Category: Basketball

The (#10) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this week, and they won it.  On Wednesday (01/01/2021), they beat (#16) Minnesota 82-57 in Crisler Arena.  Michigan’s record is now 10-0 (5-0 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is still all alone in 1^st place in the Big Ten standings.

What Happened?

Hey, wait a minute: I thought Michigan was supposed to play two games this week; what happened?  A postponement happened.  Michigan was supposed to play at Penn State on Saturday (01/09/2021), but PSU has COVID-19 issues, and they’ve postponed 4 games so far, with 1 more postponed in the future.  The game will be rescheduled.

The game that Michigan did play was a gem.  Minnesota came in as one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, with wins over Iowa and Michigan State.  The game was close for the entire first half, with Michigan ahead, but not by much.  Michigan led by 6 at halftime, 32-26, but they opened up the 2^nd half with a 17-4 run to push the lead up to 19 points (49-30), and that was the game.  Minnesota never got closer than 17 points, and Michigan pushed the lead as high as 37 points, before they emptied the bench.  The final margin of “only” 25 points isn’t indicative of the difference between the teams.  It could have been 45 points.

Stats

The stats for the Minnesota game are very nice.  Michigan shot very well overall (33-for-58 = 56.9%), they shot 3-pointers decently (4-for-13 = 30.8%), and they shot free throws well (12-for-15 = 80.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (40-31), but they lost the turnover battle (13-12).  They won this game with overall shooting.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

Once again, Dickinson is the man.  He was the leading scorer, with 28 points, another new career high.  He shot 12-for-15, and had a team-high 8 rebounds.  He was awesome.

Livers had a good game, with 14 points and 7 rebounds.  His only downside was 3-point shooting: 1-for-5.

Wagner also had a good game, with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Smith didn’t hit double figures (7 points), but he did have 6 assists, and he played great defense on one of the better point guards in the league, Marcus Carr.

Brandon Johns, Jr. had a nice game, with 7 points and 4 rebounds.

Chaundee Brown, Jr. chipped in 5 points.

I’m not sure what to say about Brooks.  On the one hand, he only scored 2 points, and he only played 21 minutes before he left the game with a gruesome injury: he had a tooth knocked out in an accidental collision with the elbow of a Minnesota player.  On the other hand, he did have 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. 

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

All the mainstream players looked pretty good in this game.

Who Else Played?

Terrance Williams II played 7 minutes, and hit a pair of free throws.

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 game.  Howard scored another point, with a free throw, and Jackson and Nuñez both made a basket.

One player from the scout team (Jaron Faulds) played at the end of the game.  He didn’t score.

Who Didn’t Play?

Austin Davis is still out with his foot injury.

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

What Does It Mean?

The good news is: Michigan is the only undefeated team in the Big Ten, they’re 4-0 in league play, and they’re all alone in 1^st place in the league standings.  They’re one of four undefeated teams left in the nation.

The bad news is: Michigan has a tough stretch of schedule coming up, starting this week.  Maybe it’s not bad news, maybe it’s an opportunity to knock off some of the other good teams in the Big Ten.

At this point, Michigan is playing as well as they did last season in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, when they knocked off two Top-10 teams in two days.  We shall see if they can keep it up.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, one at home and one on the road.   On Tuesday (01/12/2021, 7:00 p.m., ESPN), they play at home vs. (#8) Wisconsin, then on Saturday (01/16/2021, 2:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2), they play at (#16) Minnesota.

Wisconsin is currently 10-2 (4-1 in Big Ten).  They beat (#23) Louisville in non-conference play, and so far have beaten (#12) Michigan State and (#21) Minnesota, and lost to Maryland.  They have a couple star players on their roster, and a lot of height (two 7-footers and a 6’11” guy).  This will be Michigan’s toughest game so far.

Didn’t we just play Minnesota last week?  Yup, and we’re playing them again this week.  The Big Ten comes up with some wild schedules.  Anyway, Minnesota is currently 10-4 (3-4 in Big Ten).  Since they lost to Michigan (82-57), they have also lost to (#5) Iowa (86-71).  Michigan matched up very well against Minnesota last game, and they should be able to handle them again, but it’s tough to win on the road.

Go Blue!

