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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #14 – 01/29/2018 – Shootout

Quick Look

The (#25) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game last week, and they lost it. On Thursday (01/25/2018), they lost at (#3) Purdue 92-88. The loss lowers Michigan’s record to 17-6 (6-4 in the Big Ten).

What Happened

This one was a shootout, and Purdue had more offensive firepower than Michigan. It was like a videogame (NCAA Jam 2K18?), with lots of 3-pointers and monster dunks, and not a lot of defense. Purdue led for most of the 1st half, including halftime (41-36). The lead changed hands a lot in the 2nd half, until Purdue went ahead for good at the 8:35 mark. Michigan hung around, and the Purdue lead was only 3 points (85-82) with 0:31 to go, but that was as close as UM could get.

Stats

The stats for the game are amazing. Michigan shot very well overall (35-for-58 = 60.3%), they shot 3-pointers very well (13-for-23 = 56.5%), but they didn’t shoot free throws very well (5-for-9 = 55.6%). They (surprisingly) won the rebounding battle (25-21), but lost the turnover battle (11-10). Purdue won the game at the free throw line: they got there often, and made their free throws (19-for-23 = 82.6%).

Who Looked Good

The starters were Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Isaiah Livers, Charles Matthews, Zavier Simpson, and Moritz Wagner. Four of them hit double figures (all but Livers). MAAR was Michigan’s high scorer with 26 points, Simpson had 16, Wagner had 15, and Matthews had 10.

Jon Teske did his best trying to slow down Purdue’s twin monsters (7’2″ and 7’3″), and he even scored 8 points along the way.

Jordan Poole and Duncan Robinson each had 5 points.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Livers only scored 3 points. He played decent defense.

Jaaron Simmons played for 3 minutes and didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Else Played

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play

Eli Brooks, Austin Davis, Ibi Watson, and the practice squad players (C.J. Baird, Brent Hibbitts, Naji Ozeir, Rico Ozuna-Harrison, and Luke Wilson) didn’t get into the game.

The Big Picture

This was a game that Michigan stood very little chance of winning, but they gave it a good shot. Those kind of shooting numbers will win most games, even on the road, but Purdue is red-hot right now. There’s no need to be upset, disappointed, or worried about this result.

Predicted Win Total

The Purdue game was a “Should Lose” game, and Michigan lost it. No change to the Predicted Win Total.

This week’s Predicted Win Total is: 20

Here’s a chart of the Predicted Win Totals for each week:

Week

Date

Predicted Win Total

1

10/30/2017

19

3

11/13/2017

19

4

11/20/2017

16

5

11/27/2017

16

6

12/04/2017

16

7

12/11/2017

16

8

12/18/2017

18

9

12/25/2017

18

10

01/01/2018

18

11

01/08/2018

19

12

01/15/2018

20

13

01/22/2018

20

14

01/29/2018

20

What’s Next

After playing three games 2 weeks ago, and only one game last week, this week Michigan is back to their regular schedule of playing 2 games. On Monday (01/29/2018, 7:00 p.m., FS1), Michigan plays Northwestern, then on Saturday (02/03/2018, 2:30 p.m., FOX), they play Minnesota. Both games are in Crisler Arena.

Northwestern is currently 13-9 (4-5 in the Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and no embarrassing losses. They have really underperformed so far this season. A lot was expected of them. Michigan should be able to beat them, but they’ll have to play a solid game. No coasting.

Minnesota is currently 14-9 (3-7 in the Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and no embarrassing losses. They have also really underperformed so far this season, including 2 losses to Northwestern. Just like the Northwestern game, Michigan should be able to beat them, but they have to play well.

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

Go Blue!