Category: Featured

Prior to Tuesday’s ‘stripe out’ themed game, maize and blue shirts were placed on the back of every seat in the stadium, alternating sections to create a stadium-wide stripe effect. The concept was generally a success, as most fans wore the free shirt over the outfit they arrived in, and honestly, who doesn’t love a free shirt. However, the 5 students in the front row of the maize rage decided that instead of a stripe out, they were going to wear spots. Cow spots to be exact, with matching cow onesies.

This was my first game sitting in the press box, and honestly the noise level of the crowd was shocking. Last year, I spent every game in the middle of the Maize Rage, screaming along with everyone, completely oblivious to the sheer volume that that can ring inside Crisler for a close game. Sitting above the court, being able to see everything without cheering along was super difficult, and I would constantly find myself holding back from yelling or clapping during certain moments. 

And after Tuesday’s game, I can definitively say that the best part about being a Michigan fan is the energy that everyone has. On a Tuesday night, in the middle of midterms for most students, everyone was on their feet cheering and screaming for the Wolverines up until the very end. With four minutes left in the game, and during a full media timeout, everyone remained standing.

Unfortunately, the Wolverines didn’t cinch the win against Ohio State. It was a close game up until the very end, and it came down to the last play of the game. However, at the press conference, Coach Howard, Wagner, and Davis all seemed to be ready to move past this loss and get ready for Michigan State on Saturday. At several points during the game, and on social media afterwards, videos played on the jumbotron getting fans hyped up for the big game Saturday, with a huge emphasis on the ‘maize out’ aspect. And if the response to the stripe out game was any indication, Saturday’s color theme should be a success.

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this week, both on the road, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (01/28/2020), they won at Nebraska 79-68, then on Saturday (02/01/2020), they beat (#25) Rutgers in Madison Square Garden 69-63.  The wins raise Michigan’s record to 13-8 (4-6 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is still tied for 11^th place in the Big Ten.

What Happened?

After starting the season 0-5 in true road games, Michigan finally won one.  Well, maybe one and a half, since the Rutgers game was a neutral court game in name only.  The crowd in Madison Square Garden was distinctly pulling for Rutgers.  Sure, Nebraska is having a down season, but a road win is a rarity in the Big Ten this season.  The win over Rutgers is even more impressive, since Rutgers is ranked for the first time in several decades.

In the Nebraska game, Nebraska led for the first 7 minutes, but only by 2-4 points.  The lead seesawed for the next few minutes, and the game was tied 27-27 with 5:05 left in the 1^st half.  That’s when Michigan went ahead for the rest of the half, opening up a 5-point lead (40-35) at halftime.  Michigan led for all but one minute of the 2^nd half, when Nebraska caught up and went ahead 52-50 with 13:49 left in the game.  In all Michigan’s previous road games, that would have been the beginning of the end, but UM didn’t fold this time, and took the lead back for good 53-52 at the 12:44 mark.  They got the lead as high as 15 points (71-56 with 5:47 to go), and kept the lead around 9-11 points the rest of the way.  It was a good, solid win.

In the Rutgers game, the lead seesawed for the first 5 minutes, then Michigan pulled ahead, leading by 10 points (24-14) with 7:17 left in the 1^st half.  Rutgers fought back, and got within a point (35-34) with 0:27 left in the half.  Michigan got a layup at the buzzer, and led 37-24 at halftime.  Michigan came out stone cold to start the 2^nd half, and didn’t score for the first 4:26 of the half.  By then, Rutgers was back in front, 38-37.  Once Michigan got the lead back, they pushed it up to 14 points (60-46 with 9:17 to go), and it looked like they had the game under control.  Nope.  Rutgers fought back again, and got within 5 points (63-58) with 2:50 left, within 3 points (63-60) with 0:27 left, and within 2 points (65-63) with 0:19 left.  Michigan made their free throws, played some defense, and finished strong to win by 6 (69-63).

Stats  

The stats for the Nebraska game are mixed.  Michigan shot well overall (28-for-56 = 50.0%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (7-for-24 = 29.2%), and they shot free throws poorly (16-for-24 = 66.7%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (41-27), but they lost the turnover battle (17-14).  Michigan won this game by controlling the boards.

