The (#5) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won one and lost the other. On Tuesday (01/29/2019), they beat Ohio State 65-49 in Crisler, then on Friday (02/01/2019), they lost at Iowa 74-59. The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 20-2 (9-2 in the Big Ten), tied for 1^st place with Michigan State and Purdue.

Time for more Questions & Answers:

Q: Roadkill?

A: Yeah, the home team won both games this week. Unfortunately, Michigan was the visiting team at Iowa. The opposite of “road warriors” is “roadkill”. Michigan is now 3-2 in Big Ten road games, with wins at Northwestern, Illinois, and Indiana, and losses at Wisconsin and Iowa.

Q: So, what happened?

A: As good as Michigan looked against OSU, that’s how bad they looked vs. Iowa. The OSU game didn’t start out very well, with OSU leading for the first 12 minutes, before UM tied it (19-19) with 8:10 to go in the 1^st half. The teams traded the lead until the 2:10 mark, when Michigan went ahead for good, 27-26. They led by 6 points (32-26) at halftime, and 11 points (44-33) with 12:35 to go. OSU got as close as 8 points (44-36), before UM pushed the lead up to the 14-16 point range and kept it there.

The Iowa game started out close, with several ties and lead changes in the first 9 minutes. It was tied up 12-12 with 11:21 to go in the 1^st half, when Michigan went on a quick 5-0 run to take their only significant lead (17-12), with 10:48 left. That’s when the roof fell in. Iowa went on a long, painful 21-2 run over the next 5 minutes that crushed the life out of Michigan. That made it 33-19, and that was the game. Michigan made a few feeble attempts at a comeback, and got within 9 points (50-41) with 12:28 left in the game, but Iowa was hot, and Michigan was not. It was a very discouraging performance.

Q: Any problems with the officiating?

A: Well…

Let’s just say that they called the Iowa game a little more closely than any game I’ve seen in the last 10 years. Maybe they called it evenly for both teams, but they certainly were REALLY picky about what they called a foul. It made the game unwatchable.

Q: How were the game stats?

A: About what you would expect: good for the win, and lousy for the loss:

In the OSU game, Michigan shot pretty well overall (22-for-54 = 40.7%), they shot 3-pointers well (10-for-27 = 37.0%), and they shot free throws very well (11-for-12 = 91.7%). They lost the rebounding battle (35-29), but they dominated in the turnover battle (9-19). Those 10 extra possessions really helped.

In the Iowa game, Michigan shot poorly overall (21-for-65 = 32.3%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (8-for-33 = 24.2%), but they did shoot free throws well (9-for-12 = 75.0%). They got clobbered on the boards (48-36), but they did win the turnover battle (8-10). The combination of poor shooting and terrible rebounding cost Michigan this game.

Q: Who looked good for Michigan?

A: A few players had a good week:

• Jordan Poole bounced back from a quiet week last week with a solid week this week. He was the high scorer for Michigan in both games, with 15 points vs. OSU and 16 points vs. Iowa. Unfortunately, he was inefficient in both games: 5-for-14 overall (3-for-10 from deep) vs. OSU, and 5-for-12 overall (3-for-9 from deep) vs. Iowa.
  
• Ignas Brazdeikis also had a solid week. He was the co-high scorer in the Iowa game (16 points), and just one point behind Poole in the OSU game (14 points). He was much more efficient than Poole: 4-for-7 (2-for-3 from deep) vs. OSU, and 6-for-15 (2-for-4 from deep) vs. Iowa.
  
• Zavier Simpson was the real star of the OSU game, even though he wasn’t the high scorer. He scored 11 points, which is fine, but he also had 10 rebounds and 12 assists (a new career high), for a rare “triple-double”. It was only the 6^th triple-double in UM history. He flirted with a second straight triple-double in the Iowa game, with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.
  
• Isaiah Livers hit double figures in one game (12 points vs. OSU), but only 3 points vs. Iowa. He was limited by foul trouble for most of the Iowa game (see above about officiating), picking up 4 fouls in 14 minutes.
  

