Happy New Year!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won one and lost one. On Tuesday (12/30/2014), they beat Illinois 73-65 (overtime) in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (01/03/2015), they lost at Purdue, 64-51. The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 8-6 (1-1 in the Big Ten).

This is going to be a real rollercoaster of a season for UM. They looked terrible for the first 29 minutes of the Illinois game, then they suddenly woke up, erased a big deficit, forced overtime, and looked dominant in the overtime period. They started out strong in their next game at Purdue, built up a 10-point lead in the 1^st half, and led by 8 at halftime. Then they just fell apart. They went for over 12 minutes without a basket, and only managed 4 baskets (18 points total) in the 2^nd half. It was miserable. They missed 13 shots in a row: layups, mid-range jumpers, and 3-pointers. They got very few second chances, and played lousy defense. It’s the “perfect storm” for losing a basketball game.

So, what’s up with this season’s team? How can they beat quality opponents (Oregon, Syracuse, Illinois) one game, and look so lost out there the next? Youth, certainly, but Coach Beilein has managed to win with young, inexperienced teams the last few years. It appears to be a void in leadership on the floor, and the lack of a consistent big man. I’m sure they’ll work it out, and improve as the season goes on, but I’m afraid they’ll lose too many winnable games in the process. The goal this season is making the NCAA Tournament, not contending for the Big Ten title. Maybe next season.

Let’s look at the stats for both games. The stats for the Illinois game aren’t very impressive: Michigan shot pretty poorly overall (27-for-66 = 40.9%), they shot poorly from 3-point range (10-for-28 = 35.7%), and they shot free throws pretty poorly (9-for-14 = 64.3%). They barely won the rebounding battle (39-36), but they won the turnover battle handily (5-12). They won the game with 3-point shooting. Even though they didn’t shoot a very good percentage, they made more 3-pointers than Illinois (10-6).

The stats for the Purdue game are even worse: UM shot poorly overall (15-for-47 = 31.9%), they shot 3-pointers pretty poorly (8-for-20 = 40.0%), and they shot free throws pretty poorly (13-for-20 = 65.0%). They got hammered on the boards (44-22), and they barely won the turnover battle (11-14). They lost this game on the boards, and at the free throw line.

Individually, no one had a good week, but a couple players had good games. 3 starters (Ricky Doyle – 13 points, Zak Irvin – 13 points, and Caris LeVert – 19 points) hit double figures in the Illinois game, but none of the starters hit double figures in the Purdue game. The real story this week was bench players: Aubrey Dawkins had a career-high 20 points in the Illinois game, including 6-for-7 shooting from 3-point range, and Spike Albrecht tied his career high with 17 points in the Purdue game.

However, no one had 2 good games this week: after their good games vs. Illinois, Doyle had 6 points vs. Purdue, Irvin had 8 points (on 2-for-12 shooting) vs. Purdue, and LeVert had 6 points vs. Purdue. Dawkins played 18 minutes against Purdue, took 2 shots, and didn’t score. Albrecht had 4 points vs. Illinois. The other 2 starters didn’t do much either game: Kameron Chatman had 2 and 0 points, and Derrick Walton Jr. had 0 and 8 points.

Besides Albrecht and Dawkins, the bench didn’t contribute much this week: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Mark Donnal both played in both games, but failed to score, and Max Bielfeldt had 2 and 6 points.

This Week

This week, Michigan continues Big Ten play with two more games. On Tuesday (01/06/2015, 7:00 p.m., BTN), they play at Penn State, then on Saturday (01/10/2015, 1:00 p.m., ESPNU), they play Minnesota in Crisler. These are both games that UM can win, and if they want to stay in the race for the Big Ten title, they need to win both of them. If they play like they did in the 2^nd half of the Illinois game, they’ll be fine. If they play like they did in the 2^nd half of the Purdue game, they’re doomed.

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

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game last week, and they won it. On Monday (12/22/2014), they beat Coppin State 72-56 in Crisler Arena. The win raises Michigan’s season record to 7-5.

After losing 4 games in a row, including 2 major upsets, any win is a welcome win. Coppin State is not a very impressive opponent, but this was a win that UM needed desperately. This was Michigan’s final non-conference game; the Big Ten schedule starts this week.

The CSU game was relatively straightforward and stress free. Michigan came out fast, and got an early 11-0 lead. They made it 21-3, and never looked back. It was 42-26 at halftime, and the lead got as high as 27 points (62-35) before the subs came in, and CSU poured it on to make the score respectable. Michigan was just trying to “dribble it out” with 10 seconds left when CSU pressed hard, and got a steal and a 3-point basket. Bush-league stuff.

For once, the stats are worth looking at. Michigan shot pretty poorly overall (25-for-53 = 47.2%), they shot 3-pointers pretty poorly (8-for-26 = 30.8%), and they shot free throws poorly (14-for-26 = 53.8%). So, how did they win so handily? Rebounds. They won the rebounding battle 43-31, which lead to more shots. They actually lost the turnover battle (12-11), but the 12 extra rebounds made the difference.

Individually, only 2 players hit double figures: Ricky Doyle (16 points, a new career high) and Zak Irvin (13 points). The other 3 starters all got close to double figures: Kameron Chatman (9 points), Caris LeVert (8 points), and Derrick Walton Jr. (9 points).

When UM had a comfortable lead in the 2^nd half, Coach Beilein emptied the bench, so everyone who isn’t being redshirted got to play, and almost all of them scored. Mark Donnal did the best (8 points), and Aubrey Dawkins did well (5 points). Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (2 points) hit a pair of free throws, and Max Bielfeldt (1 point) hit one. Spike Albrecht and Sean Lonergan played but didn’t score. Then there’s Austin Hatch: he scored his first official point (as opposed to the point he scored in the exhibition game) on a free throw. It was an emotional moment, and he got a standing ovation. Good for him!

This Week

This week, Michigan begins Big Ten play with two games. On Tuesday (12/30/2014, 3:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play Illinois in Crisler, then on Saturday (01/03/2015, 2:15 p.m. EST, BTN), they play at Purdue. These are 2 of the lower-division Big Ten teams, and if Michigan is going to be a contender this season, they need to win both of these games. The way they’ve been playing the last 3 weeks, they could easily lose them both. We’ll see which UM team shows up: the one that beat Oregon and Syracuse, and almost beat Villanova, or the one that lost at home to NJIT and EMU.

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

Go Blue!