The (#22) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games as the #5 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament in Denver this past week, and they won both of them.  On Thursday (03/20/2025), they beat the #12 seed U.C. San Diego 68-65, then on Saturday (03/22/2025), they beat the #4 seed (#19) Texas A&M 91-79.   Michigan’s record is now 27-9 (14-6 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Sweet!  Actually, Sweet 16!  By winning both games this week, Michigan is advancing to the Sweet 16.  This is a Really Big Deal.  After a miserable 8-24 season last year, no one expected Michigan to bounce back this fast and this far.  Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to establish the Sweet 16 as it exists today (1975), Michigan is the first team to go from a 24-loss season to the Sweet 16 the next season.  Amazing.

Both games were close and exciting, and Michigan won both games in the final minutes.

Game Flow

The UCSD game started out with a bang for Michigan.  Before the first media timeout, Michigan had raced out to a 10-0 lead.  UCSD didn’t score until the 14:55 mark, to make it 10-2.  Michigan kept their lead in the 7-9 point range, and finally pushed it over 10 points (20-8) with 10:20 to go.  They kept the lead in the 10-12 point range, and finally pushed it up to 14 points (41-27) at halftime.  Michigan started the 2^nd half with a free throw to push their lead to 15 points (42-27) at the 19:11 mark, and that was the high point.  The rest of the game was a slow, grinding comeback by UCSD.  They went on a 12-0 run to get within 3 points (42-39) with 16:46 to go, and they got within 1 point (45-44) with 14:40 left.  Michigan responded, and pushed the lead back up to 7 points (51-44) at the 12:19 mark, then up to 10 points (56-46) with 11:10 to go.  UCSD kept grinding, and they tied it up (63-63) with 3:05 left, and went ahead (65-63) with 2:29 to go.  Look at the final score (68-65); Michigan scored the last 5 points to win by 3.  It was a gritty win.

Michigan was an underdog in the Texas A&M game, both by seeding (#5 vs. #4) and according to Las Vegas.  The game started out close and exciting, with several ties and lead changes.  It was all tied up (10-10) at the 14:07 mark, when Michigan opened up a small lead, 17-11, with 12:55 to go.  TAMU tied it up (17-17) with 11:34 to go, then they went ahead for a while.  They were up 6 points (29-23) with 6:17 left in the half, when Michigan went on a mini-run to tie it up (31-31) with 4:16 to go.  Michigan led by 1 point (35-34) at the 2:18 mark, but TAMU scored the last 5 points of the half to lead 39-34 at halftime.

The 2^nd half didn’t look very promising for Michigan.  TAMU expanded their lead to 9 points (48-39) at the 16:51 mark, then 10 points (51-41) with 15:46 to go.  They kept their lead around 8-10 points for the next couple minutes, and they were still up 8 points (60-52) with 13:04 left.  Michigan managed to get the deficit down to 4 points (61-57) with 12:07 to go, then 2 points (63-61) at the 10:18 mark.  TAMU pushed their lead back up to 6 points (67-61), and Michigan managed to get back within a point (67-66) at the 8:11 mark.  UM finally caught up and went ahead (71-70) with 6:08 left, then pushed the lead to 5 points (75-70) with 5:17 to go.  They never trailed again.  TAMU got as close as 3 points (75-72) at the 4:59 mark, but Michigan went on a crucial 6-0 run to put the game out of reach, 81-72, with 3:43 left.  TAMU got as close as 3 points (82-79) with 1:29 to go, but UM closed the game with a 9-0 run to win going away.

Stats

The stats for the UCSD game were decent.  Michigan shot decently overall (24-for-57 = 42.1%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (9-for-27 = 33.3%), but they shot free throws poorly (11-for-20 = 55.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (43-37), but they lost the turnover battle (14-8).  They won this game with decent shooting and rebounding, but they almost lost it with poor free-throw shooting and turnovers.

The stats for the TAMU game were also just decent.  Michigan shot decently overall (28-for-65 = 43.1%), they shot 3-pointers decently (6-for-22 = 27.3%), and they shot free throws well (29-for-36 = 80.6%).  They won the rebounding battle (48-39), but they barely lost the turnover battle (9-8).  They won this game with free throws and rebounding.  They scored 29 points at the free throw line!

