The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won one and lost the other.  On Monday (11/13/2023), they beat St. John’s 89-73 in Madison Square Garden in New York City (a Gavitt Tipoff Game), then on Friday (11/17/2023), they lost to Long Beach State 94-86 in Crisler Arena.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 3-1.

What Happened?

After playing very well in their first three games, fans were starting to raise their expectations about this season’s team.  Long Beach State?  Another blowout win!  Wrong.  Back to Earth.  While this team might still exceed initial expectations, they are not going to blowout every opponent on the way to an undefeated season and a National Championship.

First, the delightful St. John’s game.  This was Michigan’s toughest test to date in the young season, and they passed it with flying colors.  It was a fun game to watch on TV, since the announcers were so excited about the Return Of Rick Pitino.  Michigan ran SJU out of the gym.  The game started out as a see-saw battle, with the lead going back and forth.  With 7:14 to go in the 1^st half, it was all tied up, 28-28.  SJU went ahead, 31-29, at the 6:28 mark, and that was the last time they led.  Michigan ended the half with a 19-7 run, to lead 48-38 at halftime.  The 2^nd half was all Michigan, as they pushed the lead up as high as 26 points, before the Scout Team let SJU sneak back to within 16 points at the end.

Speaking of 16 points, that was the high water mark for Michigan in the ill-fated LBSU game.  Michigan started strong, and built up a 16 point lead (23-7) with 13:16 to go in the 1^st half.  It looked like LBSU was going to fold and UM was going to get another blowout win, but the Beach didn’t give up.  Michigan still led by 12 points (32-20) at the 8:56 mark, and 10 points (34-24) with 7:38 to go.  That’s when UM stopped playing defense, and LBSU went on a 24-16 run to end the half.  That cut Michigan’s lead to 2 points (50-48) at halftime.  The 2^nd half was a disaster.  The lead went back and forth, with LBSU ahead for most of the half.  Still, UM kept battling, and they actually got a small lead (80-76) with 4:28 left in the game.  LBSU outscored them 18-6 down the stretch, to win by 8.  It was frustrating.

Stats

The game stats for the SJU game were pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (32-for-62 = 51.6%), they shot 3-pointers well (11-for-26 = 42.3%), and they shot free throws decently (14-for-23 = 60.9%).  They lost the rebounding battle (39-47) and the turnover battle (13-11).  They won this game with good shooting and defense.  The biggest negative was that SJU grabbed 27 offensive rebounds, for 33 second-chance points.

The game stats for the LBSU game were mediocre.  Michigan shot decently overall (31-for-66 = 47.0%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (9-for-28 = 32.1%), and they shot free throws decently (15-for-25 = 60.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (38-30), but lost the turnover battle (16-12).  They lost this game with poor 3-point shooting and too many turnovers.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Dug McDaniel, Olivier Nkamhoua, Tarris Reed, Jr., and Terrance Williams II.

Who Looked Good?

McDaniel was the star this week, with 26 (a new career high) and 20 points.  He was the leading scorer in the SJU game, and 2^nd leading scorer vs. LBSU.  He also had 7 and 6 assists.  Unfortunately, he had 6 turnovers vs. LBSU, several of them at key moments in the closing minutes of the game.

Nkamhoua had a decent game vs. SJU (9 points) and was the leading scorer vs. LBSU (22 points).  He also had 7 and 11 rebounds, giving him another double-double vs. LBSU.

Williams was the only other player to hit double figures in both games, with 12 and 10 points.  He wasn’t very efficient: 5-for-12 overall (2-for-6 from deep) vs. SJU, and 2-for-8 overall (2-for-7 from deep) vs. LBSU.  His poor shooting vs. LBSU really cost Michigan in that game.

Burnett had a career game vs. SJU (21 points) and a mediocre game vs. LBSU (5 points).  He scored all 21 of his points in the 1^st half of the SJU game, shooting 8-for-8 overall, 4-for-4 from deep.  Unfortunately, he shot 0-for-5 overall (0-for-3 from deep) in the 2^nd half of the SJU game, and 2-for-9 overall (1-for-7 from deep) vs. LBSU, for a combined 2-for-14 overall (1-for-10 from deep) since that 1^st half outburst.  His poor shooting vs. LBSU really cost Michigan in that game.