The stats for the Rutgers game are amazing.  Michigan shot well overall (22-for-47 = 46.8%), they shot 3-pointers well (9-for-19 = 47.4%), but they shot free throws poorly (16-for-24 = 66.7%).  They were crushed in the rebounding battle (51-37), and they lost the turnover battle as well (16-10).  Of those 51 rebounds, Rutgers had 26 offensive rebounds, which is amazing.  Between the -14 in rebounds and the -6 in turnovers, Rutgers had 20 more possessions than Michigan.  Michigan won because they shot well and Rutgers didn’t.

Who Started?

The starters for the Nebraska game were Eli Brooks, David DeJulius, Brandon Johns, Jr., Jon Teske, and Franz Wagner.  DeJulius started in place of Zavier Simpson, who was suspended for one game due to “violation of team rules”.  He started in the Rutgers game. Johns started both games in place of Isaiah Livers, who missed 6 games because of a groin injury, returned to the starting lineup for the Illinois game, then re-injured his groin in that game.  Once again, he’s out indefinitely.

Who Looked Good?

Johns had a great week.  He hit a new career high with 16 points in the Nebraska game, then hit another career high with 20 points in the Rutgers game.  He was the star and the high scorer in the Rutgers game.  He shot a nice percentage from 3-point range: 1-for-1 vs. Nebraska and 4-for-7 vs. Rutgers.  He also had 7 rebounds in each game.

Wagner was the only other player to hit double figures in both games, with 18 and 10 points.  He continues to shoot poorly from 3-point range: 1-for-5 vs. Nebraska and 1-for-3 vs. Rutgers.  If he starts hitting his 3-pointers, Michigan will be deadly.  He’s getting the open 3-pointers he needs, he’s just not hitting them.

Brooks almost hit double figures in both games, with 20 and 9 points.  He was the leading scorer in the Nebraska game.  He hit a lot of big 3-pointers in both games, shooting 4-for-10 vs. Nebraska and 3-for-6 vs. Rutgers.

Teske also almost hit double figures in both games, with 9 and 13 points.

Simpson didn’t play in the Nebraska game (suspension), but he almost had a double-double in the Rutgers game, with 9 points and 10 assists.  On the negative side, he did have 6 turnovers, several of them “silly” or “unforced”.

Austin Davis is on track to be the Most Improved Player this season.  He has gone from being a liability to being a positive force out there.  He’s gotten his silly fouls under control, he’s playing great defense, and he chips in some points every now and then.  He had 3 points vs. Nebraska and 8 points vs. Rutgers.

Colin Castleton only played in the Nebraska game, but he did pretty well, scoring 5 points on 2-for-2 shooting.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

DeJulius didn’t make much of his first starting assignment, with 5 points (on 1-for-7 shooting) vs. Nebraska.  He came off the bench vs. Rutgers, and failed to score.

Adrien Nuñez played in both games, and didn’t do much.  He scored 3 points (on 1-for-6 shooting, all 3-pointers) vs. Nebraska, and failed to score in the Rutgers game.

Who Else Played?

C.J. Baird played for 8 minutes in the Nebraska game, but didn’t take a shot.  What’s the significance of this?  He wears number 24, and he played for 8 minutes, both a tribute to Kobe Bryant.

There was one other tribute to Kobe in the Nebraska game: Michigan won the opening tip, and intentionally held the ball in the backcourt for 10 seconds, getting a backcourt violation.  Nebraska inbounded the ball, and intentionally held the ball for 30 seconds, getting a shot clock violation.  These are the college versions of the tributes from the NBA, where their backcourt violation is 8 seconds (a Kobe number), and their shot clock violation is 24 seconds (Kobe’s other number).

Who Didn’t Play?

As mentioned above, Livers was injured and didn’t play in either game.

The rest of the practice squad (Cole Bajema, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, and Luke Wilson) didn’t play in either game.

What Does It Mean?

It was great that Michigan finally won 1.5 road games, and it certainly helped their chances for making the NCAA or NIT Tournaments.  It didn’t change much in the Big Ten race; they’re still in 11^th place, and they still stand no chance of contending for the title.  It would be nice if they could move up to 10^th place or better, so they won’t have to play on Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament.  There are 10 games left in the regular season, and they need to win at least 7 of them to make the NCAA Tournament, or 3 of them to make the NIT Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, both at home.  On Tuesday (02/04/2020, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play Ohio State, then on Saturday (02/08/2020, 12:00 p.m., FOX), they play (#14) Michigan State.

