Category: Basketball

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won them both. On Tuesday (12/01/2015), UM won at N.C. State 66-59, then on Saturday (12/05/2015), UM beat Houston Baptist 82-57 in Crisler Arena. The win over NCSU was part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which the Big Ten won again. The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 6-2.

The win over NCSU was actually pretty impressive. It was Michigan’s first true road game, after 3 neutral-site games in the Bahamas, and it came after UM had travel problems on the way home from the Bahamas and only had 48 hours in Ann Arbor to regroup. NCSU led for the first 10:00 of the game, although UM stayed close, and Michigan finally opened up a decent lead (28-18) with 3:21 left in the 1^st half. They led by 8 (34-26) at halftime, and pushed the lead up to 15 (45-30) in the first 5:00 of the 2^nd half. The next 5:00 were a little scary, as NCSU went on at 12-1 run, and got within 4 (46-42) with 10:00 to go. Michigan pushed the lead back up to 10 (56-46) with 6:23 left, and never let NCSU get closer than 7 points the rest of the way. The Wolverines played with poise down the stretch in a hostile environment, which is good practice for the rest of the season.

The win over HBU was not nearly as impressive. Sure, UM won by 25 points, but they had a hard time shaking HBU in the first half. They started out great, leading 11-0 after just 3:15, but HBU hung around, and got within 2 (26-24) with 4:34 left in the 1^st half. UM finished the half with an 11-4 run, to lead by 9 (37-28) at halftime. Michigan came out a little more focused in the 2^nd half, and pushed the lead up to an insurmountable 24 points (58-34) with 11:24 left in the game. HBU never got any closer than 17 points the rest of the game, and UM won by 25. Still, it was a lethargic performance against an overmatched opponent. Let’s blame it on a post-ACC/Big Ten game hangover, and finals.

So, what did we learn about this season’s UM team this week? We learned that they can bounce back from a couple bad games (Xavier and UConn) to beat some decent teams (Texas and NCSU). We learned that they can win on the road, in a hostile environment. And, we learned that they can still win convincingly against an inferior opponent, even when they don’t play that well. These are all encouraging things.

Stats

The stats for the NCSU game are pretty solid. UM shot well overall (24-for-48 = 50.0%), the shot decently from 3-point range (7-for-20 = 35.0%), and they shot well from the free-throw line (11-for-13 = 84.6%). They lost the rebounding battle (36-32), but got close, and they lost the turnover battle (11-7). It was their overall shooting that won the game.

The stats for the HBU game are a little better. Once again, UM shot pretty well overall (38-for-58 = 48.3%), they shot very well from 3-point range (11-for-23 = 47.8%), and they shot free throws pretty well (10-for-15 = 75.0%). As expected, they won the rebounding battle (33-29) and the turnover battle (6-16). Those 14 extra possessions really helped.

Individually, there was some bad news this week: Derrick Walton Jr. injured his ankle 13 minutes into the 1^st half of the NCSU game, and missed the rest of that game, and the HBU game. It isn’t clear when he’ll be back, but it could be as early as this week.

Due to the injury, Coach Beilein had to change the starting lineup again. For the NCSU game, he started Aubrey Dawkins, Ricky Doyle, Zak Irvin, Caris LeVert, and Walton. For the HBU game, he started Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (MAAR) in place of Walton.

LeVert was the only starter to hit double figures in both games, with 18 vs. NCSU and 25 vs. HBU. Dawkins was the only other starter to hit double figures in either game, with 16 vs. HBU and 2 points in the NCSU game. The other starters didn’t do much: MAAR had 6 points in his only start, Doyle had 6 and 2 points, Irvin had 7 and 7, and Walton had 4 points, in 13 minutes.

The bench chipped in some points this week. Duncan Robinson hit double figures in both games, with 17 vs. NCSU and 19 vs. HBU. MAAR had 4 points in the NCSU game, Mark Donnal didn’t play in the NCSU game and had 2 points in the HBU game, Moritz Wagner had 8 and 1, and DJ Wilson had 0 and 4. Spike Albrecht and Kameron Chatman both played in both games, but didn’t score.

