-26 = 84.6%).  They won the rebounding battle (37-32) and the turnover battle (10-13).  They lost this game with very poor 3-point shooting.

The stats for the FPW game were very nice.  Michigan shot well overall (37-for-59 = 62.7%), they shot 3-pointers well (10-for-21 = 47.6%), and they shot free throws well (5-for-6 = 83.3%).  The rebounding stats are almost unbelievable: Michigan outrebounded PFW 48-17.  However, the turnover stats are the opposite: Michigan had 18 turnovers, PFW had 6.  Michigan won this game with superior shooting and rebounding.  They would have won by a lot more without all the silly turnovers.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was the star of the Oklahoma game, with 26 points (a new career high) on excellent shooting: 10-for-12 overall, and 6-for-7 on free throws.  He also had 11 rebounds, for an impressive double-double.  He was the 2^nd leading scorer for Michigan in the PFW game, with 13 points, once again on great shooting: 6-for-7 overall.  He had a great week.

Donaldson was the leading scorer for Michigan in the PFW game, with 16 points.  He also had 14 points in the Oklahoma game.

Wolf had one good game (15 points and 10 rebounds vs. Oklahoma) and one decent game (4 points and 13 rebounds vs. PFW).  He was the leader in assists in both games, with 5 in each.

Gayle had a good week, with 15 and 12 points.

Burnett had a pretty good week, with 8 and 10 points.

Justin Pippen had the best game of his young career, with 10 points and 4 rebounds vs. PFW.  He didn’t attempt a shot vs. Oklahoma.

Rubin Jones chipped in some points off the bench, with 5 and 3 points.

Will Tschetter had one decent game (9 points and 4 rebounds vs. PFW) and one weak game (0 points vs. Oklahoma).

Sam Walters chipped in some points off the bench, with 3 and 7 points.  He shot terribly vs. Oklahoma (1-for-6, all 3-point attempts), but a little better vs. PFW (3-for-6 overall, 1-for-4 from deep).

L.J. Cason only played in the PFW game, and he scored 5 points.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

All the mainstream players looked OK this week.

Who Else Played?

Phat Phat Brooks played for 6 minutes in the PFW game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Ian Burns played for 1 minute in the PFW game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Howard Eisley Jr. played for a few seconds in the PFW game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Harrison Hochberg played for 1 minute in the PFW game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Jace Howard played for 8 minutes in the PFW game, and went 0-for-2.

Charlie May played for a few seconds in the PFW game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Everyone on the team played in at least one game.  The Scout Team players played in the final minute of the PFW game.

What Does It Mean?

The Oklahoma game was Michigan’s last chance to beat a big-name ranked opponent in non-conference play, and they blew it.  This loss, and the other two losses to big-name opponents (Wake Forest and Arkansas), could come back to haunt Michigan when at-large bids are being considered for the NCAA Tournament.  Any one of those games would have been a big win on their resume.  Michigan has to learn how to hang onto the decent leads they get in just about every game, and how to close out the close games as victories.

The other result of losing the Arkansas and Oklahoma games: dropping back out of the Top 25.  Michigan was ranked #14 two weeks ago and #24 last week, but they’ll surely be out of the Top 25 when the new poll comes out this afternoon.  They’ll need to win 5 or 6 games in a row without a loss to sneak back into the Top 25, which would take the whole month of January.  They had a chance to stay ranked, but they had to win at least one of those games.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan only plays one game, their last non-conference game.  On Sunday (12/29/2024, 8:00 p.m., BTN), they play Western Kentucky in Crisler Arena.

Western Kentucky is currently 9-3, with no impressive wins.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: three 6’11” players.  This is a game that Michigan should win, but only if they play under control.  If they have too many silly turnovers, they could lose to anyone.

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

Go Blue!

The (#14) University of Michigan men’s basketball team only played one game this past week, and they lost it.  On Tuesday (12/10/2024), they lost to Arkansas 89-87 in Madison Square Garden, as part of the annual Jimmy V Classic doubleheader.   Michigan’s record is now 8-2 (2-0 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

After more than a year, Michigan finally cracked the AP Top 25, checking in at #14.  Yay!  So, what did they do to celebrate?  They threw away a winnable game vs. Arkansas.  They built up a comfortable lead (15 points) in the 1^st half, then threw most of it away by halftime, then the rest of it (and more) early in the 2^nd half.  They dug themselves into a hole that took the rest of the game to climb out of, only to lose the game in the final minute.  What was the problem?  Turnovers, again.  Sigh.

