Category: Basketball

The (#4) University of Michigan men’s basketball team didn’t play any games this week, due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.  Michigan’s record stands at 13-1 (8-1 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is still all alone in 1^st place in the Big Ten standings.

What Happened?

This was week #2 of a 2-week shutdown for all University of Michigan sports.  This week, Michigan had 2 more games postponed:

02/03/2021 Northwestern (away)

02/06/2021 Michigan State (home)

Next week, they will postpone another game:

02/11/2021 Illinois (home)

Presumably, the Illinois game was postponed to give the UM team some time to practice together and get back in sync before resuming their schedule.  That would imply that the team will be allowed to start practicing again starting today (02/08/2021).

At this point, there is still no news about when the postponed games will be rescheduled.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan was supposed to play two games: home vs. Illinois on Thursday (02/11/2021) and at (#19) Wisconsin on Sunday (02/14/2021, 1:00 p.m. EST, CBS).  The Illinois game has been postponed, but the Wisconsin game is probably going to happen.

Wisconsin is currently 14-6 (8-5 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#23) Louisville, (#12) Michigan State, and (#21) Minnesota, and less-than-impressive losses to Marquette, Maryland, and Penn State.  They have a couple star players on their roster, and a lot of height (two 7-footers and a 6’11” guy).  Michigan thrashed them in Ann Arbor (77-54) on 01/12/2021, but as we saw with Minnesota, beating a team the second time around, on their home floor, can be a lot trickier.

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

Go Blue!

The (#4) University of Michigan men’s basketball team didn’t play any games this week, due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.  Michigan’s record stands at 13-1 (8-1 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is still all alone in 1^st place in the Big Ten standings.

What Happened?

This was week #1 of a 2-week shutdown for all University of Michigan sports.  This week, Michigan had 2 games postponed:

01/27/2021 Penn State (away)

01/30/2021 Indiana (home)

Next week, they will postpone 2 more games:

02/03/2021 Northwestern (away)

02/06/2021 Michigan State (home)

At this point, there is no news about whether or not UM sports will resume beginning 02/07/2021, and there is no news about when the postponed games will be rescheduled.  Of course, squeezing these 4 games into the last 28 days of the regular season will be a challenge, especially if Michigan or any of their opponents have to postpone further games.  The schedule is written in pencil this season.

Mid-Term Grades

It’s a little past mid-season, but this seems like a good time to hand out (near) mid-term grades:

Freshman Eligibility

• Hunter Dickinson (A) – Hunter has been the core of this team.  He leads the team in scoring (15.1 points/game), rebounding (7.2 rebounds/game), shooting percentage (68.8%), and blocked shots (20).  He scored in double figures in the first 11 games of the season, but hasn’t hit double figures in the last 3 games, now that every team is double-teaming him every time he touches the ball in the paint.  Once he figures out how to pass out of the double-teams without throwing the ball away, he’ll be just as valuable as he was when he was scoring.

• Jace Howard (Inc.) – Jace is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 8 games, for a total of about 26 minutes, and has scored 7 points.  He’s learning.

• Zeb Jackson (Inc.) – Zeb is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 10 games, for a total of about 62 minutes, and has scored 10 points.  He’ll get his chance at point guard next season.

• Terrance Williams II (C) – Terrance is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 13 games, for a total of about 103 minutes, and has scored 30 points.  He looked good in some of the non-conference games (7 points vs. Oakland, 10 points vs. Central Florida), but he has way too many 0-point games.  He’s learning.

Sophomore Eligibility

• Brandon Wade (Inc.) – Brandon is a preferred walk-on.  He hasn’t played in a game yet this season.  He’s part of the scout team.

• Franz Wagner (B+) – Franz has been very good defensively, but inconsistent offensively.  He is 3^rd on the team in scoring (12.0 points/game), 2^nd on the team in rebounds (7.1 rebounds/game), 2^nd on the team in blocked shots (17), and 1^st on the team in steals (20).  He still hasn’t found his 3-point shot this season.

Junior Eligibility

• Jaron Faulds (Inc.) – Jaron is a preferred walk-on.  He has played in 5 games, for a total of about 18 minutes, and has scored 2 points.  He’s part of the scout team.