There was some question before the season about whether Robinson would be able to get his shots off vs. quality Division I opponents, and it is becoming apparent that he can, and that he’ll hit more than 50% of them. This is good news.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays two games. On Tuesday (12/08/2015, 9:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play at Southern Methodist (SMU), then on Saturday (12/12/2015, 12:00 p.m., ESPNU), they play Delaware State in Crisler Arena. The game vs. SMU will be UM’s toughest test so far, equivalent to the Xavier and UConn games. Michigan got manhandled in both of those games, so this will be a good yardstick to see if UM has fixed any of the problems that were exposed earlier. Delaware State is a cupcake, and will be no challenge.

Tune by to see how Michigan does vs. SMU, and come by Crisler for the Delaware State game. In any case, check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games last week, and they lost one and won the next two. On Wednesday (11/25/2015), UM lost to (#18) Connecticut 74-60, then on Thursday (11/26/2015), UM beat Charlotte 102-47, and finally on Friday (11/27/2015), UM beat Texas 78-72. All three games were played in Nassau (Bahamas), in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Michigan came in 5^th. Whoopee! The loss and wins leave Michigan with a record of 4-2.

The UConn game looked at lot like the disastrous Xavier game from last week: UConn exploited UM’s weak interior defense, and just overpowered UM. It started out OK, with UM playing pretty well, and opening up a nice 7-point lead (12-5) with 14:31 left in the 1^st half, when the roof fell in. UConn went on a 19-4 run to go up by 8 (24-16) with 5:27 left, and pushed the lead up to 14 (36-22) at halftime. Yes, UM only scored 10 points in the last 14:31 of the 1^st half. They shot 24%. It was ugly. The 2^nd half was a little better, since UM played UConn even, but that meant a 14-point loss. The UConn lead got as high as 19 points (52-33) with 10:00 left in the game, but Michigan fought back, got as close as 8 points a few times, but never got any closer.

The bad part about playing in a 3-day, 8-team tournament is that you have to play 3 games in 3 days. The good part is that you don’t have time to dwell on a loss, you have to get ready for another game. Michigan looked lost in the UConn game, but they found themselves in the 2^nd game, against Charlotte. Now, Charlotte is not a very good team, but the way UM throttled them is impressive, no matter who the opponent is. The margin of victory (55 points) is the highest for Michigan in 70 years. The 102 points they scored is a tournament record. It was quite a game. It was almost over at halftime, when UM led 44-22, and it was certainly over just 2:30 into the 2^nd half, when UM went on 10-2 run to make it a 30-point lead (54-24). The last 17:30 was “mop up” time.

I was worried that UM might come out flat and tired in the 3^rd and final game, vs. Texas, but they played well for the whole game. Texas is a quality opponent, and UM handled them. Michigan never trailed, and jumped out to another 12-5 lead, with 14:15 left in the 1^st half. This time, they built on it, instead of letting their opponent back into the game. They got the lead up to 10 (25-15) with 10:11 left, and 12 points (44-32) at halftime. The lead stayed around 12 points for most of the 2^nd half, although Texas did get as close as 1 point (67-66) with 4:26 to go. Michigan outscored them 11-6 down the stretch, and won solidly.

So, did we learn anything about this season’s UM team this week? We sure did. We learned that they’re not going to just give up when the going gets tough. They lost 2 miserable games in a row (Xavier and UConn), but they bounced back very nicely against Charlotte and Texas. They’ve still got a lot of work to do, and a lot of things to figure out, but they’re headed in the right direction. Do I think they could beat Xavier or UConn yet if they had another chance? No, not yet, but they have the players to get there by the end of the season.

Stats

The stats for the UConn game are horrible, the worst in a while. UM shot terribly overall (18-for-56 = 32.1%), they shot terribly from 3-point range (8-for-29 = 27.6%), but at least they shot free throws well (16-for-20 = 80.0%). They got hammered on the boards (42-31), but they did win the turnover battle (9-12). Since UConn shot 50% overall, and 40% from 3-point range, 32%/28% just won’t make it.

