Category: Basketball

Quick Look

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game last week, and they won it. On Thursday (12/22/2016), Michigan beat Furman 68-62 in Crisler Arena. The win raises Michigan’s record to 10-3.

What Happened

Michigan was supposed to win this game, and they did, but it wasn’t as quick and easy as expected. Furman played hard, and gave Michigan all they could handle. Michigan played their “B-” game, which was just enough to escape with the win. It sure looked like they were just playing to get the game over with, so they could go home for Christmas break.

The lead went back and forth all game, with Michigan clawing their way to a hard-fought 6-point lead at halftime (31-25), only to see Furman go on an 11-0 run to start the 2^nd half and take a 5-point lead (36-31). Michigan got the lead back (43-42) with 11:29 left in the game, and never trailed again, but Furman was still only 3 points down (63-60) with 2:34 left to go. Michigan played the end of the game smart and under control, and managed to hang on for the win. It was good practice for the close games that are sure to come in the Big Ten portion of the schedule.

The stats are not particularly impressive, except for free throw shooting. UM shot pretty poorly overall (24-for-55 = 43.6%), they shot terribly from 3-point range (4-for-20 = 20.0%), but they were perfect from the free throw line (16-for-16). They lost the rebounding battle (30-26), but they won the turnover battle (5-13). That’s where they won the game. It’s hard to believe they won shooting 20% from 3-point range, but they did.

Who Looked Good

Moritz Wagner was the leading scorer for Michigan, with 18 points. He didn’t shoot as well as he has been lately (7-for-16 overall, 1-for-5 from 3-point range), but he got the job done. He had a little trouble guarding a quick shorter center for Furman, but he made up for it on the offensive end.

Zak Irvin had a good game (16 points), but he also shot pretty poorly (6-for-14 overall, 0-for-4 from 3-point range). He made a couple big shots in crunch time, but he also missed a couple. He was a little guilty of playing “hero ball”.

Derrick Walton Jr. was the other Michigan player in double figures, with 13 points. He had half of Michigan’s 3-pointers, shooting 2-for-5.

DJ Wilson had a quiet game, scoring 7 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. He did play pretty good defense.

Duncan Robinson provided some bench scoring (8 points), and even dished out 4 assists.

Mark Donnal also chipped in a few points (6) off the bench, and played some decent defense.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman went scoreless (0-for-3).

Xavier Simpson didn’t even attempt a shot in 6 minutes of “action”.

Who Else Played

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play

Brent Hibbitts, Sean Lonergan, Jon Teske, Ibi Watson and Fred Wright-Jones didn’t play.

The Big Picture

This game was good practice for the lower-division Big Ten teams, but if UM plays like this against “the big boys”, they’ll get trounced.

Mid-Term Grades

With 13 games down, and at least 19 more to go, it’s close enough to mid-season for mid-term grades.

Freshman Eligibility

Austin Davis (Inc.) – Austin is being voluntarily redshirted this season, since UM has so much depth at center.

Brent Hibbitts (Inc.) – Brent has only played in “garbage time” so far: 18 minutes in 7 games. He’s 1-for-1 (a 3-pointer), and has grabbed 4 rebounds.

Charles Matthews (Inc.) – Charles has to sit out this season after transferring to Michigan from Kentucky. He’ll have sophomore eligibility next season.

Xavier Simpson (B-) – Xavier has played in all 13 games, averaging 9.7 minutes/game. He has scored 22 points, and dished out 16 assists. He’s shooting OK, but he isn’t really having much impact out there. He does give Derrick Walton a rest every now and then.

Jon Teske (C-) – Jon has played in 10 games, averaging 3.8 minutes/game. He has only scored 5 points (1 basket and 3 free throws), and grabbed 8 rebounds. He is still very tentative out there.

Ibi Watson (C-) – Ibi has played in 11 games, averaging 6.1 minutes/game. He has scored 20 points, but he has really struggled with his 3-point shooting: 1-for-15. He seems pretty confident out there, but he just isn’t producing.

Fred Wright-Jones (Inc.) – Fred has only played in “garbage time” so far: 12 minutes in 8 games. He hit his only 3-point attempt, for his only 3 points.

Sophomore Eligibility

Moritz Wagner (A) – Moe is easily the most improved player on the team so far, and he has been the “go to” guy on offense in several games. He has started all 13 games, and he’s 3^rd on the team in scoring, averaging 11.5 points/game. He has cut way down on his fouls, and has only had one bad turnover game (4 vs. Mount St. Mary’s). His defense still isn’t as good as his offense, but he’s gotten better as the season has gone along.