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Vladislav Goldin, Rubin Jones, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

We have an unexpected star this week: Roddy Gayle Jr.  He wasn’t the leading scorer in the UCSD game, but he did hit double figures, with 11 points off the bench.  He was the big star and the leading scorer in the TAMU game, with a season-high 26 points.  Remember when Roddy missed 16 3-point attempts in a row back in February?  Well, he finally found his shot, and just in time.  He shot 1-for-3 from deep vs. UCSD, and 4-for-6 vs. TAMU.  He was great.

Goldin was the leading scorer in the UCSD game, with 14 points, and he was almost the leading scorer in the TAMU game, with 23 points.  He also had 12 rebounds vs. TAMU, for a big double-double.  He was great.

Donaldson hit double figures (12) vs. UCSD, and almost hit double figures (8) vs. TAMU.  He did a good job running the offense.

Wolf hit double figures (14) vs. TAMU, and almost hit double figures (9) vs. UCSD.  He also had 11 and 9 rebounds.  He did his part.

L.J. Cason had a good week, with 6 points vs. UCSD and 11 points vs. TAMU.  He looked very calm and confident out there on a big stage.

Will Tschetter chipped in 7 and 2 points off the bench this week.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Burnett had one decent game (6 points vs. UCSD) and one terrible game (0 points vs. TAMU).

Jones had one lousy game (3 points vs. UCSD) and one decent game (7 points vs. TAMU).

Who Else Played?

Phat Phat Brooks played in the final minute of the TAMU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Ian Burns played in the final minute of the TAMU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Harrison Hochberg played in the final minute of the TAMU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Charlie May played in the final minute of the TAMU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again this week.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.

Jace Howard and Justin Pippen were the other scholarship players who didn’t play this week.

Howard Eisley Jr. was the only Scout Team player who didn’t play this week.

What Does It Mean?

Getting to the Sweet 16 is huge for this team.  This far exceeds most people’s expectations, including mine.  I was going to be happy if Michigan finished in the top half of the Big Ten standings, won a game in the Big Ten Tournament, and made it to the NCAA Tournament.  I was happy when they came in 2^nd in the Big Ten standings, very happy when they won the Big Ten Tournament, and extremely happy when they won two games in the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Sweet 16.  As my son said, they’re playing with “house money”.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan continues play in the NCAA Tournament, as the #5 seed in the South Region.  Play shifts from Denver to Atlanta, where Michigan plays the #1 seed, (#4) Auburn, on Friday (03/28/2025, 9:39 p.m., CBS).  If they win that game, they play the winner of the (#2 seed) Michigan State vs. (#6 seed) Mississippi game on Sunday.

Auburn is currently 30-5 (15-3 in SEC), with impressive wins over (#4) Houston, (#5) Iowa State, (#12) North Carolina, Memphis, (#16) Purdue, Missouri, (#23) Georgia, (#6) Tennessee, (#2) Alabama, (#17) Kentucky, and (#8) Mississippi.  They have no bad losses.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they don’t have much height: a 6’10” player (their leading scorer) and a 6’11” player who averages 5 points/game.  Look at that list of impressive wins; Auburn is legit.  Are they unbeatable?  No, Texas A&M beat them, and Michigan just beat Texas A&M.  Can Michigan beat them?  Sure, but they will need to play their best game of the season to do it.  They will need to shoot 3-pointers like they did in the beginning of January, and they will need to keep their turnovers down.  If Michigan can stay close with 4 minutes to go, they stand a chance against any team in the country.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

The (#22) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games as the #3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis this past week, and they won all three of them, and the Big Ten Tournament Championship!  On Friday (03/14/2025), they beat the #6 seed (#20) Purdue 86-68, on Saturday (03/15/2025), they beat the #2 seed (#11) Maryland 81-80, and on Sunday (03/16/2025), they beat the #5 seed (#18) Wisconsin 59-53.   Michigan’s record is now 25-9 (14-6 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Wow, what an exciting long weekend in Indianapolis!  Michigan staggered into the Big Ten Tournament on a 3-game losing streak, with no one giving them much of a chance of winning more than one game, but they surprised everyone (including me) by winning it all.  They dominated Purdue in Friday’s game, then hung in on Saturday and Sunday to win both games in the final minute.  In three days, they beat three teams ranked ahead of them in the polls.  It was awesome.