Ohio State is currently 14-7 (4-6 in the Big Ten).  They are tied with Michigan for 11^th place in the Big Ten standings.  They have impressive wins over Cincinnati, Villanova, North Carolina, Penn State, Kentucky, and Indiana, but they have lost to Wisconsin, Minnesota (twice), Penn State, and Indiana.  They started the season ranked #18, got as high as #2, then lost 7 out of 8 games to drop out of the rankings.  They don’t have much height (two 6’9” players), but they do have the Wesson brothers, Andre and Kaleb.  This is a game that Michigan can win, and has to win, but they need to play their “A” game to do it.

Michigan has already played MSU once this season, back on 01/05/2020 in East Lansing, when State won 87-69.  They are now 16-6 (8-3 in the Big Ten), in 2^nd place.  Since that game, MSU has gone 4-3, with wins over Minnesota (twice), Wisconsin, and Northwestern, and losses to Purdue (71-42!), Indiana, and Wisconsin.  They’re not unbeatable, but Cassius Winston had a great game the last time they played Michigan, and Michigan will have to play like they did in the Bahamas to beat MSU.

Check back next week to see how Michigan did.

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this week, both at home, and they lost both of them.  On Wednesday (01/22/2020), they lost to Penn State 72-63, then on Saturday (01/25/2020), they lost to (#21) Illinois 64-62.  The losses drop Michigan’s record to 11-8 (2-6 in the Big Ten).

Michigan has gone from 1^st place (1-0 on 12/06/201) to a tie for 11^th place in the Big Ten.  They have now lost 4 games in a row, and 5 out of the last 6.  It is a stunning turnaround from the team that started the season 7-0, won the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, and was ranked #4 for one week.

What Happened?

Michigan played fairly well for parts of both games, but they allowed their opponents to go on devastating runs, and they just couldn’t hit the key baskets (or free throws) to win either game.  They were behind almost the whole time in both games, and made some runs to get back in the game, but they always came up short.  They led early in both games (21-16 with 10:31 left in the 1^st half vs. PSU, and 9-4 with 16:42 left this the 1^st half vs. Illinois), but frittered away both those leads.  They trailed at halftime in both games (37-28 vs. PSU, and 34-30 vs. Illinois).  PSU never trailed in the 2^nd half, although UM did get within 5 points (62-57) with 3:50 left in the game.  That was as close as they got, though.  Michigan actually led a couple times in the 2^nd half vs. Illinois, as late as the 0:51 mark, but they badly misplayed the final minute, and let Illinois take (and make) their last shot with 0:00.5 left.  Michigan missed their last 5 free throws, and it cost them the game.  It was very sad.

Stats  

The stats for the PSU game are terrible.  Michigan shot terribly overall (24-for-68 = 35.3%), they shot 3-pointers horribly (5-for-28 = 17.9%), and they shot free throws decently (10-for-14 = 71.4%).  They won the rebounding battle (38-35), and they tied in the turnover battle (13-13).  PSU won this game with their own 3-point shooting: 8-for-19 = 42.1%.

The stats for the Illinois game are even worse.  Michigan shot a little better overall (23-for-59 = 39.0%), they shot a better percentage from 3-point range (4-for-17 = 23.5%), but they shot terribly from the free throw line (12-for-21 = 57.1%).  Again, they won the rebounding battle (37-34), and they had a remarkable 2 turnovers (vs. 8 by Illinois).  They lost the game at the free throw line, and by only making four 3-pointers.

Who Started?

The starters for the PSU game were Eli Brooks, Brandon Johns, Jr., Zavier Simpson, Jon Teske, and Franz Wagner.  Johns started in place of Isaiah Livers, who missed 6 games with his injury, but returned to the starting lineup for the Illinois game in place of Johns.

Who Looked Good?

Simpson was the leading scorer in both games, with 18 points vs. PSU and 17 points vs. Illinois.  However he shot a terrible percentage in the PSU game: 8-for-23 = 34.8%.  He also missed 2 of the 5 crucial free throws at the end of the Illinois game.

Johns had a good game vs. PSU (14 points), and a terrible game vs. Illinois (0 points).

Brooks also had a good game vs. PSU (12 points), and a mediocre game vs. Illinois (4 points).

Teske almost had double figures in both games (9 and 12 points).  He had 11 rebounds in the PSU game.

Livers only played in the Illinois game, and he had 7 points before he left the game in the 2^nd half with a possible recurrence of his groin injury.