DJ Wilson (A-) – DJ is another vastly improved player. He has played in all 13 games, and started the last 11. He is averaging 8.5 points/game, and he leads the team in rebounding with 86, and blocked shots with 18.

Junior Eligibility

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (B-) – MAAR has regressed this season, after 2 strong showings his first 2 years. He has played in all 13 games, and is averaging 8.1 points/game, but he has had 4 lousy games (5 points vs. Mount St. Mary’s, 0 vs. Kennesaw State, 3 vs. Texas, and 0 vs. Furman), and couple other mediocre games. When he’s “on”, he’s fine out there, but he has disappeared several times this season.

Mark Donnal (C+) – Mark has also regressed from his first 2 seasons, especially last season. It’s hard to believe that this is the same player who put up 28 points vs. Illinois last season. He almost acts disinterested out there at times. He has played in all 13 games, and he’s averaging 6.5 points/game, but he has had more bad games (7) than good (6).

Sean Lonergan (Inc.) – Sean has mostly played in “garbage time”, but he has a few brief appearances in significant game situations. Still, he only has played 23 minutes in 9 games, and has scored only 7 points.

Duncan Robinson (B-) – Duncan is yet another player who has regressed from last season. He has played in all 13 games, and he even started the first 2, but he quickly lost his starting spot to DJ Wilson, and now he’s coming off the bench to provide “instant offense”. He is averaging 8.8 points/game, which isn’t bad, but his 3-point shooting percentage is way down (24-for-60 = 40.0%). He still has a tough time staying in front of his man on defense, which is limiting his playing time. If he were still shooting 60% from 3-point range, it would be worth it to have him out there, weak defense and all, but at 40%, not so much.

Senior Eligibility

Andrew Dakich (Inc.) – Andrew is being voluntarily redshirted. It’s odd to see a senior be redshirted, but Andrew voluntarily “burned his redshirt” the last 2 seasons to help the team when injuries sidelined point guards. I suspect he’ll graduate on time, and play a “grad transfer” year somewhere smaller where he can start and contribute.

Zak Irvin (B) – Zak is the leading scorer on the team, at 14.1 points/game, and is 2^nd on the team in rebounding, with 64. So, why a “B”? Leadership, or lack of it. This team has the talent to play with any team on their schedule, except maybe UCLA, but they’ve muddled through close games against teams they should handle easily, and Zak is one of the reasons. I don’t see him out there keeping the team focused and organized, and I don’t see him trying to get them fired up. Instead, I see him taking too many long 2-pointers, and playing “hero ball” in crunch time.

Derrick Walton Jr. (B+) – Derrick is 2^nd on the team in scoring (12.4 points/game), and 3^rd in rebounding (52), but he is also lacking in leadership. He needs to take charge out there, and keep the team focused. With some good leadership, this team can start to meet their expectations.

What’s Next

This week Michigan only plays one game, their Big Ten opener. On Sunday (01/01/2017, 2:15 p.m. EST, BTN), Michigan plays at Iowa. Iowa finished their non-conference schedule at 8-5, with only one quality win (78-64 vs. Iowa State), a couple understandable losses (100-92 vs. Memphis and 92-78 vs. Notre Dame), and a few surprising losses (91-83 vs. Seton Hall, 74-41 vs. Virginia, and 98-89 vs. Omaha). The loss to Virginia is particularly embarrassing. This will be a tough road game for Michigan, and they’ll have to play well to win. Iowa certainly isn’t great, but they can certainly score (except for the Virginia game), and they’re tough at home.

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

Go Blue!

Quick Look

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won them both. On Tuesday (12/13/2016), Michigan beat Central Arkansas 97-53, then on Saturday (12/17/2016), they beat Maryland Eastern Shore 98-49. Both games were in Crisler Arena. The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 9-3.

What Happened

Michigan easily took care of a pair of “cupcakes” to pad their record and boost their stats. They also managed to get some playing time for the two freshmen who don’t play as often. They were both fun, easy games, where the final outcome was decided by halftime, and the (sparse) crowds were able to relax and enjoy the glorified scrimmages.