Game Flow

The Purdue game started out ugly, with Michigan missing their first 3 shots, and Purdue jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead at the 18:20 mark.  That was the high point for Purdue.  Michigan went on a great 12-0 run, to lead 12-6 with 15:30 to go, and they never trailed again.  They pushed their lead as high as 10 points in the 1^st half, and generally kept it around 4-6 points for the rest of the half.  They led by 4 points (40-36) at halftime.

The 2^nd half was wonderful.  Michigan started the half with a 9-3 run to push their lead back up to 10 points (49-39) at the 16:25 mark.  They let Purdue creep back within 7 points, but they answered that run with one of their own, to push their lead up to 12 points (57-45) with 13:53 to go.  At this point, the game was over.  Michigan held off every Purdue run, and kept the lead around 14-16 points the rest of the way, winning by 18 points.  It was a fun, low-stress game.  It was great to see Michigan return to the form they showed in the first half of the season.

The Maryland game was close and tense at the beginning, with lots of ties and lead changes in the first 10 minutes.  With 10:18 left in the half, Maryland led 18-16.  Less than 30 seconds later, they had pushed the lead up to 7 points (23-16) with 9:43 to go.  It took a while, but Michigan slowly clawed their way back, and reclaimed the lead, 27-25, at the 5:04 mark.  Maryland answered, and went back on top (32-29) with 3:44 to go.  They were still up by 3 points (34-31) with 2:00 left, when Michigan started their big run.  Michigan closed the half with a 7-0 run, to lead 38-34 at halftime, then they kept the run going after halftime, scoring the first 11 points to push their lead to 15 points, 49-34.  It looked like Maryland was done, but not so fast.  They kept chipping away at Michigan’s big lead, and got it down to 10 points (49-39), then 5 points (49-44), before Michigan got going again.  They pushed the lead back up to 11 points (61-50) at the 11:42 mark, and it looked like they had weathered the storm.  Nope.  Maryland went on a long, grinding 14-0 run to reclaim the lead (64-61) with 7:48 left.  The rest of the game was close and tense again, with lots of ties and lead changes.  Neither team got more than 3 points ahead the rest of the way.  The last minute was very exciting.  The score was tied (76-76) with 43 seconds left, then Michigan went up by 3 points (79-76) with 28 seconds to go.  Maryland made a basket and 2 free throws to lead by 1 point (80-79) with 5 seconds left, and then it was hero time for Tre Donaldson.  He took the inbounds pass after a made free throw by Maryland and went 94 feet for the winning layup with 0.4 seconds left.  It was amazing!

When the Big Ten Tournament bracket was announced last week, it sure looked like Michigan was going to have to get by Michigan State in the championship game if they wanted to win it all, but Wisconsin took care of that by upsetting the Spartans 77-74 on Saturday.  Michigan had already beaten Wisconsin 67-64 in Madison way back on December 3^rd, 2024, but that was a long time ago.  Michigan played very well on Friday in their first game of the tournament vs. Purdue, when they were well-rested, but they looked a little tired vs. Maryland on Saturday.  Would they have enough gas left in the tank to beat Wisconsin?  It turns out: yes, but just barely.

The Wisconsin game was a low-scoring, ugly affair, with both teams looking tired and off their game.  Both teams shot poorly overall (22.1% for Wisconsin, 32.2% for Michigan) and from deep (17.9% for Wisconsin, 27.3% for Michigan).  The game started out close and slow, with a few ties and lead changes.  It was all tied up 7-7 at the 14:35 mark, when Michigan started to pull away.  They opened up a 5-point lead (12-7) with 11:46 to go, but it didn’t last.  Wisconsin went ahead 13-12 with 9:18 left, and the rest of the half was a bunch of ties and lead changes.  With 3:16 to go, it was tied up again, 21-21, and Wisconsin scored the only 2 points in the last 3:16 to lead 23-21 at halftime.