Game Flow

The game was close in the early going, with neither team getting a lead of more than 3 points.  With 12:24 to go, Michigan led by 1 point (11-10), then they went on a nice 18-4 run to lead by 15 (29-14) at the 8:58 mark.  The rest of the game was downhill from that point.  Arkansas started clicking offensively, and Michigan started missing, and the 15-point lead was almost completely gone (46-45) with 0:33 left in the half.  Michigan managed to hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left, so they led by 4 points (49-45) at halftime.

The start of the 2^nd half was a nightmare.  In the first 4:30, Michigan went 0-for-2 on 2-point shots, 0-for-2 on 3-pointers, and committed one foul and five turnovers.  During that same stretch, Arkansas went on a 12-0 run to lead 57-49.  Arkansas kept the lead in the 9-10 point range for the next 4 minutes, and the score was 70-60 with 11:48 to go.  A minute and a half later, it was 78-60, and Michigan was in big trouble.  They didn’t give up, and they managed to slowly fight their way back into the game.  They got the deficit back down to 10 points (80-70) at the 7:59 mark, and 4 points (84-80) with 3:19 to go.  It was a 1-point Arkansas lead (88-87) with 1:28 left, but Michigan couldn’t buy a basket in the last 88 seconds, and lost by 2 points.  They had numerous chances in the last minute, but they couldn’t get a decent shot.

Stats

The game stats were surprisingly good.  Michigan shot well overall (34-for-59 = 57.6%), they shot 3-pointers well (8-for-18 = 44.4%), and they shot free throws decently (11-for-18 = 61.1%).  They lost the rebounding battle (34-32) and the turnover battle (17-14).  They lost this game with turnovers.  Wait, they only lost the turnover battle by 3.  Yeah, but they only had 5 turnovers at halftime, with 12 in the 2^nd half, 5 of them in the crucial 4:30 to start the half.  That’s where they lost the game.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was the high scorer again, with 17 points on great shooting: 7-for-9.  He also had 9 rebounds and only 1 turnover.  He did his part.

Wolf had a good game, with 14 points on decent shooting: 6-for-11 overall, 0-for-2 from deep.  He also had 9 rebounds and 9 assists, but also 3 turnovers.  He did his part.

Gayle had a pretty good game, with 13 points on so-so shooting: 6-for-13 overall, 0-for-2 from deep.

Burnett had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 1-for-3 from deep.

Donaldson had 9 points on 3-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 from deep.

Will Tschetter was the only bench player to hit double figures, with 13 points on nice shooting: 4-for-5 overall, 3-for-4 from deep.

Sam Walters finally scored again, after going scoreless in his last 4 games.  He had 6 points, on 2-for-2 shooting from deep.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Rubin Jones had 2 points.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen hit his first career 3-pointer, on 1-for-1 shooting.

Who Didn’t Play?

Phat Phat Brooks and L.J. Cason were the mainstream players who didn’t play in this game.

The Scout team didn’t get in: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, Jace Howard, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

This would have been a huge win for Michigan, a huge boost to their post-season tournament resume, a huge boost to their confidence, and a chance to stay in the Top 25 for another week.  Instead, they threw it all away.  They may stay in the lower reaches of the Top 25 next week, but this was their last warning.  If they lose their next game (see below), they’re out of the Top 25, probably for at least a month.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan only plays one game, but it’s another big one.  On Wednesday (12/18/2024, 9:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play (#13) Oklahoma in Charlotte, NC.  This game is part of the annual Jumpman Invitational tournament.

Oklahoma is currently 10-0, with impressive wins over Arizona, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma State.  They won the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they have decent height: two 6’10” guys and one 6’11” guy.  This will be yet another tough neutral court game for Michigan.  OU is 10-0 for a reason.  Michigan has come close in two tough games on neutral courts (Wake Forest and Arkansas), but they lost both of those games by 2 points each.  They need to win one, and this is their last chance.

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 both of them.  On Tuesday (12/03/2024), they beat (#11) Wisconsin 67-64 in Madison, then on Saturday (12/07/2024), they beat Iowa 85-83 in Crisler Arena.  Michigan’s record is now 8-1 (2-0 in Big Ten), and they’ve won 7 games in a row.

A Field Trip Report

Before we get to the game results, a quick field trip report.  As I mentioned last week, my wife (Cindy) and I went to Madison to visit our son (Eric) for Thanksgiving, and we stayed a couple extra days so we could go to the Michigan/Wisconsin game on Tuesday night.  I don’t get to many away games, so it was fun and exciting to go to this one.