Michigan led from start to finish in both games, with good starts (15-5 vs. UCA, and 19-2 vs. MDES), good leads at halftime (49-20 and 49-22), and good “largest margins” (44 and 50 points). Michigan shot well overall in both games (32-for-62 = 51.6% vs. UCA, 34-for-52 = 65.4% vs. MDES), they shot 3-pointers very well in both games (19-for-45 = 42.2% and 12-for-21 = 57.1%), and they shot free throws well enough in both games (14-for-18 = 77.8% and 18-for-26 = 69.2%). They outrebounded both opponents by a wide margin (36-27 and 35-26), and they won the turnover battle in both games (6-14 and 9-15). It was total domination. Here are the complete stats for UCA and MDES.

Did you notice the 3-point numbers for the UCA game? Both 19 made 3-pointers and 45 attempts are new single-game school records. It was fun to watch.

Who Looked Good

DJ Wilson hit double figures in both games (11 and 16 points), and chipped in 7 and 6 rebounds. He’s looking very good out there so far this season.

Zak Irvin also hit double figures in both games (16 and 11), along with 6 rebounds in each game.

Duncan Robinson was the 3^rd player to hit double figures in both games (12 and 17). He came off the bench in the UCA game, but he started in the MDES game (due to a “clerical error”). He shot his 3-pointers pretty well: 4-for-9 and 3-for-6.

Derrick Walton Jr. almost had double figures in both games: 9 and 21. He didn’t shoot very well vs. UCA (2-for-7), but he was on fire vs. MDES (7-for-9, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range).

Moritz Wagner also just missed hitting double figures in both games (18 and 9). He had almost perfect shooting for the week: 8-for-9 and 4-for-4.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had a pretty good week scoring (14 and 7), but he also chipped in 4 assists vs. UCA and a career-high 10 assists vs. MDES.

Xavier Simpson finally scored a few points: 7 and 4. He’s starting to look a little more comfortable out there.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Mark Donnal had a quiet week, with 0 and 5 points.

Who Else Played

Ibi Watson played in both games, and had 3 and 4 points. He is still struggling with his 3-point shot (1-for-15), but he finally hit his first one in the UCA game.

Jon Teske is starting to get more playing time, but he still isn’t looking very comfortable out there. He had 2 and 0 points. He hit his first career basket vs. UCA.

Sean Lonergan scored 2 and 1 points.

Fred Wright-Jones scored 0 and 3 points. He hit his first career 3-pointer vs. MDES.

Brent Hibbitts scored 3 and 0 points. He hit his first career 3-pointer vs. UCA.

Who Didn’t Play

Since both games were blowouts, everybody played.

The Big Picture

It’s not clear how much we can learn about the team from these “guarantee” games against overmatched opponents. It was fun to watch them run around and score and hit lots of 3-pointers, but the Big Ten games aren’t going to look anything like that.

What’s Next

This week Michigan only plays one game, due to finals and the holidays. On Thursday (12/22/2016, 7:00 p.m., BTN), Michigan plays Furman in Crisler Arena. This is their last non-conference game. Furman isn’t very good, but they’re a lot better than Central Arkansas and Maryland Eastern Shore. Michigan will have to play a solid game to beat them.

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

Go Blue!

Quick Look

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won one and lost one. On Tuesday (12/06/2016), Michigan beat Texas 53-50 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (12/10/2016), they lost at (#2) UCLA 102-84. The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 7-3.

What Happened

After losing ground two weeks ago, Michigan broke even last week. They still aren’t looking very cohesive, but at least they showed a little backbone last week. They were expected to beat Texas in Crisler, and they did, although it was a lot closer and harder than expected. They were expected to lose at UCLA, and they did, but they hung with UCLA a lot longer and a lot better than expected, before falling apart at the end. In both games, Michigan played a lot better in the 1^st half than in the 2^nd. They got away with it, barely, vs. Texas, but they couldn’t keep up with UCLA.

The Texas game was close for the first 8:00, before Michigan went on a 9-0 run to go up by 10, 21-11, with 9:53 left. They still led by 9 (31-22) with 1:56 left in the half, before falling apart and letting Texas back in the game. They let Texas go on a 6-0 run to end the half, with their lead cut to 3 points (31-28). Michigan had a slow start to the 2^nd half, and Texas pulled ahead 40-37 with 14:03 left in the game. The rest of the way, the lead went back and forth, with neither team able to pull more than 3 points ahead. Texas led by 2 (50-48) with 1:56 left, but Michigan scored the last 5 points to win by 3.