The 2^nd half had a little more scoring.  Wisconsin scored the first 6 points of the half, and pushed their lead to 29-21 at the 16:37 mark.  In such a slow, low-scoring game, an 8 point lead is huge, and things weren’t looking good for Michigan.  They looked even worse 3 minutes later, when Wisconsin went up by 11 points, 38-27, with 13:11 to go.  Fortunately, Michigan woke up and rattled off a 7-0 run to get back in the game, 38-34, with 11:21 left.  Wisconsin kept their lead in the 4-6 point range for the next 4 minutes, and it was 45-41 at the 7:26 mark.  Michigan finally erased the deficit completely (45-45) with 5:50 to go, and finally got ahead (53-51) with 1:54 left.  Wisconsin tied it up 53-53, and Michigan scored the last 6 points to win 59-53.  It was a gritty, gutty win.

Stats

The stats for the Purdue game were solid.  Michigan shot well overall (30-for-58 = 51.7%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (8-for-26 = 30.8%), and they shot free throws very well (18-for-22 = 81.8%).  They won the rebounding battle (40-34), but they barely lost the turnover battle (6-5).  They won this game with solid shooting and nice, low turnovers.

The stats for the Maryland game were very good.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (31-for-66 = 47.0%), they shot 3-pointers well (7-for-18 = 38.9%), and they were excellent at the free throw line (12-for-13 = 92.3%).  They crushed Maryland on the boards (47-18), but they lost the turnover battle badly (19-6).  They won this game with great shooting and rebounding, but they made it close with 19 turnovers.  In 51 years of following Michigan basketball, I can never remember rebounding numbers like that.

The stats for the Wisconsin game were miserable, the worst I can remember for a winning effort.  Michigan shot terribly overall (19-for-59 = 32.2%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (9-for-33 = 27.3%), but they were excellent at the free throw line again (12-for-13 = 92.3%).  They lost the rebounding battle (46-40) and the turnover battle (8-6).  They won this game by shooting better than Wisconsin, even if it was bad shooting.

Who Started?

The starters for all three games were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Vladislav Goldin, Rubin Jones, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was the star of the tournament, with double figures in all 3 games (15, 25, and 11 points).  He was the 2^nd leading scorer for Michigan in the Purdue game, the leading scorer in the Maryland game, and tied for the leading scorer in the Wisconsin game.  He also grabbed 8, 10, and 5 rebounds, giving him a double-double in the Maryland game.  He was great.

Donaldson was the hero of the Maryland game, as described above, and he hit double figures in all 3 games (13, 12, and 11 points).  He was also on fire with assists: 5, 9, and 8.

Wolf hit double figures in two of the three games, with 18, 21, and 8 points.  He was also the leading rebounder in all three games, with double-digit rebounds in two of the three games: 11, 14, and 8, giving him two double-doubles.

Burnett had a good tournament, with 7, 10, and 8 points.

Jones had a decent tournament, with 8, 2, and 5 points.

Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in 11, 9, and 2 points off the bench this week.

Will Tschetter chipped in 8, 2, and 6 points off the bench this week.

L.J. Cason chipped in 6, 0, and 8 points off the bench this week.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked not-so-good this week.

Who Else Played?

Phat Phat Brooks played in the final minute of the Purdue game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Ian Burns played in the final minute of the Purdue game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Harrison Hochberg played in the final minute of the Purdue game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again this week.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.

Jace Howard and Justin Pippen were the other scholarship players who didn’t play this week.

None of the other Scout Team players played this week: Howard Eisley Jr. and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

Winning the Big Ten Tournament Championship is huge for this team.  They limped through the last couple weeks of the regular season, scratching out unimpressive wins over Nebraska and Rutgers, while getting blasted by Michigan State (twice), Illinois, and Maryland.  They looked like they were through for the season, but a few days rest really revived them.