Reed had a quiet week, with 5 and 8 points.  He was the leading rebounder in the SJU game with 11, and he had 4 more rebounds vs. LBSU.

Will Tschetter had one good game (10 points vs. SJU) and one quiet game (4 points vs. LBSU).

Tray Jackson had one very good game (17 points vs. LBSU) and one quiet game (4 points vs. SJU).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

George Washington III played in both games (5 and 4 minutes), and failed to score.  He took one shot, in the SJU game.

Who Else Played?

Harrison Hochberg played for 1 minute in the SJU game, and didn’t attempt a shot.

Youssef Khayat played in the SJU game, and scored 2 points.

Jackson Selvala played for 1 minute in the SJU game, and didn’t attempt a shot.

Cooper Smith played for 1 minute in the SJU game, and didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Ian Burns didn’t play in either game.

Jace Howard and Jaelin Llewellyn are injured, and not playing yet.  They are both expected back “later in the season”.

What Does It Mean?

It wasn’t surprising that Michigan went 1-1 last week, but it would have made more sense for them to lose their first road game against a team coached by Rick Pitino and beat Long Beach State in Crisler.  Wrong.  Oh well.  We knew they weren’t going to win them all, but I think most people expected them to beat LBSU.  This just shows that this is a team that hasn’t been playing together for very long, and that they’ve got some work to do.  They could still have a better season than predicted, but they’ve got to avoid those upsets.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays three games, all in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas.  On Wednesday (11/22/2023, 5:00 p.m., ESPN2) they play Memphis, on Thursday (11/23/2023, 5:00/7:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPNU) they play (#14) Arkansas/Stanford, then on Friday (11/24/2023, TBA, TBA) they play one of the teams from the other half of the bracket ([#20] North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Texas Tech, or [#21] Villanova).  The full bracket is here.

Memphis is currently 3-0, with a win over Missouri.  They were 26-9 (13-5 in the AAC) last season, with some decent wins.  They won the AAC conference tournament, then lost in the 1^st round of the NCAA Tournament to Florida Atlantic.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they’ve only got one tall player, a 6’11” redshirt senior.  This game is a toss-up.  If Michigan plays like they did in their first three games, they’ll stand a good chance against Memphis.  If they play like they did in the 2^nd half vs. LBSU, not so much.

The way the tournament bracket is set up, it is crucial to win the first game.  That gets you into the winner’s bracket, where the worst you can do is 4^th place.  Lose on the first day, and you drop into the loser’s bracket, where 5^th place is the best you can do.  When Michigan played in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in November 2019, they won a hard-fought game against Iowa State in the 1^st round, then upset (#6) North Carolina and (#8) Gonzaga to win it all.  I went to that tournament, and it was a great time.  I hope UM can play that well again.

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

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (11/07/2023), they beat UNC-Asheville 99-74, then on Friday (11/10/2023), they beat Youngstown State 92-62.  Both games were in Crisler Arena.  The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 2-0.

What Happened?

Normally, most high-major teams schedule real “cupcakes” for their first few home games, to kind of “ease into” the season.  Not Michigan, not this season.  Both UNCA and YSU are good, solid opponents with impressive records last season, and strong returning lineups.  Michigan made them both look like traditional “cupcakes”, but they’re both a notch up from that.  Michigan just played very well in both games, and got the blowout wins they deserved.  It’s an important psychological advantage to win your exhibition games (ahem: Tennessee 89, MSU 88) and your first home game (ahem, again: James Madison 79, MSU 76), and Michigan took care of business.  Of course, if you shoot 1-for-20 from 3-point range, you could lose to a mid-major team in your home opener.  Just sayin’…

The UNCA game started with a UM turnover and 2 made free throws for UNCA.  That was the only time UM trailed the whole game.  Michigan made a 3-pointer to go up 3-2, and they never looked back.  They got the lead up to 9 points (15-6) with 14:54 to go in the 1^st half, then 15 points (31-16) at the 9:05 mark.  They got the 1^st half lead as high as 21 points (48-27) with 2:18 left in the half, but let UNCA score the last 5 points of the half, for a 16-point lead (48-32) at halftime.  Michigan put the game out of reach in the first 5 minutes of the 2^nd half with a 19-8 run to make it a 27-point lead (67-40) with 15:02 to go.  The rest of the game, Michigan kept the lead between 20 and 29 points, even with the Scout Team in the game for the last 3 minutes.  It was a dominating performance against a good opponent.