It was an ugly game, with poor shooting and lots of turnovers. Still, an ugly win is much better than a pretty loss, like the UCLA game. Even though Michigan lost by 18 points, and gave up over 100 points, it was still a “pretty loss”, thanks to a wild 1^st half. UM started the game on fire, hitting 12 of their first 15 3-point shots. They actually led UCLA by 7 points (48-41) with 1:22 left in the 1^st half, then they fell apart, again. They let UCLA go on a 9-2 run to end the half tied 50-50. UCLA kept the run going, and started the 2^nd half with a 10-2 run, which was all the lead they needed, 60-52. Michigan hung around for quite a while, and only trailed by 5 points (77-72) with 8:06 left in the game. They still stood a chance, but UCLA outscored them 25-12 from that point, to win by 18.

Michigan didn’t shoot very well vs. Texas (41.7%, 31.6% from 3-point range), but they shot a little better than Texas, and that was enough to win a close game. Rebounds were close (28-31), and so were turnovers (12-14). The difference was at the free throw line: UM got there more often (7-for-11 vs. 5-for-6), and those 2 extra points were most of the difference. Here are the complete stats for the Texas game.

The stats for the UCLA game are amazing. Looking at just the UM numbers, it’s hard to believe they lost by 18: 29-for-58 (50.0%) shooting overall, 14-for-26 (53.8%) shooting from 3-point range, and 12-for-13 (92.3%) from the free throw line. However UCLA’s numbers are even more impressive: 39-for-58 (67.2%), 15-for-24 (62.5%), and 9-for-18 (50.0%). UCLA won the rebounding battle decisively (30-23), but turnovers were even (8-8).

Who Looked Good

Moritz Wagner is turning into the “go to” player for Michigan this season. He was the leading scorer for Michigan vs. Texas, with 15 points, and he hit double figures again vs. UCLA, with 11 points. He had foul trouble (4) vs. UCLA, which limited his minutes (20), but he still played well when he was in.

Duncan Robinson was the only other player to hit double figures in both games, with 12 and 13. He still isn’t hitting his 3-pointers like he used to (2-for-6 and 2-for-4), but he’s scoring in other ways, and providing a nice scoring threat off the bench.

DJ Wilson had a solid week, with 13 points (and a team-high 6 rebounds) vs. Texas, and 8 points vs. UCLA. He hit 2-for-2 and 2-for-3 from 3-point range.

Zak Irvin had a lousy game vs. Texas (3 points and 3 turnovers), but he bounced back nicely vs. UCLA, with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and only 1 turnover.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman also had a lousy game vs. Texas (3 points, all free throws), but did much better vs. UCLA, with 11 points.

Mark Donnal was another player who had a lousy game vs. Texas (0 points), but he scored 12 points (on 5-for-5 shooting, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range) vs. UCLA.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Derrick Walton Jr. had 2 mediocre games, with 7 and 9 points. He didn’t shoot well (3-for-9 and 2-for-7), and he had more turnovers (7) than assists (4) for the week.

Xavier Simpson played in both games, but failed to score.

Who Else Played

Since the Texas game was so tense and tight, Coach Beilein didn’t play any of the subs and scrubs, but once the UCLA game got out of hand, he put them in. Ibi Watson was the only player to score, with 2 points. Sean Lonergan, Jon Teske, and Fred Wright-Jones all played, but failed to score.

Who Didn’t Play

Brent Hibbitts didn’t get into either game.

The Big Picture

Once again, Michigan couldn’t put two good halves together in either game. They got away with it vs. Texas, but they got hammered in the last 8 minutes of the UCLA game. They have shown us that they have the talent to play with anyone, they just need to figure out how to maintain the effort for 40 minutes.

What’s Next

This week Michigan plays two more games, both in Crisler Arena. On Tuesday (12/13/2016, 9:00 p.m., BTN), Michigan plays Central Arkansas, then on Saturday (12/17/2016, 3:00 p.m., BTN), Michigan plays Maryland Eastern Shore. These are both “guarantee” games against cupcakes, and Michigan should win both games easily.

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

Go Blue!

Quick Look

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they lost one and won one. On Wednesday (11/30/2016), Michigan lost to Virginia Tech 73-70, then on Saturday (12/03/2016), they beat Kennesaw State 82-55. Both games were in Crisler Arena. The loss and the win leave Michigan with a record of 6-2.