Since they won the Big Ten Tournament, they got the Big Ten’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.  They got shafted a little bit on the seed (#5) and the region (South), but they’re in.  It’s a little galling to see teams that Michigan finished ahead of or tied with in the regular season standings and beat in the Big Ten Tournament get better seeds than they did: Maryland = 4-seed, Wisconsin = 3-seed, and Purdue = 4-seed.  Michigan: the Rodney Dangerfield of basketball teams (“We get no respect”).

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays in the NCAA Tournament, as the #5 seed in the South Region.  They open play against the #12 seed, U.C. San Diego, on Thursday (03/20/2025, 10:00 p.m. EDT, TBS) in Denver, CO.  If they win that game, they play the winner of the (#4 seed) Texas A&M vs. (#13 seed) Yale game on Saturday.

U.C. San Diego is currently 30-4 (18-2 in Big West).  They won the Big West Tournament, giving them the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.  They have no impressive wins, and unimpressive losses to San Diego State, Seattle U, U.C. Irvine, and U.C. Riverside.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they don’t have much height: one 6’10” player.  This is a team that Michigan should be able to beat, but they need to play the way they did this past week, not like they did the last couple weeks of the regular season.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

The (#17) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they lost both of them.  On Wednesday (03/05/2025), they lost to (#13) Maryland 71-65 in Crisler Arena, and on Sunday (03/09/2025), they lost at (#8) Michigan State 79-62.   Michigan’s record is now 22-9 (14-6 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Going into March, Michigan still controlled their destiny in the Big Ten race.  They were 22-6 overall, and 14-3 in the Big Ten.  If they won their final three games, they would be outright Big Ten champions.  If they won two out of three, they would tie for 1^st place.  What did they do?  They lost all three games, and none of them were very close.  It was a miserable end to the regular season.

Game Flow

The Maryland game was close in the early going.  Maryland started with a small lead (7-4) at the 14:17 mark, but Michigan went on a 10-0 run to go up 14-7 with 11:26 to go.  That was the high point for Michigan.  Maryland went on a quick 9-0 run to go back ahead (16-14) with 8:24 left, and they never trailed again.  They finished the half on a 17-8 run to lead by 11 points (33-22) at halftime.  The 2^nd half wasn’t much better.  Maryland kept their lead in the 9-11 point range for the first 6 minutes of the half.  They still led by 9 points (44-35) at the 13:46 mark, when Michigan made a small run at them.  Michigan got within 5 points (44-39) with 13:11 to go, and the crowd woke up.  It didn’t do much good.  Maryland promptly pushed the lead back up to 11 points (50-39) with 12:14 left.  Michigan made a couple other runs at Maryland’s lead, and actually got within 2 points a couple times (54-52 and 59-57), but Maryland held them off down the stretch, winning by 6 points.  With 6:51 to go, Michigan was within 2 points (59-57), then they fell apart.  They shot 1-for-6 on 2-point shots, 2-for-5 on 3-point shots, 0-for-3 on free throws, and committed 4 turnovers and 5 fouls.

The MSU game was miserable from start to finish.  Michigan led exactly once: 3-2 at the 18:04 mark.  That was it.  MSU pulled out to a 20-6 lead with 12:21 to go, and Michigan was done.  They occasionally got within 10 points, but MSU was usually ahead by 15-20 points.  They were ahead by 22 points (50-28) at halftime, and they kept the lead in the 18-20 point range for most of the 2^nd half.  Michigan got as close as 11 points (61-50) with 9:23 to go, but MSU pushed it back up to 15 points and kept it there the rest of the way.

Stats

The stats for the Maryland game were pretty weak.  Michigan shot poorly overall (27-for-62 = 43.5%), they shot 3-pointers decently (7-for-20 = 35.0%), and they shot free throws poorly (4-for-7 = 57.1%).  They won the rebounding battle (39-37), but lost the turnover battle badly (16-8).  They lost this game with mediocre shooting and poor rebounding.

The stats for the Michigan State game were miserable.  Michigan shot poorly overall (19-for-52 = 36.5%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (3-for-24 = 12.5%), and they shot free throws decently (21-for-29 = 72.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle (39-30), and tied in the turnover battle (15-15).  They lost this game with terrible shooting and rebounding.

Who Started?