David DeJulius chipped in a few points (2 and 7).

Austin Davis did a nice job on defense, and scored 2 points in each game.  He did miss the front end of a one-and-one at the end of the Illinois game.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Wagner was the main reason Michigan lost both games.  Sure, he had 6 and 12 points, but he shot terribly: 1-for-9 vs. PSU, 4-for-11 vs. Illinois.  His 3-point shooting was even worse: 1-for-8 vs. PSU, and 1-for-6 vs. Illinois.  He had plenty of open, uncontested 3-point shots, and he bricked most of them.  Still, he had a chance to help Michigan beat Illinois in the closing minutes, but he missed 2 free throws.  Not a good week for him.

Colin Castleton only played for 3 minutes in the Illinois game, and he had 1 point.  Another missed key free throw.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

As mentioned above, Livers was injured and didn’t play in the PSU game.

Adrien Nuñez and the practice squad (C.J. Baird, Cole Bajema, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, and Luke Wilson) didn’t play in either game.

What Does It Mean?

Michigan needed to win both of the games this week to stay in Big Ten title contention, and to keep a solid seed for the NCAA Tournament.  With these losses, Michigan now stands no chance of contending for the Big Ten title, and a very small chance of even making the Big Dance.  At the rate they are falling, they may not even finish above 0.500, which would eliminate them from the NIT Tournament.  A very promising season has gone off the rails.  It’s not too late for Michigan to salvage the season, but they need to start immediately.  They can’t afford to lose many more games.  There are 12 games left in the regular season, and they need to win at least 9 of them to make the NCAA Tournament, or 5 of them to make the NIT Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, both on the road.  On Tuesday (01/28/2020, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPNU), they play at Nebraska, then on Saturday (02/01/2020, 4:30 p.m., BTN), they play (#24) Rutgers in Madison Square Garden in New York.

Nebraska is currently 7-13 (2-7 in the Big Ten).  They are 0.5 game behind Michigan in the Big Ten standings.  They have beaten Purdue and Iowa, but lost to lowly Northwestern.  They don’t have much height (one 6’9” player), and no one even close to a star player.  This might be a team that Michigan can beat on the road.  Maybe.

Wait a minute, what’s that “(#24)” thing before Rutgers’ name above?  They’re ranked?  Yup, for the first time in several decades, Rutgers is ranked.  They’re currently 15-5 (6-3 in the Big Ten).  They’re tied with Maryland for 3^rd place in the Big Ten.  They’ve beaten (#22) Seton Hall, (#20) Penn State, and Minnesota, but they’ve lost to Illinois and Iowa.  They’ve got some height (a couple 6’11” players), and a couple stars (Geo Brown and Myles Johnson).  Even though this game is being played in Madison Square Garden, Michigan is technically the home team for the game.  Yes, Michigan only gets 9 Big Ten games in Crisler Arena this season, while every other Big Ten team gets 10 true home games.  Even worse, this will be like a home game for Rutgers, since their campus is within easy driving distance of Madison Square Garden, so it’s not even a neutral site game.  The combination makes it very unlikely that Michigan will win this game.

Check back next week to see how Michigan did.

Go Blue!

The (#19) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this week, and they lost it.  On Friday (01/17/2020), they lost at Iowa 90-83.  The loss drops Michigan’s record to 11-6 (2-4 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is now 0-5 in true road games this season.

What Happened?

The season is slipping away.  It started with such promise, and peaked on 11/29/2019, when Michigan beat (#8) Gonzaga soundly in the Bahamas to claim the Battle 4 Atlantis championship.  Since then, Michigan is 4-6, with only 2 of those wins against teams with a pulse (Iowa and Purdue).  They have completely lost all the swagger and momentum they had in the Bahamas, and are now utterly helpless in road games.

The Iowa game was a game of runs, and Iowa had the decisive run in the last 3:25 of the game to win it.  Both teams had decent leads at one time or another:  Michigan lead by 7 points (16-9) with 13:13 left in the 1^st half, then Iowa led by 11 points (33-22) with 7:48 to go in the half.  Michigan whittled away at that lead, and got it down to 4 points (47-43) at halftime.  Iowa kept the lead in the 3-5 point range for most of the early part of the 2^nd half, but Michigan made a move, and took the lead back at the 12:46 mark.  They pushed it up to 7 points (72-65) with 9:42 to go, and still led by 6 points (74-68) with 7:44 to go.  Iowa went back in front at the 5:26 mark, but it was still a 1-point Iowa lead (80-79) with 3:25 to go.  Michigan went stone cold, and didn’t score again until the 0:21 mark.  By then, the game was out of reach.