The Kohl Center is a nice facility, in a nice neighborhood, with expensive parking a few blocks away.  It’s a modern building, with lots of seating (capacity 17,071) and good sightlines, at least in section 103.  It’s also boxier than Crisler Arena, with more exposed concrete, so sounds echo and sound louder.  There was a decent crowd for a weeknight game (announced at 12,280), with a large, enthusiastic student section behind the south basket.  Our tickets were in a section that was 99% Wisconsin fans, and they were friendly and polite, but not very pleased with the officiating.

The game-day experience was pretty similar to a Michigan home game, with blaring rap music during the warmups, silly games during the timeouts, and standard announcements over the PA system.  The event staff (ushers) were not as numerous or attentive as the Event Team Members (ETMs) in Crisler, I was proud to discover.

All in all, it was a comfortable place to see a game, not at all scary or intimidating.  I was thrilled to get out of there with a “W”.

What Happened?

Starting with the 2017-2018 season, the Big Ten has scheduled two Big Ten games for each team in early December, one home and one away.  This season, Michigan’s two early Big Ten games were: at Wisconsin, and home vs. Iowa.  Michigan won both of these early Big Ten games, for a perfect start to league play.  The rest of the month is non-conference action, with the rest of the Big Ten schedule starting up in January.

These were two huge wins for Michigan.  UM (and everyone else) has had a tough time winning in the Kohl Center in Madison, where Wisconsin is close to unbeatable.  Wisconsin was undefeated (8-0) and ranked (#11) coming into the game, and it looked like a recipe for disaster.  Fortunately, Michigan didn’t let the pressure get to them, and they hung around with Wisconsin and won the game in the final minute.  It was very exciting.

The win over Wisconsin was huge, but it would have been wasted if Michigan had followed it up with a loss at home to Iowa.  Iowa came into the game with the same record as Michigan, and they had won their game vs. Northwestern on Tuesday with a buzzer-beater, so they were fired up.  It was another tense game, but Michigan handled the pressure well and won in the final seconds.

Game Flow

Wisconsin led for most of the 1^st half, and it looked like they might run away with the game at the beginning.  After a close start, UW pulled ahead 17-8 at the 11:52 mark.  Michigan hung in, and crept back, finally pulling ahead (20-18) with 7:42 to go.  UW promptly went on an 11-0 run, to go ahead 29-20 with 2:40 left in the half.  Michigan managed to finish the half strong, cutting the deficit to 6 points (32-26) at halftime.

Michigan started the 2^nd half with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to just 1 point (32-31) at the 18:56 mark, but UW hung onto the lead.  Michigan got as close as 1 point (39-38) with 16:25 to go, then they finally went ahead for the first time in a while (40-39) at the 15:45 mark. The lead went back and forth for the next 10 minutes, with neither team getting more than 3 or 4 points ahead, and lots of lead changes and ties.  With 4:30 to go, Michigan led 61-59, but UW went on a 5-0 run to lead 64-61 with 2:37 left.  Things looked grim, but check out the final score: 67-64.  Yes, Michigan outscored Wisconsin 6-0 in the last 2:37 to win the game, although Wisconsin almost hit a half-court buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime.  In that stretch, UW missed one 2-point shot, two 3-point shots, one free throw, and had one turnover and two fouls.  During the same stretch, Michigan missed one free throw, had one turnover and three fouls, BUT they also shot 3-for-3 on 2-point shots.  That was the difference.

The Iowa game was a win that felt like a loss.  Why?  Because Michigan had a fabulous start, racing out to a 20-4 lead at the 12:48 mark, then let Iowa back in the game and faced a dogfight for the rest of the game.  The crowd kept waiting for the team that had cruised to a 16 point lead to show back up and do it again, but Iowa never gave up, and kept the game close the rest of the way.  That 16-point lead was down to 2 points at the 4:33 mark, 28-26.  Yes, Iowa outscored UM 22-8 in those 8 minutes.  Ugh.  Iowa tied it up (35-35) with 1:10 to go, and again (37-37) with 0:36 left.  Michigan managed to scratch out a small lead (40-37) at halftime.