The starters for the Maryland game were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.  Rubin Jones replaced Gayle in the starting lineup for the MSU game.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin was great in both games, with 20 and 29 points.  He had 15 rebounds vs. Maryland, for a double-double.  He more than did his part.

Wolf hit double figures in both games, with 20 and 18 points, but had too many turnovers in both games (5 and 3), and he shot poorly vs. MSU: 5-for-15 overall, 1-for-4 from deep.

Donaldson had one decent game (10 points vs. Maryland) and one lousy game (2 points vs. MSU).

Burnett had one decent game (8 points vs. Maryland) and one mediocre game (5 points vs. MSU).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Gayle was worthless this week, with 2 points vs. Maryland and 1 point vs. MSU.

Jones was worthless this week, with 0 points vs. Maryland and 3 points vs. MSU.

Will Tschetter was worthless this week, with 3 points vs. Maryland and 0 points vs. MSU.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen scored 0 and 2 points.

L.J. Cason scored 2 and 2 points.

Phat Phat Brooks played for 2 minutes in the MSU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again this week.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.

Jace Howard was the other scholarship player who didn’t play this week.

None of the Scout Team players played this week: Ian Burns, Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

The regular season is over, and it’s a relief.  After losing their last 3 games of the regular season, Michigan finished tied for 2^nd place in the Big Ten with Maryland.  Since Maryland beat Michigan in their only head-to-head matchup, Maryland gets the #2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and Michigan gets the #3 seed.  MSU won the Big Ten title outright, so they are the #1 seed.  Three teams tied for 4^th place (Wisconsin, UCLA, and Purdue), and UCLA won the tiebreakers for the #4 seed.  The complete bracket for the tournament is here.

At this point, Michigan is probably looking at a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  They can improve on that with a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays in the Big Ten Tournament, in Indianapolis.  They start play on Friday (03/14/2025, 9:00 p.m., BTN) vs. the winner of the game between the #6 seed (Purdue) and the winner of the game between the #14 seed (USC) and the #11 seed (Rutgers).  For reference, Michigan beat both USC and Rutgers, but they split with Purdue.

If Michigan wins their game on Friday, they play again on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS vs. the winner of the game between the #2 seed (Maryland) and the winner of the #7 seed (Illinois) and the winner of the game between the #15 seed (Iowa) and the #10 seed (Ohio State).

If Michigan makes it to the Championship game on Sunday, it’s at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

The (#15) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games this past week, and they won two and lost one.  On Monday (02/24/2025), they beat Nebraska 49-46 in Lincoln, on Thursday (02/27/2025), then beat Rutgers 84-82 in Crisler Arena, and on Sunday (03/02/2025), they lost to Illinois 93-73 in Crisler Arena.   Michigan’s record is now 22-7 (14-4 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

All three games this week were ugly, in three different ways.  The Nebraska game was a lousy game for both teams, with terrible shooting percentages and plenty of errors, but Michigan was just a little less lousy than Nebraska, and came away with the win.  The Rutgers game was a lousy game for Michigan, but they woke up just in time to sneak past Rutgers in the final seconds for the win.  The Illinois game was a terrible game for Michigan, certainly the ugliest of the three, and it was a decisive loss for Michigan.

Here’s the depressing part: Michigan has looked pretty bad in most of their games since their West Coast trip in early January.  They managed to win most of those games, but they “played down” to lesser competition in many of them, and they just snuck by against teams they should have beaten soundly.  The layups and dunks that they were making early in the season were rolling off, and their 3-point shooting has been trending downward steadily in the last month.  This is a team that depends on shooting a reasonable percentage from 3-point range, and they have struggled in games where they haven’t shot 3-pointers well.  They look tired, and their confidence appears to be shaken.

Game Flow

The Nebraska game was slow and low-scoring, and it was close most of the time.  Neither team was able to get more than 5 points ahead, and there were 5 ties and 9 lead changes.  Michigan scratched out a 25-21 lead at halftime, but Nebraska tied it up in the 2^nd half, and it was more of the same: slow, low-scoring, neither team able to pull away.  It wasn’t even good defense, it was just matching bad offenses.  With 1:36 left in the game, Michigan was ahead 45-44, and they managed to hold on for a 49-46 win.  It was truly ugly.