What Happened

Michigan is losing ground. At this point, they were supposed to start looking better, and developing some chemistry, but instead they’re looking worse each week. The high point of the season was the two games in Madison Square Garden in the 2K Classic, vs. Marquette and SMU. Since then, they have not looked good. They were soundly beaten at South Carolina two weeks ago, and they threw away the game last week vs. Virginia Tech. Sure, they beat Mount St. Mary’s two weeks ago, and Kennesaw State last week, but they didn’t even look very good in those games. The chemistry is off, and the leadership doesn’t look good.

The VT game was one of the more disappointing losses in a while. Michigan managed to avoid this kind of loss last season, but they were powerless to stop VT in the last 4:00 of the game. They outplayed VT for most of the game, led by 15 in the 1^st half, and had a 10 point lead (60-50) with 7:44 left in the game. Derrick Walton Jr. missed the front end of a 1-and-1, VT rebounded the miss, and DJ Wilson fouled trying to get the rebound. The VT player hit both free throws to cut the lead to 8 points, and the momentum had swung permanently to VT. They outscored UM 21-10 the rest of the way, including a 10-3 run in the last 2:44 of the game. It was gut-wrenching.

The stats for the VT game actually aren’t too bad. Michigan shot pretty well (47.5% overall, 37.0% from 3-point range), they were close on rebounds (26-28), and they won the turnover battle (9-14). They lost the game at the free throw line: VT went 19-for-21 (90.5%), while Michigan went 4-for-7 (57.1%). Those 15 extra points made all the difference.

Even though Michigan beat KSU by 27 points, they were in a dogfight for much of the 1^st half. With 4:53 left in the 1^st half, UM only led by 3 points (30-27). Fortunately, Michigan went on a 17-2 run to end the half up 18 points (47-29), and never let the lead dip below 17 points in the 2^nd half.

The stats for the KSU game are much better. Michigan shot very well (56.6% overall, 45.0% from long range), they won the rebounding battle handily (32-19), and they won the turnover battle (7-13).

Who Looked Good

Moritz Wagner was the star of the KSU game, with a career-high 20 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. He also had double figures (11 points) vs. VT. More importantly, he cut way down on his turnovers (1 vs. VT, 0 vs. KSU) and his fouls (2 and 1).

Zak Irvin had two solid games this week, with 23 points vs. VT and 19 points vs. KSU. Unfortunately, he was cold in the closing minutes of the VT game, and missed a key shot that would have won the game.

Derrick Walton Jr. had a quiet game (6 points) vs. VT, but he looked better vs. KSU, with 13 points. He did have 5 assists vs. VT, and 8 vs. KSU.

DJ Wilson had a lousy game vs. VT, with 2 points and 5 fouls in just 11 minutes of play. He bounced back nicely with a double-double vs. KSU: 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had a pretty good game (13 points) vs. VT, but he was held scoreless vs. KSU.

Duncan Robinson played more minutes (30) than usual vs. VT, since Wilson was in foul trouble for most of the game. He responded with 15 points. He didn’t do quite as well vs. KSU, with 6 points.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Mark Donnal had a quiet week, with 0 and 2 points.

Xavier Simpson also had 0 and 2 points.

Jon Teske had 0 and 1 points.

Ibi Watson played in both games, but failed to score.

Who Else Played

Sean Lonergan played in the KSU game, and had 4 points.

Brent Hibbitts and Fred Wright-Jones played in the KSU game, but failed to score.

The Big Picture

So far, Michigan has only played 2 good games, with uninspiring wins vs. the cupcakes. They manage to play one good half each game, but that isn’t going to cut it vs. the tougher teams coming up. They have the talent to beat anyone on their schedule, and the lack of focus to lose to anyone. If they can figure out how to play two good halves in a game, they’ll do fine.

What’s Next

This week Michigan plays two more games, one in Crisler Arena and one on the road. On Tuesday (12/06/2016, 9:00 p.m., ESPN2), Michigan plays Texas in Crisler, then on Saturday (12/10/2016, 8:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2), Michigan plays at (#11) UCLA. The Texas game will be tough, but it’s winnable. Texas is 4-3, with a decent win vs. Alabama, and 2 surprising losses, to Northwestern and Texas-Arlington. The UCLA game is virtually unwinnable. UCLA is 8-0, and they beat (#1) Kentucky 97-92 in Rupp Arena last week. They’ll be even tougher in Pauley Pavilion, and I’ll be happy if UM stays within 20 points of them.