The stats for the Charlotte game are very good. It’s hard to believe that this is the same team as the one that stunk up the joint against UConn. UM shot very well overall (39-for-63 = 61.9%), they shot 3-pointers very well (12-for-23 = 52.2%), and they shot free throws very well (12-for-14 = 85.7%). They crushed Charlotte on the boards (44-27), and they won the turnover battle (8-10). It was a dominating performance.

Finally, the stats for the Texas game are almost as good as the Charlotte stats. UM shot very well again overall (29-for-50 = 58.0%), they shot incredibly well from 3-point range (14-for-25 = 56.0%), but they shot free throws pretty poorly (6-for-12 = 50.0%). They won the rebounding battle (31-27), but lost the turnover battle (13-10). Keep in mind that the new Texas coach this season is Shaka Smart, who designed Virginia Commonwealth’s “Havoc” defense. Well, Michigan crushed VCU in the NCAA Tournament in 2013, and they handled the Texas version of “havoc” pretty well this season. 13 turnovers isn’t too bad.

For this tournament, Coach Beilein changed the starting lineup, starting Ricky Doyle instead of Mark Donnal. The other 4 starters were Aubrey Dawkins, Zak Irvin, Caris LeVert, and Derrick Walton Jr. Of the starters, only LeVert scored in double figures for all 3 games, with 21 vs. UConn, 13 in the Charlotte game, and 19 vs. Texas. Irvin (2, 12, and 13 points) and Walton (10, 8, and 13 points) both hit double figures in 2 of the 3 games. Dawkins hit double figures in one game (8, 10, and 6 points), and Doyle didn’t score much (5, 6, and 0 points).

A couple of the bench players hit double figures in one game. Moritz Wagner was the star of the Charlotte game, with a career-high 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting. He had 0 points in the UConn game, but he chipped in 7 points vs. Texas. Duncan Robinson had a great game vs. Texas, scoring 14 points, after scoring 5 vs. UConn and 9 vs. Charlotte.

The rest of the bench chipped in some points: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 4, 4, and 0, Kameron Chatman had 0, 6, and 0, Donnal didn’t play in the UConn game, and had 7 and 4 in the other 2 games, and DJ Wilson had 5, 8, and 2 points.

Spike Albrecht played in the UConn and Charlotte games, but didn’t score. He didn’t play in the Texas game. He is clearly not recovered from his double hip surgery, and isn’t playing well at all. I have no idea if or when he’ll be back to his old playing form.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays two games. On Tuesday (12/01/2015, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play at North Carolina State, then on Saturday (12/05/2015, 2:00 p.m., ESPNU), they play Houston Baptist in Crisler Arena. The game vs. N.C. State is part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and should be, well, a challenge. Houston Baptist is a cupcake that Michigan has snacked on in the recent past. They will be no challenge.

Tune by to see how Michigan does vs. N.C. State, and come by Crisler for the Houston Baptist game. In any case, check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

“Let’s Go X!  Let’s Go X!  Let’s Go X!”  There were about 1000 loud and rowdy Xavier fans, and they were having a great time cheering for their team, since they were manhandling Michigan.  Michigan was X-Posed.

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won one and lost the other. On Monday (11/16/2015), UM beat Elon 88-68, then on Friday (11/20/2015), they lost to Xavier 86-70. Both games were in Crisler Arena. The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 2-1.

There isn’t much to say about the Elon game. They’re a “cupcake”, and Michigan didn’t have much trouble putting them away. We didn’t learn anything about Michigan in this game.