• Brandon Johns, Jr. (B) – Brandon has played a lot at center when Michigan plays “small ball”.  The results have been uneven.  He isn’t scoring much (4.6 points/game), and he isn’t rebounding as well as he did last season (2.5 rebounds/game).  He is shooting a nice percentage from 3-point range (5-for-8 = 62.5%).

• Adrien Nuñez (Inc.) – Adrien is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 8 games, for a total of about 27 minutes, and has scored 4 points.

Senior Eligibility

• C.J. Baird (Inc.) – C.J. is a walk-on.  He has played in 2 games, for a total of about 6 minutes, and has scored 2 points.  He’s part of the scout team.

• Eli Brooks (B+) – Eli has mostly played shooting guard, with occasional stints at point guard.  He’s 5^th on the team in scoring (8.8 points/game), 2^nd on the team in steals (14), and he hustles when he’s in there.  He’s a very good defender, and he’s what’s known as a “glue guy”.

• Chaundee Brown Jr. (B) – Chaundee is the “6^th man” on the team this season, and he’s had some great games (19 points vs. Bowling Green, 18 points vs. Central Florida, 13 points at Nebraska, 14 points vs. Northwestern, and 14 points at Minnesota), and a lot of mediocre games.  He’s 4^th on the team in scoring (8.8 points/game), and 4^th on the team in rebounds (3.3 rebounds/game).

• Austin Davis (B) – Austin was the starter at center for the first 5 games, until he injured his foot.  Dickinson started in his absence, and did well enough to keep starting, even when Austin returned after missing 5 games.  Austin is very smooth and efficient scoring in the paint, and he plays good defense, but Dickinson is even better.  Still, it’s great to have a dependable backup.

• Rico Ozuna-Harrison (Inc.) – Rico is a walk-on.  He hasn’t played in a game yet this season.  He’s part of the scout team.

• Isaiah Livers (A) – Isaiah is the other MVP on this team.  He’s a senior leader, and a fierce competitor.  He’s 2^nd on the team in scoring (14.6 points/game), 3^rd on the team in rebounds (6.0 rebounds/game), 3^rd on the team in blocked shots (13), and amazing from the free throw line (34-for-36 = 94.4%).

• Mike Smith (B) – Mike has done a very nice job running the team as the main point guard.  He has had some very good games offensively (16 points vs. Bowling Green, 10 points vs. Ball State, 10 points at Nebraska, 16 points at Maryland, 16 points vs. Wisconsin, and 11 points vs. Maryland), and a lot of mediocre games offensively.  Michigan doesn’t really need him to score much, so any points he chips in are a bonus.  He leads the team in assists (78), but also in turnovers (35).  He’s 2^nd on the team in 3-point shooting percentage (16-for-34 = 47.1%).

• Luke Wilson (Inc.) – Luke is a walk-on.  He has played in 1 game, for a total of about 3 minutes, but he hasn’t scored.  He’s part of the scout team.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan was supposed to play two games: at Northwestern on Wednesday (02/03/2021) and home vs. Michigan State on Saturday (02/06/2021).  Due to the 2-week COVID-19 shutdown, these games will need to be rescheduled.

Even though the games are postponed, this column is not.  I’ll be back next Monday with updates on the shutdown, and (hopefully) a preview of Michigan’s upcoming games.

Go Blue!

The (#7) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this week, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (01/19/2021), they beat Maryland 87-63 in Crisler Arena, then on Friday (01/22/2021), they beat Purdue 70-53 on the road.  Michigan’s record is now 13-1 (8-1 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is once again all alone in 1^st place in the Big Ten standings.

What Happened?

The two wins were great, but … COVID-19.  UM has suspended all athletic activities, for all sports, effective 01/23/2021 until at least 02/07/2021.  Here’s the official notification:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Under a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) decision made Saturday (Jan. 23), the University of Michigan Athletic Department will immediately pause athletic activities in all sports, including games, team and individual training sessions, until further notice and up to 14 days.

While U-M has worked diligently on testing and reporting within state and Big Ten Conference guidelines, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is mandating a more aggressive strategy for this B.1.1.7 variant, which exceeds current program efforts designed around the standard form of the virus.