Q: Who looked not-so-good for Michigan?

A: A few players had an “off” week:

• Jon Teske didn’t hit double figures in either game (4 and 8 points). He was severely limited by foul trouble in the Iowa game (see above about officiating), and fouled out in only 13 minutes.
  
• Charles Matthews had a really inefficient week. He had 9 and 6 points, but he shot terribly, especially in the Iowa game: 3-for-8 overall (1-for-3 from deep) vs. OSU, and 2-for-12 overall (2-for-7 from deep) vs. Iowa.
  
• Eli Brooks played in both games, but didn’t score a point in either. He didn’t attempt a shot vs. OSU, and was 0-for-3 vs. Iowa. Michigan needs some bench points from him.
  

Q: Who else played this week?

A: Coach Beilein played the subs and scrubs in the last minute of the OSU blow-out, and he was forced to play several not-ready-for-primetime players in the Iowa game, due to foul trouble. Colin Castleton, Austin Davis, David DeJulius, Brandon Johns, Jr., and Adrien Nuñez all played in both games, but didn’t score. The “big men” (Castleton, Davis, and Johns) played more minutes than usual when both Teske and Livers got in foul trouble in the Iowa game. They were not effective.

Q: What did we learn this week?

A: We learned that Michigan has a tough time playing against a good Big Ten team on the road in a loud and hostile environment. We could explain away the loss at Wisconsin a couple weeks ago as a result of the stress of the long winning streak to start the season, but the debacle in Iowa was purely a matter of crumbling under adversity. When Iowa started their run, and the crowd got going, you could see the fear and uncertainty on the faces of the Michigan players. Now, all the remaining Big Ten games on the road are in question.

Q: What’s next for Michigan?

A: Michigan plays two games again this week, one away and one at home. On Tuesday (02/05/2019, 8:00 p.m., BTN), they play at Rutgers, then on Saturday (02/09/2019, 12:00 p.m., FOX), they play (#24) Wisconsin in Crisler.

Rutgers is currently 11-10 (4-7 in Big Ten), with wins over Miami (FL), Ohio State, Nebraska, and Indiana, and losses to Fordham, Seton Hall, Northwestern, and Ohio State. They have some height (a 7’0″ guy and three 6’10” guys), but no real superstars. They are currently tied for 9^th place in the Big Ten (with Indiana), which is a big improvement on 13^th or 14^th place, where they usually finish. Michigan is certainly better than Rutgers, but they will need to play well to beat them, especially on the road. There are no easy wins on the road in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin is currently 16-6 (8-3 in Big Ten), just one game behind the three teams tied for 1^st place (Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue). They beat Michigan handily in Madison 2 weeks ago (01/19/2019), and that was the start of a 5-game winning streak for them, beating Illinois (away), Northwestern, Nebraska (away), and (#21) Maryland since then. This is a crucial game for Michigan. They can beat Wisconsin, but they need to get their swagger back to do it.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week to see how Michigan did.

Go Blue!

The (#5) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won both of them. On Tuesday (01/22/2019), they beat Minnesota 59-57 in Crisler, then on Friday (01/25/2019), they beat Indiana 69-46 in Bloomington. The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 19-1 (8-1 in the Big Ten).

Time for more Questions & Answers:

Q: Wait, #5? What happened to #2?

A: The loss to Wisconsin on 01/19/2019 moved Michigan down three spots in the AP Poll, which is reasonable.

Q: Back in the saddle?

A: After the demoralizing loss to Wisconsin, Michigan had to get their swagger back. They had to get back on that horse and keep moving forward. They still looked stunned and scared for much of the Minnesota game, but they appeared to have shaken it off vs. IU. They really need to put that one loss behind them, and not let it turn into multiple losses.

Q: So, what happened?