The more interesting, and troubling, game was against Xavier. Michigan was exposed as overrated. Even though Michigan matched up pretty well with Xavier height-wise, they got out-rebounded, out-muscled, and out-hustled. From the very first play of the game, Xavier drove through the UM defense, and did whatever they wanted under the basket. In the first 10 seconds, a Xavier player put his head down and drove right through the UM defense, laid the ball in, and drew a foul. It was a sign of things to come. Xavier owned the boards, shot well from outside, and beat Michigan in every phase of the game. They got off to a quick 7-0 lead, but UM fought back, and managed to tie the game up 10-10. The lead went back and forth, with Michigan leading by as much as 4 points (16-12), until there was 3:52 left in the 1^st half. At that point, the game was tied at 32-32, when the roof fell in. Xavier went on a 13-4 run to end the half up 45-36, and Michigan never led or tied the score again. The Xavier lead was around 5-7 points for most of the 2^nd half, although UM did get as close as 2 points a couple of times (56-54 with 12:14 left, and 61-59 with 9:59 left) before Xavier put the game out of reach.

For most of his time in Ann Arbor, Coach Beilein has worked with a short bench, a young team, and few big men. This season, he has a long bench, an experienced team, and 4 viable big men. Those big men were all exposed as weak defensively in this game. Even with 4 big men, they were all in foul trouble for most of the game. Michigan committed their 10^th team foul of the 1^st half with 2:32 left, and 8 of those 10 fouls were against the 4 big men, 2 on each. Xavier kept driving, and the only way the Michigan big men could stop them was by fouling. When Beilein started using double teams to stop the bleeding inside, Xavier took advantage with wide open 3-pointers, which they hit. The weakness inside led to the barrage of Xavier 3-pointers outside. It was a lose-lose situation.

So, is the season doomed? Now that every team on the schedule has seen a blueprint for how to beat Michigan, what can Beilein do? At least half of the Big Ten teams are better than Xavier. Maybe Michigan will get a refereeing crew that knows what a charge is. Maybe Beilein can shore up the interior defense. Maybe one of the big men will emerge as a reliable defender. If not, it looks like a long season.

Stats

The stats for the Elon game look a lot like the stats for the previous 2 games vs. cupcakes. UM shot pretty well overall (31-for-60 = 51.7%), they shot very well from 3-point range (13-for-24 = 54.2%), and they shot very well from the free-throw line (13-for-15 = 86.7%). They won the rebounding battle (32-27) and the turnover battle (11-17). They were dominant, which is why they won by 20 points.

On the other hand, the stats for the Xavier game are not very impressive. UM shot pretty poorly overall (21-for-52 = 40.4%), they shot pretty poorly from 3-point range (10-for-26 = 38.5%), and they shot pretty poorly from the free-throw line (18-for-26 = 69.2%). The big stats weren’t shooting stats, but rebounding and turnovers. UM got hammered on the boards (47-29), and lost the turnover battle as well (11-9). That’s 20 extra possessions for Xavier, which is why they shot 14 more shots than Michigan.

Individually, Beilein went with the same starting lineup as in the exhibition and Northern Michigan games for the Elon game: Kameron Chatman, Aubrey Dawkins, Mark Donnal, Caris LeVert, and Derrick Walton Jr.
Zak Irvin had been recuperating from pre-season back surgery, so he didn’t play in the exhibition or NMU games, but he did come off the bench for 15 minutes of action vs. Elon. He looked recuperated enough to start vs. Xavier, in place of Chatman. Now that Irvin’s available to start, that is Beilein’s preferred starting lineup.

Of the starters, only LeVert hit double figures in both games, with 11 points vs. Elon, and 29 points vs. Xavier. Walton was the only other starter to hit double figures in one game, with a career-high 24 points vs. Elon, and 4 points vs. Xavier. The other starters didn’t do much scoring: Chatman had 6 points vs. Elon, and didn’t start in the Xavier game, Dawkins had 7 and 5 points, Donnal had 6 and 0 points, and Irvin had 7 points vs. Xavier, and didn’t start in the Elon game. That’s not very good scoring balance.