Michigan managed to hang onto the lead for the first few minutes of the 2^nd half, but Iowa went ahead for the first time in the game (45-44) at the 16:48 mark.  The lead went back and forth for the next few minutes, with UM finally getting a little breathing room (58-53) with 13:04 left.  They kept the lead in the 3-5 point range for a while, pushing it up to 11 points (74-63) with 7:16 to go.  Michigan kept the lead in the 7-9 point range for a few more minutes, and still led by 8 points (81-73) at the 2:29 mark.  Iowa came charging back, and tied the game (83-83) with 0:20 left.  Fortunately, Michigan had the ball for the last shot, and they made it with 3 seconds left.  Iowa got off a buzzer-beater attempt, but it missed.  Whew.  As I said, it was a win that felt like a loss.  All those leads, squandered.  Sigh.

Stats

The stats for the Wisconsin game were not very good.  Michigan shot decently overall (23-for-59 = 39.0%), they shot 3-pointers very poorly (6-for-25 = 24.0%), and they shot free throws decently (15-for-21 = 71.4%).  They just barely won the rebounding battle (43-42), and they just barely lost the turnover battle (12-10).  They won this game with slightly better overall shooting.  The rest of the stats were almost dead even.

The stats for the Iowa game were just so-so.  Michigan shot well overall (32-for-58 = 55.2%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (4-for-20 = 20.0%), and they shot free throws pretty well (17-for-22 = 77.3%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (45-30), but they lost the turnover battle badly (17-4).  They won this game with slightly better overall shooting and dominating rebounding.  They almost lost it with way too many silly turnovers.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was the high scorer in both games, with 24 and 20 points.  He also had 11 rebounds in the Iowa game, for a nice double-double.  He had several impressive dunks in the Wisconsin game, mostly off the pick-and-roll (see below).

Wolf was the co-star of the Wisconsin game, with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, mostly to Goldin.  The two big men worked very well together in the Wisconsin game, running the pick-and-roll several times, with Wisconsin powerless to stop it.  Iowa saw the film and figured out how to disrupt the big-man pick-and-roll, but Wolf still had 13 points and 14 rebounds, for a solid double-double.

Did Donaldson look good this week?  Yes and no.  He was absolutely terrible in the Wisconsin game, with 0 points on 0-for-7 overall shooting (0-for-3 from deep).  He was very good in the Iowa game, with 18 points on 6-for-10 overall shooting (2-for-3 from deep).  He needs to avoid those scoreless games…

Gayle hit double figures (17 points) vs. Iowa, and almost got there vs. Wisconsin (9 points).

Burnett almost hit double figures in the Wisconsin game (8 points), but he only had 2 points vs. Iowa.  He isn’t scoring much, but he’s grabbing rebounds (7 and 5) and not turning the ball over (1 and 0).

Will Tschetter was the only bench player to hit double figures, with 13 points vs. Iowa.  He only had 5 points vs. Wisconsin.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Other than Tschetter, the bench didn’t contribute much in the way of scoring this week.

Phat Phat Brooks played for a few seconds in the Wisconsin game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

L.J. Cason played in both games, but went scoreless in both games on 0-for-4 combined shooting.  After a promising start, he has all but disappeared.

Rubin Jones had 1 and 2 points.  Ladies and gentlemen, that’s all the bench scoring this week besides Tschetter.

Justin Pippen played in the Iowa game, and missed his only shot attempt.

Sam Walters played in both games, but went scoreless in both games on 0-for-4 combined shooting.  After a promising start, he has all but disappeared.

Who Else Played?

No one else played in either game.

Who Didn’t Play?

The Scout team didn’t get in either game: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, Jace Howard, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

As I mentioned above, these were two huge wins for Michigan.  The Big Ten portion of their schedule doesn’t resume until January, but they’ll start with a nice 2-0 record.  Not all the Big Ten teams have played both of their early-December games yet, but at this point there are only 5 teams with 0 losses in league play: Michigan (2-0), UCLA (2-0), Michigan State (2-0), Penn State (1-0), and Indiana (0-0).

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan only plays one game, but it’s a big one.  On Tuesday (12/10/2024, 9:00 p.m., ESPN), they play Arkansas in Madison Square Garden, in New York City.  This game is part of the annual Jimmy V Classic doubleheader.

Arkansas is currently 7-2, with an impressive win over Miami (FL), and a loss to Illinois.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: a 7’2” guy, a 6’11” guy, and two 6’10” guys.  They also have a noteworthy coach: John Calipari, in his first season after a long career at Kentucky.  This is going to be Michigan’s toughest game so far, right up there with Wisconsin, and a notch tougher than Wake Forest and Xavier.  Michigan can win this game, but they need to find their outside touch again (24% and 20% this week, that won’t do) and get the turnover problem back under control (17 vs. Iowa, that won’t do).

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

Go Blue!