A: Michigan had a horrible start in the Minnesota game. They were cold, Minnesota was hot, and the game started slipping away almost immediately. Minnesota jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, and pushed it up to 16-8, then 19-10. Michigan finally woke up, and clawed their way to a 23-23 tie. Minnesota pulled back ahead, and led 31-28 at halftime. They continued to lead for the first four minutes of the 2^nd half, before Michigan tied it up again, 37-37, and finally got the lead, 39-37 with 15:23 to go. Michigan never trailed again, and built the lead up to 13 points (52-39) with 9:10 left in the game. It looked like Michigan had the game firmly in hand, then they went cold. Still, with good defense they still led by 10 points (57-47) with 4:51 to go. Those were the last points Michigan would score until the final second of the game. Minnesota slowly crawled back into the game, and tied it up 57-57 with 30.7 seconds left. Michigan held the ball for the last shot, and Charles Matthews was the hero with a buzzer-beater that just left his hand before the shot clock went off, and swished through as time expired. It was thrilling, but scary. Michigan is much better than Minnesota, and they should have won this game convincingly, especially at home. The hangover from the Wisconsin loss almost cost them this game.

After a terrible start vs. Minnesota, Michigan needed a good start against a desperate IU team in a loud, hostile arena, and they got it. They shot well, played good defense, and watched IU miss every shot in the first five minutes, which resulted in a gorgeous 17-0 lead. They kept the lead in the 14-16 point range for the rest of the half, and led by 15 (33-18) at halftime. That was the worst scoring half for IU this season. IU started the 2^nd half hot, and cut the lead down to 9 points (38-29) with 16:47 to go. That was as close as they got. Michigan pushed the lead back up to the 16-18 point range, then extended it to the 20-22 point range down the stretch, winning by 23 points. That is Michigan’s largest margin of victory ever in Bloomington.

Q: Any problems with the officiating?

A: Nope. They were fine, in their “equally incompetent against both teams” way.

Q: How were the game stats?

A: About what you would expect: lousy for the close game, and good for the blow-out:

In the Minnesota game, Michigan shot terribly overall (21-for-62 = 33.9%), they shot 3-pointers horribly (3-for-22 = 13.6%), and they shot free throws poorly (14-for-22 = 63.6%). They lost the rebounding battle badly (43-33), but they won the turnover battle (6-16). Frankly, looking at these stats, I don’t know how Michigan managed to win.

The stats for the Indiana game are better. Michigan shot fairly well overall (25-for-58 = 43.1%), they shot 3-pointers reasonably well (10-for-29 = 34.5%), and they shot free throws well enough (9-for-12 = 75.0%). They won the rebounding battle (44-39), and tied in the turnover battle (9-9). The 3-point shooting won the game.

Q: Who looked good for Michigan?

A: A few players had a good week:

• Ignas Brazdeikis bounced back from the worst game of his (short) career with two solid games. He was the high scorer in both games, with 18 points vs. Minnesota and 20 points vs. IU. He was very inefficient in the Minnesota game (4-for-18, 1-for-7 from 3-point range), but he cleaned that up in the IU game (8-for-12, 3-for-5 from deep). He had 11 rebounds vs. Minnesota, for a double-double.
  
• Jon Teske was the only other player to hit double figures in both games (15 and 11). He was the only player who shot well against Minnesota (7-for-8, 1-for-1 from 3-point range).
  
• Charles Matthews: Even though he only hit double figures in one game (10 points vs. IU), he was the hero of the Minnesota game with his buzzer-beater. He only had 7 points in that game, but two of them were very important. He also had 11 rebounds in the IU game, for a double-double. He also played great lock-down defense on IU’s leading scorer, Romeo Langford.
  
• Zavier Simpson also only hit double figures in one game (12 points vs. IU, 6 points vs. Minnesota), but he did a great job running the offense in both games, and played great defense as well.
  

Q: Who looked not-so-good for Michigan?