The (#16) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this week, and they won both of them.  On Thursday (12/31/2020), they beat Maryland 84-73 in College Park, MD, then on Sunday (01/03/2021), they beat (#19) Northwestern 85-66 in Crisler Arena.  Michigan’s record is now 9-0 (4-0 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is all alone in 1^st place in the Big Ten standings.

What Happened?

Yes, Michigan played a game in College Park, MD on New Year’s Eve.  At least they won, and they looked good doing it, so it was a Happy New Year.  Michigan led for the entire 1^st half, by as many as 10 points, but they just couldn’t shake Maryland.  Maryland had the best half of 3-point shooting I have ever seen.  They shot 9-for-11, which kept them in the game.  Michigan had led by 7 points (44-37) with 2:55 left in the half, but Maryland closed the half on a 7-2 run, to pull within 2 points at halftime, 46-44.  Maryland hit another 3-pointer to start the 2^nd half, and they had their first lead, 47-46, with 18:31 to go.  They pushed their lead up to 4 points (54-50) with 15:04 left, before Michigan got going, pulled ahead, and never trailed again.  Michigan got the lead as high as 19 points (82-63) with 3:52 left, and coasted to an 11-point win.  It was Michigan’s best game of the season, to that point.

As good as the Maryland game was, the NW game was even better.  It didn’t start out well, with NW scoring the first 6 points, but once Michigan got going, they pulled into the lead and never looked back.   NW was up 8-2 with 16:28 left in the 1^st half, when UM ripped off 7 straight points to go up 9-8, with 14:57 to go.  NW made a basket to get the lead back for the last time, 10-9, at the 14:36 mark, and then it was all Michigan.  They went ahead, and pushed the lead up to 10 points (26-16) with 8:30 to go in the half.  NW snuck back to within 5 points (34-29) with 2:56 left, but Michigan made back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back up to 14 points at halftime, 43-29.  NW started the 2^nd half with a 5-2 run, to get within 11 points (45-34), but that was as close as they got.  Michigan pushed the lead up into the 20s, and flirted with 30.  The scrubs came in for the last 4 minutes, and the final margin of victory was “only” 19 points, but it could have been 40.

Keep in mind that this is the same Northwestern team that dominated Michigan State a couple weeks ago, beating them by 25 points in East Lansing.

Stats

The stats for the Maryland game are very nice.  Michigan shot very well overall (30-for-51 = 58.8%), they shot 3-pointers decently (6-for-19 = 31.6%), and they shot free throws very well (18-for-20 = 90.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (29-23), and tied the turnover battle (12-12).  They won this game with overall shooting.

The stats for the NW game are also very nice.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (32-for-64 = 50.0%), they shot 3-pointers very well (12-for-27 = 44.4%), and they shot free throws well enough (9-for-14 = 64.3%).  They crushed NW on the boards (42-28), but they lost the turnover battle (12-10).  Michigan won this game with 3-point shooting and rebounding.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson is the man.  He was the leading scorer in both games, with a new career-high 26 points vs. Maryland, and 19 points vs. NW.  He also had 11 rebounds in the Maryland game, for another double-double.  Even more impressive, he shot 10-for-11 in the Maryland game, and 8-for-12 in the NW game.  He was awesome.

Welcome back, Herr Wagner.  After a slow start in the first 6 games, he has come alive in the last 3.  He had double figures in both games, with 19 points vs. Maryland, and 14 points vs. NW.  He also had 10 rebounds vs. NW, for his first double-double of the season.  On top of that, he had 5 assists, 5 blocked shots (career high), and 2 steals vs. NW.  He did it all.

Brooks had a very good week, with double figures in both games.  He had 10 points vs. Maryland, and 14 vs. NW.  He had a tough time with his 3-point shot vs. Maryland (0-for-4), but made up for it vs. NW (4-for-5).

Smith had one good game (14 points vs. Maryland), and one so-so game (5 points vs. NW).  He did have 6 assists in each game, and he ran the offense well.

Livers also had one good game (10 points vs. NW), and one so-so game (7 points vs. Maryland).

Chaundee Brown, Jr. had one very good game (14 points vs. NW), and one lousy game (0 points vs. Maryland).  When he’s on his game, he’s a great spark off the bench.