The mandate follows positive test results for the SAR-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant virus infections from several individuals linked to the U-M Athletic Department through its diligent testing regiment. The B.1.1.7 variant is thought to be approximately 50 percent more transmissible than the standard form of the virus, leading to faster spread of the virus, potentially increased numbers of cases, and additional hospitalizations and deaths. Therefore, a pause of all athletic activities and a closure of all U-M athletic facilities are being taken to strengthen the public health intervention. Team members (student-athletes, coaches, and team staff) must immediately isolate/quarantine effective Jan. 23 until further notice and up to 14 days (Feb. 7).

“Canceling competitions is never something we want to do, but with so many unknowns about this variant of COVID-19, we must do everything we can to minimize the spread among student-athletes, coaches, staff, and to the student-athletes at other schools,” said Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics.

University public health officials are working closely with the Washtenaw County Health Department and Michigan Department of Human Health Services on additional mitigation strategies to address the COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant in the university community. The university will be carefully considering additional mitigation measures. There are many unknowns that remain under investigation by U-M, local and state public health officials.

No determination has been made on how the pause may impact scheduled games beyond Feb. 7.

So, that means that the men’s basketball team will have to reschedule at least 4 games:

01/27/2021 Penn State (away)

01/30/2021 Indiana (home)

02/03/2021 Northwestern (away)

02/06/2021 Michigan State (home)

Back to the two wins last week.  They were very encouraging, since we didn’t know how the team would react to their first loss, the week before at Minnesota.  They responded very well, playing two solid games against good competition.

Michigan started the Maryland game with a 17-3 blitz in the first 5:44 of the first half, forcing Maryland into a “momentum timeout”.  It didn’t work.  Michigan kept the lead in the 12-14 point range for the rest of the half, and led by 17 points (42-25) at halftime.  The 2^nd half was more of the same, as Michigan pushed the lead up into the 20s, getting it as high as 25 points before winning by 24.  It was a dominant performance.

Beating Purdue in Mackey Arena is much harder than beating Maryland in Crisler, but Michigan looked solid and confident against Purdue.  Purdue actually led once (2-0), but that was it for them.  Michigan led by 5-7 points for much of the 1^st half, before they pushed the lead into double figures (25-14, with 6:08 to go).  Michigan led by 13 (34-21) at halftime, then pushed the lead into the 14-16 point range for most of the 2^nd half, before winning by 17 points.  Every time Purdue made a mini-run at Michigan, they answered it convincingly.

Stats

The stats for the Maryland game are very nice.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-56 = 51.8%), they shot 3-pointers well (12-for-24 = 50.0%), and they shot free throws well enough (17-for-22 = 77.3%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (36-26), and won the turnover battle (10-11).  Michigan won this game with 3-point shooting.

The stats for the Purdue game are pretty good.  Michigan shot decently overall (24-for-55 = 43.6%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (6-for-15 = 40.0%), and they shot free throws well (14-for-17 = 82.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle (39-41), and tied the turnover battle (14-14).  They won this game with overall and 3-point shooting.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Hunter Dickinson, Isaiah Livers, Mike Smith, and Franz Wagner.  Brooks returned to the lineup after missing the Minnesota game with a minor foot injury.

Who Looked Good?

Livers was the star in both games, with 20 and 22 points.  He was the high scorer in both games, and he had 10 rebounds in the Purdue game, for a double-double.

Brooks was the only other Michigan player to hit double figures against Purdue, with 11 points.  He had 7 points vs. Maryland.

Wagner had a decent week, with 15 points vs. Maryland and 8 points vs. Purdue.

Smith had also had a decent week, with 11 and 5 points.

Brandon Johns, Jr. hit double figures in the Maryland game (11 point), and scored 4 vs. Purdue.

Austin Davis had a good week, with 9 and 6 points.

Chaundee Brown, Jr. also had a good week, with 6 and 4 points.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Dude, where’s my center?  Dickinson had a miserable week, with 3 points vs. Maryland and 9 points (on 3-for-7 shooting) vs. Purdue.  This is a big concern for Michigan going forward.  After playing like a senior for the first 11 games, Dickinson has been playing like a freshman for the last 3 games.  The problem is simple and obvious: opposing teams have figured out how to neutralize him by double-teaming him every time he touches the ball in the paint.  Since this means that someone else is open, this often leads to an uncontested 3-point attempt by the open player, but Dickinson has to make that pass consistently and without too many turnovers.  That happened in the Maryland and Purdue games, but not in the Minnesota game.