Stats  

The stats for the game are decent.  Michigan shot well overall (34-for-68 = 50.0%), they shot 3-pointers fairly well (11-for-34 = 32.4%), and they shot free throws well (4-for-5 = 80.0%).  They were crushed on the boards (38-25), but they won the turnover battle (8-15).  How did they lose by 7 points with that kind of shooting?  Free throws.  But, wait, they shot 80% from the free throw line, right?  Yeah, but Iowa shot 30 free throws!  30!  And, they made 27 of them (90%).  That’s a 23-point difference.  They earned most of the free throws, but some of them were “homer” calls by the refs.  Still, Iowa had a plan to drive the ball at Michigan in the paint, and it worked.  They either got the basket or got to shoot free throws, and they made them count.

Oh yeah, remember Luka Garza, who I mentioned last week?  He had 44 points the first time Iowa played Michigan (in Ann Arbor), and he had another big game this time, with 33 points,  11 of them on free throws (11-for-13).  He also hit 2-for-3 from 3-point range.  He was the difference in the game.

Who Started?

The starters were Eli Brooks, Brandon Johns, Jr., Zavier Simpson, Jon Teske, and Franz Wagner for both games.  Johns started in place of Isaiah Livers, who is still out with a groin injury.  He has now missed 5 games with his injury, and UM is 1-4 in those games.  Michigan needs him back, now.

Who Looked Good?

Brooks had a monster game, with (career-high) 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range.  He single-handedly kept Michigan in the game, but it wasn’t enough.

Wagner had a good game, with 18 points.  Unfortunately, he was only 2-for-8 from 3-point range.

Teske had a good game offensively, with 14 points, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range, but he couldn’t stop, or even slow down, Garza.

Simpson only had 7 points, but he did have 6 assists.

David DeJulius had a decent game, with 10 points.  Unfortunately, he shot poorly: 5-for-12 overall, 0-for-3 from 3-point range.

Austin Davis didn’t score much (4 points), but he played good defense while giving Teske a rest.  He actually did better guarding Garza than Teske did.

Adrien Nuñez did hit a 3-pointer.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Johns had 2 points and 5 fouls.

Colin Castleton had 0 points.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

As mentioned above, Livers was injured and didn’t play.

The practice squad (C.J. Baird, Cole Bajema, Jaron Faulds, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, and Luke Wilson) didn’t play.

What Does It Mean?

Michigan is in free fall.  They are almost certainly out of contention for the Big Ten title, they are almost certainly out of the Top 25, and they are in serious danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.  They now have a solid mental block about winning on the road, and they stand a very real chance of going 0-10 on the road in the league this season.  They might be able to sneak past Northwestern in Evanston on 02/12/2020, but that’s their only hope for a road victory.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games, both in Crisler Arena.  On Wednesday (01/22/2020, 7:00 p.m., BTN), they play Penn State, then on Saturday (01/25/2020, 12:00 p.m., FS1), they play Illinois.

Penn State?  They’re never good, and Michigan always beats them, right?  Not so fast.  They’re actually good-ish this season.  They have a better record than Michigan (13-5, 3-4 in the Big Ten), and they’ve beaten some good teams this season: Georgetown, Syracuse, Wake Forest, (#4) Maryland, Alabama, (#23) Iowa, and (#21) Ohio State.  They don’t have much height (no one over 6’9”), but they do have a star: Lamar Stevens.  Michigan should win this game, especially since it’s in Ann Arbor, but they’ll have to play very well to do it.

Michigan has already played Illinois this season, back in December (12/11/2019) on the road.  This was the first of a couple road games that Michigan could have won, but didn’t.  Since then, Illinois has done very well.  They’re currently 13-5 (5-2 in the Big Ten), and in 2^nd place in the league.  Does the name Kofi Cockburn ring a bell?  It should.  He had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots in the first game against Michigan, and I expect him to have another monster game this time around.  With all the trouble Michigan has had guarding big men, Illinois would be crazy to not go to Cockburn all game long.

Check back next week to see how Michigan did.

Go Blue!