The Rutgers game was a little less ugly, but not much.  At least it was faster-paced and had more scoring.  Michigan was favored by 11.5 points, but no one told Rutgers.  Michigan opened a nice 14-7 lead at the 14:16 mark, and they managed to keep the lead in the 4-6 point range for a few minutes, but Rutgers kept creeping closer and closer.  They caught up to Michigan, and went ahead 25-23 with 9:52 left in the half.  The lead went back and forth for a few minutes, with Michigan leading 35-34 with 6:26 to go.  At this point, Rutgers took over, and pulled out to a 13-point lead (57-44) at the 1:13 mark.  Michigan managed to score the last 5 points of the half to pull within 8 points (57-49) at halftime.

The 2^nd half was more of the same, as Rutgers kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for the first 9 minutes of the half.  They were up 12 points (74-62) at the 11:14 mark, and the game was looking pretty bad for Michigan, when things suddenly turned around.  After being hot for the first 29 minutes, Rutgers suddenly lost their touch, and Michigan finally woke up.  UM started a slow, steady comeback, and the sell-out crowd got back into it.  Michigan went on a 10-0 run over the next 5 minutes, and got within 2 points (74-72) with 5:54 left.  They finally tied it up (76-76) with 4:33 to go, and again 78-78 with 2:34 left.  The lead went back and forth, and Rutgers was ahead by a single point (82-81) with 12 seconds left.  Michigan held for the last shot, and Nimari Burnett was the hero, swishing a 30-footer at the buzzer for the win.  It was very exciting.

The Illinois game was close and tense for the first 8+ minutes, with lots of ties and lead changes, and neither team able to pull ahead by more than 3-4 points.  At the 11:31 mark, Michigan was up 13-12, when Illinois opened up a 7-point lead (24-17) with 6:49 to go.  It was still a 6-point lead (31-25) with 2:06 left, but Michigan closed the half with a 5-0 run to get within 1 point at halftime, 31-30.

The start of the 2^nd half was still close and tense.  Michigan actually reclaimed the lead (32-31) in the opening seconds, and still led 39-38 at the 16:59 mark.  It was all tied up (41-41) with 16:05 to go, and Illinois was up by 2 points (43-41) with 15:27 left.  With 14:32 to go, Michigan missed a 3-pointer that would have put them back out front, and that was the game.  Suddenly, Illinois couldn’t miss, Michigan couldn’t buy a point, and the rout was on.  Illinois pushed their lead to 9 points (52-43) at the 12:39 mark, then 11 points (59-48) with 10:26 to go.  Every time Michigan made a little run at the lead, Illinois responded with a couple 3-pointers to push the lead even further.   When they weren’t hitting their first shots, they were getting offensive rebounds for second-chance points.  It was very demoralizing.  When they pushed the lead up to 15 points (67-52) with 8:42 left, the game was over.  Michigan never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way, and Illinois cruised to an easy win.

Stats

The stats for the Nebraska game were horrible, just horrible.  Michigan shot terribly overall (18-for-61 = 29.5%), they shot 3-pointers horribly (5-for-27 = 18.5%), and they shot free throws poorly (8-for-13 = 61.5%).  They won the rebounding battle (50-43), but lost the turnover battle (14-11).  I don’t know how they managed to win this game.  Rebounding, maybe?

The stats for the Rutgers game were only slightly better than the Nebraska game.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-54 = 53.7%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5-for-21 = 23.8%), and they shot free throws poorly (21-for-32 = 65.6%).  They won the rebounding battle (38-27), but they lost the turnover battle (14-8).  They won this game (barely) with good overall shooting and solid rebounding.

The stats for the Illinois game were pretty weak.  Michigan shot decently overall (28-for-61 = 45.9%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (4-for-18 = 22.2%), and they shot free throws decently (13-for-19 = 68.4%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (43-32) and the turnover battle as well (11-9).  They lost this game with poor 3-point shooting and terrible rebounding.  They gave up 19 offensive rebounds!  19!

Who Started?

The starters for all 3 games were Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Vladislav Goldin, and Danny Wolf.