Brandon Johns, Jr. didn’t score a lot of points this week (6 vs. Maryland, 5 vs. NW), but he did a nice job giving Dickinson a rest.  He also hit a nice 3-pointer vs. NW.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Terrance Williams II didn’t play vs. Maryland, and didn’t score vs. NW.

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 NW game.  Howard scored his first Michigan points, with a basket, and Jackson made his first Michigan basket.  Nuñez missed his only shot.

A couple of the scout team players (C.J. Baird and Jaron Faulds) played at the end of the NW game.  They shot a few times, but didn’t score.

Who Didn’t Play?

Austin Davis is still out with his foot injury.

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

What Does It Mean?

The good news is: Michigan is the only undefeated team in the Big Ten, they’re 4-0 in league play, and they’re all alone in 1^st place in the league standings.  They’re one of four undefeated teams left in the nation.

The bad news is: Michigan has a tough stretch of schedule coming up, starting this week.  Maybe it’s not bad news, maybe it’s an opportunity to knock off some of the other good teams in the Big Ten.

At this point, Michigan is playing as well as they did last season in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, when they knocked off two Top-10 teams in two days.  We shall see if they can keep it up.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, one at home and one on the road.   On Wednesday (01/06/2021, 8:30 p.m., BTN), they play at home vs. (#21) Minnesota, then on Saturday (01/09/2021, 2:15 p.m., BTN), they play at Penn State.

Minnesota is currently 10-2 (3-2 in Big Ten).  They beat (#4) Iowa, (#17) Michigan State, and (#25) Ohio State at home, but they lost to (#13) Illinois and (#6) Wisconsin on the road.  They don’t have any superstars on their roster, but they do have a seven-footer.  This will be another tough game, given who Minnesota has already beaten.

Penn State is currently 3-4 (0-3 in Big Ten).  Michigan already played, and beat, PSU earlier this season (12/13/2020) in Crisler Arena.  PSU also lost to (#18) Illinois and Indiana since their game against Michigan.  Michigan matched up well against PSU last time, but it’s always tough to win on the road in the Big Ten.

Go Blue!

The (#19) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this week, and they won it.  On Friday (12/25/2020), they beat Nebraska 80-69 in Lincoln, NE.  Michigan’s record is now 7-0 (2-0 in the Big Ten).

What Happened?

Yes, Michigan played a game in Lincoln, NE on Christmas Day.  At least they won, and they looked good doing it, so it was a Merry Christmas.  The whole 1^st half was close, with neither team getting more than 4 points ahead.  Nebraska led for most of the half, but Michigan managed to eke out a 2-point lead at halftime, 36-34.  Michigan opened the 2^nd half with a quick 7-1 run to take an 8 point lead (43-35) with 18:36 left.  That was all the lead that Michigan needed.  Michigan never trailed in the 2^nd half, and pushed the lead as high as 13 points, winning by 11.

Stats

The stats for the Nebraska game are pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (30-for-59 = 50.8%), they shot 3-pointers decently (9-for-27 = 33.3%), and they shot free throws pretty well (11-for-14 = 78.6%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (43-31), but they lost the turnover battle badly (15-8).  Michigan won this game with overall shooting.

Who Started?

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

Who Looked Good?

Wagner had his best game of the season, with 20 points and 9 rebounds.  This is NOT his ceiling, but it is a step in the right direction.  He still hasn’t found his 3-point shot (2-for-7).

Livers had a good game, scoring 17 points.  He also had a mediocre day shooting 3-pointers (3-for-8).

Dickinson continued his strong play, with another double-double: 13 points and 15 rebounds.  The 15 rebounds are a new career high for him.  I understand that 7 games is a short career.

Smith was the 4^th starter in double figures, with 10 points.  He also had a team-high 6 assists.

Chaundee Brown, Jr. came off the bench and hit double figures, with 13 points.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Brooks was the only starter who didn’t hit double figures, with 7 points.  He did have 4 assists.

Brandon Johns, Jr. had another quiet game, with 0 points.  He subbed in for Dickinson, but he just isn’t doing much as a “small ball 5”.  In 6 minutes, he didn’t attempt a shot or grab a rebound.