Terrance Williams II scored 4 points vs. Maryland and 0 points vs. Purdue.

Who Else Played?

The 3 scholarship players who aren’t part of the main rotation (Jace Howard, Zeb Jackson, and Adrien Nuñez) all played at the end of the Maryland game.  Howard made a free throw.

Luke Wilson (from the scout team) finally got to play, at the end of the Maryland game.  He didn’t attempt a shot, but he did take a nice charge.

Who Didn’t Play?

The rest of the scout team players (C.J. Baird, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, and Brandon Wade) didn’t play in either game.

What Does It Mean?

These were two important wins, since they keep Michigan in 1^st place in the standings.  They were also important, since they stopped Michigan’s losing streak at one game.

It’s time to start thinking about the NCAA Tournament, assuming that it actually happens this season.  With all the COVID-19 postponements, it might get canceled again this year.  Anyway, Michigan is almost certainly a shoo-in for the tournament, and some early projections have listed UM as a 1 or 2 seed.  I think that’s a little too optimistic, but given Michigan’s resume, they should be no lower than a 4 seed.  There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played, and Michigan still needs to prove that they can beat a ranked team away from Crisler.  The 2-week shutdown certainly won’t help things, as Michigan will need to squeeze (at least) 4 extra rescheduled games into the last month of the regular season.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan was supposed to play two games: at Penn State on Wednesday (01/27/2021) and home vs. Indiana on Saturday (01/30/2021).  Due to the 2-week COVID-19 shutdown, these games will need to be rescheduled.  The PSU game on Wednesday was itself a rescheduled game, from when PSU had COVID-19 issues back on 01/09/2021.

Even though the games are postponed, this column is not.  I’ll be back next Monday with updates on the shutdown, and mid-season grades.

Go Blue!

The (#7) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this week, and they won one and lost the other.  On Tuesday (01/12/2021), they beat (#9) Wisconsin 77-54 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (01/16/2021), they lost at (#23) Minnesota 75-57.  Michigan’s record is now 11-1 (6-1 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is now tied for 1^st place in the Big Ten standings with Iowa.

What Happened?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  The Wisconsin game was the best game Michigan has played this season, and the Minnesota game was the worst.  Everything went right in the Wisconsin game, and everything went wrong in the Minnesota game.  While the first loss of the season is always tough to process, I don’t want to skip over the big win over Wisconsin too quickly.  If Michigan can get back to the form they showed in that game, they will be able to win the tough games on the road against ranked opponents.

The Wisconsin game was close early, with Wisconsin actually leading once (5-4 with 17:42 left in the 1^st half), and a tie score (15-15) with 12:13 to go.  That’s when Michigan went out ahead for good.  The score was still close (26-23) with 6:19 to go, and then Michigan went on a 14-0 run to end the half, up 40-23.  Wisconsin scored the first 3 points of the 2^nd half, to make it 40-26 with 19:42 left in the game.  They didn’t score again for over 7 minutes, as Michigan went on another big run, 22-0, to put the game away.  At that point, the score was 62-29, and Michigan pushed the lead as high as 40 points (69-29) with 10:43 to go.  Wisconsin managed to make the score look more respectable, mostly against the Michigan scrubs, but it was a dominant victory.

As good as Michigan looked against Wisconsin, that’s how bad they looked against Minnesota.  Michigan never led, and the closest they got to challenging Minnesota was within 3 points (24-21) with 2:32 to go in the 1^st half.  They let Minnesota go on a 6-2 run to end the half, and never really challenged Minnesota in the 2^nd half.  The lead grew as high as 23 points, before ending up at 18 points.  It was very disappointing.

Stats

The stats for the Wisconsin game are excellent.  Michigan shot well overall (32-for-62 = 51.6%), they shot 3-pointers very well (9-for-16 = 56.3%), and they were perfect from the line (4-for-4 = 100.0%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (42-34), and won the turnover battle (8-10).  Michigan won this game with 3-point shooting.

The stats for the Minnesota game are terrible.  Michigan shot poorly overall (22-for-56 = 39.3%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (6-for-22 = 27.3%), and they shot free throws horribly (7-for-14 = 50.0%).  They actually won the rebounding battle (39-35), but they lost the turnover battle miserably (20-9).  They lost this game with poor shooting and turnovers.