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

Go Blue!

Quick Look

The (#25) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they lost one and won one. On Wednesday (11/23/2016), Michigan lost at South Carolina 61-46, then on Saturday (11/26/2016), they beat Mount St. Mary’s 64-47 in Crisler Arena. The loss and the win leave Michigan with a record of 5-1.

What Happened

It was “back down to Earth” for Michigan. They had looked very good in their two wins the Championship Round of the 2K Classic two weeks ago, good enough that they cracked the AP Top-25. They went to Columbia (SC) for their first true away game, and they looked terrible.   They had their worst shooting game in 6 years, and they got blown out. They came back home and beat a decent Mount St. Mary’s team a few days later, but the damage was done. Hopefully, Michigan will learn from the South Carolina game, and grow as a team.

The USC game was close for a while, and Michigan led (for the last time) 23-22 with 6:49 left in the 1^st half.   USC went on an 11-4 run to end the half up 6 points (33-27), and never looked back. Michigan got as close as 8 points (41-33) with 12:04 left in the game, but then USC pushed the lead back up to double digits, and Michigan never really challenged them again.

Michigan lost the USC game because of two things: poor shooting and turnovers. How bad was the shooting? Historically bad. UM shot 19.2% (10-for-52) overall, which is terrible, but much worse from 3-point range: 2-for-26 (7.7%).   Ugh. How bad were the turnovers? Michigan came into the game averaging 10 turnovers per game; they had 16 vs. USC. Here are the stats for the USC game.

The MSM game was much better. The score was close in the early going, and MSM led by 4 (12-8) with 16:33 left in the 1^st half, when Michigan went on a 25-4 run to end the half up by 17 (33-16). Michigan let MSM hang around for most of the 2^nd half, but finally put them away. The lead never got over 19 points, and got as low as 8 points, but UM answered every MSM run. Michigan shot much better in the MSM: 43.6% overall and 40.7% from 3-point range. They also cut down on their turnovers a little: only 12. Here are the stats for the MSM game.

Who Looked Good

Derrick Walton Jr. was the only Michigan player to hit double figures in both games, with 15 vs. USC and 12 vs. MSM.   Of course, he shot terribly vs. USC (3-for-14 overall, and 2-for-9 from 3-point range), but he was the leading scorer for Michigan.

Mark Donnal was the only other Michigan player in double figures in the ugly USC game, with 10 points. He had 6 vs. MSM. He played good defense in both games.

Moritz Wagner didn’t have a very good game vs. USC, with only 2 free throws in 16 minutes of action, but he did much better vs. MSM, with 13 points, including 3-for-5 shooting 3-pointers.

Zak Irvin also had a (very) bad game vs. USC, with only 5 points before he fouled out, but he also recovered nicely vs. MSM, with 14 points (and no fouls).

Who Looked Not-So-Good

DJ Wilson had a great tournament 2 weeks ago in New York, but he didn’t do much last week, with 2 points vs. USC and 5 points vs. MSM. He ran around a lot, and played some good defense, but he never seemed in sync with the rest of the team.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman also had a quiet week: 7 and 5 points.

Duncan Robinson was another player who had a quiet week: 2 and 8 points.

Xavier Simpson played in both games, but only scored 2 points vs. USC and 1 point vs. MSM.

Ibi Watson played in both games, but only scored 1 point vs. USC and no points vs. MSM.

Who Else Played

Sean Lonergan and Jon Teske both played in the USC game, but failed to score.

Who Didn’t Play

Brent Hibbitts and Fred Wright-Jones didn’t play in either game.

The Big Picture

This season is turning into a rollercoaster.   Two weeks ago, before the 2K Classic, things looked pretty bleak, then the outlook was much sunnier after the tournament, and now things are back to bleak. Michigan looked very dysfunctional vs. USC, and not a lot better vs. MSM. Fortunately, there’s still time to get things straightened out.

What’s Next

This week Michigan plays two more games, both in Crisler Arena. On Wednesday (11/30/2016, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2), Michigan plays Virginia Tech, then on Saturday (12/03/2016, time TBA, TV TBA), Michigan plays Kennesaw State. The Virginia Tech game is part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and it will be tough.   The game vs. Kennesaw State   should be much easier.

Come on down to Crisler for the games, and check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!