A: A few players had an “off” week:

• Jordan Poole kind of disappeared last week, with 3 and 6 points, on terrible shooting: 1-for-5 (0-for-3 from deep) vs. Minnesota, and 2-for-7 (2-for-5 from deep) vs. IU.
  
• Isaiah Livers also had a bad week scoring, with 7 and 5 points, on terrible shooting: 2-for-8 (1-for-5 from deep) vs. Minnesota, and 1-for-7 (1-for-4 from deep) vs. IU.
  
• Eli Brooks had 2 points in each game, on terrible shooting: 1-for-4 (0-for-1 from deep) vs. Minnesota, and 1-for-3 (0-for-1 from deep) vs. IU.
  

Q: Who else played this week?

A: Coach Beilein used his very short bench (8 players) in the close game vs. Minnesota, but put in lots of subs and scrubs in the last minute of the IU game:

• Brandon Johns, Jr. played in both games, but didn’t score.
  
• Adrien Nuñez scored his first career points vs. IU, with a beautiful (long) 3-pointer that he swished.
  
• C.J. Baird, Austin Davis, David DeJulius, and Luke Wilson all played in the IU game, but didn’t score.
  

Q: What did we learn this week?

A: We learned that Michigan can (barely) bounce back from a devastating loss, and that they can win big on the road in the Big Ten. We also learned that they can (barely) survive a bad shooting night against a good Big Ten team, but that it’s not a good idea.

Q: What’s up with the Big Ten standings?

A: Oh yeah, I haven’t talked about the race for the Big Ten title yet. Let’s have a look:

There are a few surprises here:

• Indiana was predicted to have an outside chance at the Big Ten title; instead, they are 3-6, with a 6-game losing streak.
  
• Nebraska was predicted to be one of the top 2-3 teams in the Big Ten; instead, they are 3-6, tied for 9^th place.
  
• Iowa was predicted to finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten; instead, they have been ranked for most of the season, although they have stumbled lately.
  
• Penn State was predicted to be a middle-of-the-pack team; instead, they are winless and in the basement, 2 games behind lowly Illinois.
  

Q: What’s next for Michigan?

A: Michigan plays two games again this week, again on Tuesday and Friday, and again home then away. On Tuesday (01/29/2019, 9:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play Ohio State in Crisler, then on Friday (02/01/2019, 7:00 p.m. EST, FS1), they play at (#19) Iowa.

Ohio State is currently 13-6 (3-5 in Big Ten), with wins over Cincinnati, Creighton, Minnesota, and UCLA, and losses to Syracuse, Rutgers (!), and Purdue. They don’t have much height (a couple 6’9″ guys), and no real superstars. They were ranked for part of the season, but their 5-game losing streak in the Big Ten took care of that. Michigan is certainly better than OSU, but they will need to play well to beat them.

Iowa is currently 16-5 (5-5 in Big Ten), with wins over Oregon, UConn, Pitt, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Ohio State, and losses to Wisconsin, Michigan State (twice), Purdue, and Illinois (!). They have a couple 6’11” guys, and a couple 6’9″ guys. They have been ranked since week #3, and they will be a very challenging opponent, especially on their home court. This game will tell us whether Michigan can beat a good Big Ten team on the road.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week to see how Michigan did.

Go Blue!

The (#2) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game last week, and they lost it. On Saturday (01/19/2019), they lost at Wisconsin 64-54. The loss lowers Michigan’s record to 17-1 (6-1 in the Big Ten).

Time for more Questions & Answers:

Q: Gargling peanut butter?

A: They choked. They let the pressure get to them. They played scared. They played “to not lose”, instead of playing to win. The long winning streak. The great start to the season. The chance to move up to #1 in the AP poll. The loud, hostile crowd. It all got to them. They choked.

Maybe in the long run, this loss will turn out to be a good thing. Maybe, now that the pressure has been eased a little, they’ll just play some hoops instead of worrying about the future. Maybe they’ll start hitting the wide open shots that they’ve been missing. Maybe they’ll stop throwing the ball away in crucial situations. Maybe.