Who Looked Good?

Goldin had two good games and one decent game.  He was the high scorer for Michigan in the Rutgers (24) and Illinois (22) games, and he almost hit double figures in the low-scoring Nebraska game (8).  He had 10, 11, and 7 rebounds, giving him a double-double in the Rutgers game.

As mentioned above, Burnett was the hero of the Rutgers game, with the game-winning 30-footer at the buzzer.  He had 20 points in that game, on decent shooting.  The other two games?  Not so much: he had 2 points in the Nebraska game, on terrible shooting (1-for-7 overall, 0-for-4 from deep), and 6 points in the Illinois game, on decent shooting.

Gayle had one good game (12 points vs. Nebraska) and two mediocre games (5 points vs. Rutgers and 4 points vs. Illinois).  He was the high scorer for Michigan in the Nebraska game.  He didn’t shoot very well in any of the games, and he has had a lousy time shooting 3-pointers in 2025: he’s 1-for-25 since the Western Kentucky game on 12/29/2024, including 0-for-15 since the away Purdue game on 01/24/2025.  The team needs him to break out of this slump.

Will Tschetter had one good game (16 points vs. Rutgers), one decent game (9 points vs. Illinois), and one mediocre game (3 points vs. Nebraska).

Wolf had three decent games: 10 points vs. Nebraska, 8 points vs. Rutgers, and 9 points vs. Illinois.  He didn’t shoot very well in any of them.  He had 10 rebounds vs. Nebraska, giving him another double-double.

Donaldson had a good game vs. Nebraska (11 points), a sad game vs. Rutgers (5 points), and a decent game vs. Illinois (9 points).  He didn’t shoot very well in any of them.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Rubin Jones only played in one game this week (Illinois) due to illness, and he missed his only shot attempt.

Who Else Played?

Justin Pippen scored 0, 1, and 6 points.

L.J. Cason scored 3, 5, and 5 points.

Phat Phat Brooks finally got in a game!  He played for 3 minutes in the Illinois game, making his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.

Ian Burns played for the last 32 seconds of the (doomed) Illinois game, since it was Senior Day.  He missed his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.

Who Didn’t Play?

Sam Walters didn’t play again this week.  He’s still recovering from a lower back injury.

Jace Howard didn’t play this week.  Jace was honored for Senior Day, with Juwan in the house.  Since Ian Burns got in for the last 32 seconds of the Illinois game but Jace didn’t, I’m wondering if Jace is sick or injured.

None of the other Scout Team players played this week: Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg, and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

Well, it was a fun pennant race, but Michigan blinked first, and Michigan State looks like they’re going to win it.  With two games left, MSU has a one-game lead.  Of course, if Michigan wins their last two games, they can still tie with MSU for 1^st place.  It could happen, but not if Michigan plays like they have for the last couple weeks.  They need to get back to the way they were playing in early January.

Regardless of whether Michigan wins or loses their next two games, they are guaranteed at least a tie for 2^nd place, which will earn them a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament  They are also looking good for a nice seed (#4 or #5) in the NCAA Tournament.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Wednesday (03/05/2025, 6:30 p.m., BTN), they play (#16) Maryland in Crisler Arena, and on Sunday (03/09/2025), 12:00 p.m., CBS), they play at (#8) Michigan State.

Maryland is currently 22-7 (12-6 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Villanova, Syracuse, (#22) UCLA, (#17) Illinois, and (#17) Wisconsin, and unimpressive losses to Washington, Northwestern, and Ohio State.  They have one noteworthy player (Derik Queen), and decent height: a 6’10” player (Derik Queen) and a 7-footer.  They’ve been hot lately, and this will be a very challenging game.  If Michigan can get back to their mid-season swagger, they can beat Maryland, but if they play the way they’ve been playing lately, this could be another blowout loss.

MSU is currently 24-5 (15-3 in Big Ten).  Michigan has already played (and lost to) MSU this season, so we know what to expect.  MSU has been hot lately, and they are very tough to beat in Breslin.  This game could be for all the marbles, and Michigan can beat MSU, but they need to play their best game of the season.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!