Terrance Williams II also had another quiet game, also scoring 0 points.  He did attempt some shots (0-for-3), and he did grab 1 rebound.

Who Else Played?

Nobody else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

Austin Davis is still out with his foot injury.

The 3 scholarship players who aren’t part of the main rotation (Jace Howard, Zeb Jackson, and Adrien Nuñez) didn’t play this week.

The scout team players (C.J. Baird, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, Brandon Wade, and Luke Wilson) didn’t play this week.  Note that Wade is now eligible to play.

What Does It Mean?

The good news is: Michigan is the last undefeated team in the Big Ten, they’re 2-0 in league play, and they’re half a game out of 1^st place in the league standings.  They’re 7-0 for the 2^nd year in a row.

The bad news is: Michigan hasn’t played any of the contenders yet.  In fact, Michigan has 4 more Big Ten games before they play a currently-ranked opponent (Wisconsin), although Northwestern is likely to be in the Top-25 when Michigan plays them (see below).

So, we don’t really know how good this Michigan team is yet.  They’ve looked good in most of their games, but the level of competition will go up very soon.       

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, one on the road and one at home.   On Thursday (12/31/2020, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play at Maryland, then on Sunday (01/03/2021, 7:30 p.m., BTN), they play at home vs. Northwestern.  Yes, after playing on Christmas Day in beautiful Lincoln, NE, they get to play on New Year’s Eve in glamorous College Park, MD.

Maryland is currently 5-3 (0-2 in Big Ten).  They haven’t beaten anyone noteworthy, and they have lost to Clemson, (#19) Rutgers, and Purdue.  They don’t have any superstars on their roster, but they do have a 7’2” center.  This will be a tough game, especially on the road.

Northwestern is currently 6-1 (3-0 in Big Ten).  They have beaten (#4) Michigan State, Indiana, and (#23) Ohio State.  Their only loss is to Pittsburgh.  Actually, they didn’t just beat MSU, they crushed them.  They have 3 highly-regarded players on their roster (Boo Buie, Miller Kopp, and Pete Nance), and they have decent height: two 6’10” guys and a 7-footer.  This will be Michigan’s toughest game so far.  Ask MSU, Indiana, and OSU if Northwestern can play this season.

Go Blue!

The (#25) University of Michigan men’s basketball team didn’t play any games this week.  They had a “bye” week.  Michigan’s record is currently 6-0 (1-0 in the Big Ten).

What Happened?

Everything is crazy this season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Instead of the normal 31 games (11 non-conference, 20 Big Ten), Big Ten teams are only allowed to play 25 games (5 non-conference, 20 Big Ten).  The start of the season was delayed from early November to November 25^th.  Michigan scheduled, and played, their 5 non-conference games by December 9^th, and played their first Big Ten game on December 13^th.  Now they have a 12-day break before their next Big Ten game, on Christmas Day, at Nebraska.

Even though Michigan made it through their 5-game non-conference schedule undefeated, they faced a little adversity along the way.  They played all 5 games in Crisler Arena, and they looked good in most of them, but they had a couple bad halves mixed in.

They looked very solid in their opener against Bowling Green on 11/25/2020, winning 96-82.  Bowling Green is picked to win the Mid American Conference this season, so they were a good opening test.  The new starters looked good, and Michigan got good support from the bench.

The next game, against Oakland on 11/29/2020, was not so good.  Michigan trailed for much of the game, managed to tie the game in regulation, then woke up and won handily in overtime, 81-71.  Michigan looked disorganized and sluggish for much of the 1^st half, but they did look better in the last 10 minutes of the 2^nd half and overtime.

Michigan looked sharp and focused in their next game, beating Ball State 84-65 on 12/02/2020.  They led for most of the game, and everyone played well.

Once again, after playing a good game, Michigan came out flat and played a lousy 1^st half vs. Central Florida (UCF) on 12/06/2020.  The 2^nd half was much better, and Michigan won easily, 80-58.

The final non-conference game on 12/09/2020 was supposed to be against North Carolina State, as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but NC State had COVID-19 issues, so that game was cancelled.  Michigan scrambled and found a very acceptable replacement on very short notice: Toledo.  It was a good game, and Michigan won easily, 91-71.