The bench chipped in a few points: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 2 and 0 points, Spike Albrecht had 0 and 5, Ricky Doyle had 8 and 3, Duncan Robinson had 19 and 9, Moritz Wagner had 0 and 2, and DJ Wilson had 5 and 3. Robinson’s 19 points are a career high for him at Michigan, although he did score 30 points in one game for his previous team, (Division III) Williams College.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays three games in three days, all in Nassau (Bahamas), in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. On Wednesday (11/25/2015, 9:30 p.m., AXS TV), they play (#19) Connecticut. On Thursday (11/26/2015, 3:30 p.m./9:30 p.m., ESPN/AXS TV), they play either Charlotte or Syracuse. On Friday (11/27/2015, TBA, TBA), they play a team from the other side of the bracket ([#10] Gonzaga, Texas, Texas A&M, or Washington).

There are a couple tough teams in this tournament (UConn and Gonzaga), but now that UM has been exposed, every team they play will be a tough game. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if UM went 0-3 in this tournament. They might be able to beat Charlotte, but that’s about it.

Tune by to see how they do, if you can find any of their games on TV, and check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

The (#25) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game last week, and they won it handily. Of course, it was at home against a Division II team, but still. Wins are wins. On Friday (11/13/2015), UM defeated Northern Michigan 70-44. Michigan’s record is now 1-0.

Michigan looked a little sloppy and lethargic in the 1^st half, and only led by10 (36-26) at halftime. They opened the 2^nd half with a 12-2 run to make it a 20-point lead, and that was the ballgame. The lead got as high as 29 (70-41), before NMU hit a 3-pointer in the last minute to make it a 26 point game.

Stats

The stats look like you would expect: Michigan played pretty well, but a little ragged at times. UM shot pretty well overall (27-for-52 = 51.9%), but not so well from 3-point range (6-for-16 = 37.5%). They didn’t shoot very many free throws, but most of them went in (10-for-15 = 66.7%). They tied in the rebounding battle (32-32) and won the turnover battle (12-19). Both of those last 2 stats are a little troubling: Michigan is a much taller team than NMU, and they should have won the rebounding battle, and 12 turnovers for UM is worrisome.

Individually, Coach Beilein went with the same starting lineup as in the exhibition game: Kameron Chatman, Aubrey Dawkins, Mark Donnal, Caris LeVert, and Derrick Walton Jr. Only LeVert (18 points) and Dawkins (15 points) hit double figures. The other 3 starters had 6 (Chatman), 6 (Donnal), and 4 (Walton) points. Eh. LeVert and Dawkins looked like they came to play, but the rest of the team didn’t play with much enthusiasm.

The bench chipped in a few points: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 5 points, Spike Albrecht had 7, Ricky Doyle had 2, Duncan Robinson played but didn’t score, Moritz Wagner had 2 points, and DJ Wilson had 5, including a nice 3-pointer. Zak Irvin is still recuperating from pre-season back surgery, so he didn’t play.

There was some question about whether or not Wagner would be redshirted this season, but Beilein left it up to him, and he wanted to play, so he did. He looked OK out there, but he still obviously needs some work. I wouldn’t be surprised if he contributes some important minutes as the season goes on, and he could be a factor down the stretch.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays two games, both in Crisler Arena. On Monday (11/16/2015, 7:00 p.m., ESPN3), they play Elon in the “mainland game” of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, then on Friday (11/20/2015, 9:00 p.m., BTN), they play Xavier in the inaugural Gavitt Games.

The Elon game should be interesting, since Elon has 5 players who are 6’8″ or taller. Michigan had a decided height advantage against LeMoyne (exhibition) and NMU, and they still had trouble on the boards. Elon could be a challenge. Even though this game is considered part of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, Michigan will play in the “championship” phase of the tournament in the Bahamas next week regardless of whether they beat Elon or not. That’s just the way it goes with these “destination” tournaments.

The Gavitt Games are the Big East/Big Ten challenge. Xavier is probably the best non-conference opponent that UM will face at home this season. This game will also be a challenge. We should know a lot more about this season’s UM team by this time next week.

Come on down to Crisler Arena to see how they do.

Go Blue!