Q: What happened?

A: Michigan played poorly, and they lost. Wisconsin played well, and they deserved to win.

Q: Was Michigan overrated?

A: Maybe. They certainly didn’t play like the #2 team vs. UW.

Q: What was the problem?

A: Shooting, poor shooting. At its very heart, basketball is a game about putting the ball in the basket. Michigan played decent defense for most of the game, but they just couldn’t put the ball in the basket, especially when they most needed to. They shot terribly overall (22-for-54 = 40.7%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (5-for-18 = 27.8%), and they shot free throws terribly (5-for-11 = 45.5%). That’s how to lose a game. The complete stats are here.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: when Michigan is hitting their 3-pointers, everything else seems to fall into place, and the game looks fun and easy. When Michigan can’t hit their 3-pointers, everything is a struggle, and the game looks terrible.

Q: Any other problems?

A: Yup, turnovers. Michigan threw the ball away 16 times, tied for their worst performance of the season, and way over their average. Once again, many of those turnovers were at the exact worst time for momentum purposes.

Q: Any problems with the officiating?

A: It was fine, for the most part, but the refs did get a crucial call wrong in the last minute when they called an intentional foul against Michigan that wasn’t. It tipped the game toward Wisconsin. However, if Michigan had played a decent game up to that point, it won’t have mattered. They only had themselves to blame for being in a situation where one bad call could cost them the game.

Q: Did anyone look good for Michigan?

A: It’s tempting to say “no”, but it wasn’t that bad. A few players had decent games:

• Jon Teske was high scorer, with 15 points. He was the only Michigan player to hit more than one 3-pointer (2-for-4). He did his part, he just didn’t get enough support.
  
• Jordan Poole scored 14 points, but he took 15 shots to get them. He shot pretty poorly (6-for-15 overall, 1-for-5 from deep), he committed 4 fouls, and he had 3 turnovers.
  
• Zavier Simpson actually had a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He played very hard, but it wasn’t enough.
  
• Isaiah Livers did his best to pick the team up when they were floundering around out there, but he only scored 5 points, against 3 turnovers.
  

Q: Who looked not-so-good?

A: A couple players had a bad game:

• Ignas Brazdeikis was the main reason Michigan lost. He had a horrible game: 0 points on 0-for-5 shooting (0-for-3 from deep), 3 fouls, and 2 turnovers. He was one of Michigan’s main scoring threats coming in, and he let the team down badly.
  
• Charles Matthews also let the team down, with only 5 points, 2 fouls, and 3 turnovers.
  

Q: Who else played?

A: It was a very short bench again:

• Eli Brooks didn’t take a shot.
  
• Austin Davis scored 4 points.
  

Q: What did we learn this week?

A: We learned that Michigan isn’t as good as they appeared to be. We learned that they won’t be able to just “turn it on” whenever the going gets tough. They got away with that in their two close games so far (Western Michigan and the away Northwestern game), but they dug themselves too deep a hole this time.

Q: What’s next for Michigan?

A: Michigan plays two games this week, one at home and one on the road. On Tuesday (01/22/2019, 7:00 p.m., BTN), they play Minnesota in Crisler, then on Friday (01/25/2019, 6:30 p.m., FS1), they play at (#25) Indiana.

Minnesota is currently 13-4 (3-3 in Big Ten), with wins over Texas A&M, Washington, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, and losses to Boston College, Ohio State, Maryland, and Illinois. They’ve got a 7-footer and a 6’10” guy, and a couple good players. This is a game that Michigan should win, but they can’t play like they did against Wisconsin.

Indiana is currently 12-6 (3-4 in Big Ten), with wins over Marquette, Louisville, and Butler, and losses to Arkansas, Maryland, Nebraska, and Purdue. Michigan has already played them once, two weeks ago (01/06/2019), and beaten them solidly (74-63). It will be harder to beat them on the road, but Michigan can do it, if they play their “A” game.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week to see how Michigan did.

Go Blue!