Who Started?

The starters for the Wisconsin game were Eli Brooks, Hunter Dickinson, Isaiah Livers, Mike Smith, and Franz Wagner.  Chaundee Brown, Jr. started in place of Brooks in the Minnesota game, since Brooks had a minor foot injury.

Who Looked Good?

Most of the starters looked good in the Wisconsin game, but almost no one looked good in the Minnesota game.

It was back-to-Earth time for Dickinson.  He had a good game against Wisconsin (12 points, 6 rebounds, 0 turnovers), but he was badly outplayed by the Minnesota center (Liam Robbins, with 22 points), with only 9 points and 5 turnovers.  This ended Dickinson’s streak of double figures in the first 11 games.

Livers was the only player to hit double figures in both games, with 13 against Wisconsin and 11 against Minnesota.

Wagner had a good game vs. Wisconsin (15 points) and a mediocre game vs. Minnesota (8 points).  He shot well against Wisconsin (7-for-10 overall, 1-for-2 from deep), but poorly against Minnesota (3-for-9 overall, 0-for-4 from deep).

Brown had a decent game vs. Wisconsin (7 points) and a good game vs. Minnesota (14 points).  He was the leading scorer in the Minnesota game.

Austin Davis returned to action after missing 6 games due to a foot injury.  He looked fine out there, scoring 4 points vs. Wisconsin and 6 points vs. Minnesota.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Smith was the leading scorer in the Wisconsin game (16 points), but he was horrible in the Minnesota game (0 points on 0-for-6 shooting).

Brooks had a lousy game vs. Wisconsin (5 points), and didn’t play in the Minnesota game.

Brandon Johns, Jr. had a lousy week, with 3 points vs. Wisconsin and 0 points vs. Minnesota.  His points in the Wisconsin game were from a 3-pointer.

Terrance Williams II played in both games, with 0 points vs. Wisconsin and 3 points vs. Minnesota.

Who Else Played?

The 3 scholarship players who aren’t part of the main rotation (Jace Howard, Zeb Jackson, and Adrien Nuñez) all played at the end of both games:

• Howard had 0 points vs. Wisconsin, but hit his first career 3-pointer vs. Minnesota.
• Jackson hit a basket vs. Wisconsin and a free throw vs. Minnesota.
• Nuñez didn’t shoot in either game.

A couple players from the scout team (C.J. Baird and Jaron Faulds) played at the end of one of the games:

• Baird didn’t play in the Wisconsin game, but hit 2 free throws in the Minnesota game.
• Faulds played in the Wisconsin game, but didn’t shoot.  He didn’t play in the Minnesota game.

Who Didn’t Play?

The rest of the scout team players (Rico Ozuna-Harrison, Brandon Wade, and Luke Wilson) didn’t play in either game.

What Does It Mean?

The win was a big win, and the loss was just one loss.  It was very unlikely that Michigan was going to go undefeated for the season, and now that the win streak is over, they can truly settle down to “one game at a time”.  They’re in the heart of a good title chase, and they’ve shown that they can play well and beat good teams.  They’ve also seen what can happen if they don’t play well.  Until they beat a ranked team on the road, we’re going to have to hold our breath for those games.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, one at home and one on the road.   On Tuesday (01/19/2021, 7:00 p.m., FS1), they play at home vs. Maryland, then on Friday (01/22/2021, 7:00 p.m., FS1), they play at Purdue.

Maryland is currently 8-6 (2-5 in Big Ten).  Michigan played them in College Park back on New Year’s Eve (12/31/2020) and beat them 84-73.  Since then, they have lost to Indiana and (#5) Iowa, and beaten (#12) Illinois.  If Michigan can beat them at their place, they should be able to handle them at home, but we shall see if Michigan’s first loss has any effect.

Purdue is currently 10-5 (5-3 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over (#20) Ohio State, (#23) Michigan State, and Indiana, and not-so-impressive losses to Miami (FL), (#14) Rutgers, and (#15) Illinois.  They have an All Big Ten-caliber player (Trevion Williams) and the tallest player in the Big Ten (Zach Edey, 7’4”).  This will be a big challenge for Michigan, especially on the road.  Michigan has not done well in Mackey Arena in the past.

Go Blue!