Michigan played their first Big Ten game of the season on 12/13/2020, beating Penn State 62-58 in Crisler Arena.  It was a close game, and Michigan had to play well to win.  Penn State isn’t a title contender this season, but they’re a good solid team that could knock off a few of the top-division teams along the way.

Who Looked Good?

He may only be a true freshman, but the best player on the team so far has been Hunter Dickinson.  He came off the bench in all 5 non-conference games, with Austin Davis getting the start, but he became the starter when Davis suffered a foot injury in the Toledo game.  He leads the team in scoring (15.7 points/game) and rebounding (7.3 rebounds/game).  He’s shooting a great percentage (38-for-55 = 69.1%), he’s scored in double figures in all 6 games, and he was the leading scorer in the last 2 games.  He looks very composed out there.

Isaiah Livers has also looked very good out there so far this season.  He’s 2^nd on the team in scoring (15.2 points/game), and leads the team in made 3-pointers (13) and free throw percentage (16-for-17 = 94.1%).  He’s scored in double figures in 5 of the 6 games (only 5 points vs. UCF), and he was the leading scorer in 2 games.  He has provided good leadership out there.

Chaundee Brown, Jr. is the only other player averaging double figures, at 10.0 points/game.  He is 2^nd on the team in made 3-pointers (12).  He has had 2 great games (Bowling Green and UCF), 2 good games (Ball State and Toledo), and 2 miserable games (Oakland and Penn State).  He was the leading scorer in the Bowling Green and UCF games.  He has come off the bench in all 6 games.

Eli Brooks is almost averaging double figures, at 9.7 points/game.  He has started all 6 games, and has scored in double figures in 4 of the 6 games.  He’s 2^nd on the team in assists.  He has shared point guard duties with Mike Smith, and done a good job running the offense.

Austin Davis looked smooth and solid out there for the first 5 games, then he got injured.  He only played 12-13 minutes/game, because Hunter Dickinson looked so good when he replaced Davis.  The only estimate I’ve heard about Davis’ return from the injury is “extended weeks”.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Franz Wagner still hasn’t really gotten going this season.  He’s had a couple good games (Ball State and Toledo), a couple decent games (Bowling Green and UCF), and a couple mediocre games (Oakland and Penn State).  Much was expected of him, and so far, he hasn’t delivered.  He’s got a bunch of 25-30 point games in him, and he just needs to get his confidence back.  If he misses his first shot of the game, he tends to sulk for the rest of the game.

Mike Smith has started all 6 games at point guard, and done a very nice job running the offense.  He plays good defense, but his offense has been streaky.  He looked good in the opener (Bowling Green), with 16 points, and he had 10 points vs. Ball State, but the rest of the games haven’t been as good.  He needs to get his 3-point shot going again.

Brandon Johns, Jr. hasn’t really had a good game yet.  He’s averaging 4.8 points/game.  He can be an important part of the team, once he gets going.

Terrance Williams II has shown flashes of what he’s capable of, but he’s lacked consistency.  He’s only a true freshman, so it isn’t a big surprise if he takes some time to get up to speed.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard, Zeb Jackson, and Adrien Nuñez are the remaining scholarship players.  Jackson has played in 5 games so far, and Howard and Nuñez have played in 3 games.  Nuñez has a basket, Jackson has 3 free throws, and Howard hasn’t taken a shot yet.

Of the scout team players (C.J. Baird, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, and Luke Wilson), only Faulds has played so far this season.  In 2 games, he has 1 basket.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays one game: on Friday (12/25/2020, 6:00 p.m. EST, BTN), they play at Nebraska.  Yes, they play on Christmas Day in beautiful Lincoln, NE.  The glamour!

Nebraska is currently 4-3 (0-0 in Big Ten).  They haven’t beaten anyone noteworthy, they lost at home to a mediocre Nevada team, and they got crushed on the road by a decent Creighton team.  They don’t have any superstars on their roster, and they don’t have a lot of height.  They do have one of the best names in the league: Thorir Thorbjarnarson, from Iceland.

This will be Michigan’s first road game of the season, against a capable Big Ten team.  Since it’s on the road, it’s a “toss up” game, and it would be a nice win for Michigan if they can pull it off.

Go Blue!