The YSU game was all Michigan for the whole game.  UM led 4-0, YSU got within 2 points (4-2), then Michigan pulled away for good.  They led by 8 points (18-10) with 14:13 to go in the 1^st half, then 11 points (26-15) with 9:39 left.  They led by 10 points (33-23) with 3:57 to go in the half, then they went on a 13-0 run to end the half up 46-23.  Just a little basketball pro-tip: it’s not good to be doubled up at halftime.  Michigan came out in the 2^nd half and kept doubling (or more) YSU’s score: 50-25, 59-28, 65-30, 74-36, 76-38, and 81-40.  Once the lead got over 40 points, Michigan emptied the bench, and YSU made the score look a little more respectable, losing by “only” 30 points.  It was another dominating performance against another good opponent.

Stats

The game stats for the UNCA game were predictably good.  Michigan shot well overall (38-for-67 = 56.7%), they shot 3-pointers well (12-for-26 = 46.2%), and they shot free throws decently (11-for-15 = 73.3%).  They won the rebounding battle (39-30) and the turnover battle (9-13).  They won this game with good shooting and rebounding.

The game stats for the YSU game were good, but not as good as the UNCA stats.  Michigan shot well overall (35-for-66 = 53.0%), they shot 3-pointers fairly well (9-for-26 = 34.6%), and they shot free throws very well (13-for-16 = 81.3%).  They won the rebounding battle (41-31) and the turnover battle (11-13).  They won this game with continued good shooting and rebounding.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Dug McDaniel, Olivier Nkamhoua, Tarris Reed, Jr., and Terrance Williams II.

Who Looked Good?

Nkamhoua was the leading scorer in the UNCA game, with 25 points, and the second leading scorer in the YSU game, with 17 points.  He was also Michigan’s leading rebounder in both games, with 7 and 10 rebounds, which gave him a nice double-double in the YSU game.  He shot very well: 11-for-16 (1-for-4 from deep) vs. UNCA, and 7-for-7 (1-for-1 from deep) vs. YSU.  He also played very good defense.  He was the best player on the floor for both games.

McDaniel was the second leading scorer in the UNCA game, with 22 points, and the third leading scorer in the YSU game, with 16 points.  He had 8 assists vs. UNCA and 4 assists vs. YSU.  He looked very poised and confident out there.

Will Tschetter was the star of the YSU game, with 20 points off the bench.  He was the leading scorer, and he did it with style: 8-for-8 shooting, including 4-for-4 from deep.  He had a very interesting stat line: 20 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists.  All he did was shoot, and shoot well.  20 points is a new career high for him, breaking his old career high of 8 points that he set in the UNCA game.  He also shot well in that game: 3-for-5 overall, 2-for-2 from deep.  Just for reference, he only scored 63 points in 27 games last season.

Williams had two very good games, which is very encouraging.  He scored 15 points vs. UNCA and 13 points vs. YSU.  He shot well in both games: 5-for-8 overall (3-for-5 from deep) vs. UNCA, and 4-for-8 (2-for-4 from deep) vs. YSU.  He even chipped in 6 and 8 rebounds.

Burnett had one good game (13 points vs. UNCA) and one lousy game (0 points vs. YSU).  As the starting shooting guard, Michigan needs consistent scoring from him.

Reed was very consistent, with 9 points in each game.  He still hasn’t played much (20 minutes vs. UNCA, 19 minutes vs. YSU); I don’t know if he’s recovering from illness or injury.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Tray Jackson played in both games, and scored 3 and 6 points.  He showed flashes of solid play, then he just drifted around the rest of the time.

Youssef Khayat played in both games, scoring 2 and 4 points.  He also got another technical foul, in the YSU game.  He’s a little bit of a “loose cannon” out there.

George Washington III finally scored his first career points in the YSU game (5 points, on 2-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 from deep) after going scoreless in his debut against UNCA.  Once again, he’s a freshman, he’ll get better.

Who Else Played?

Ian Burns played for 2 minutes vs. UNCA and 7 minutes vs. YSU.  He scored his first career points in the YSU game, hitting both of his free throw attempts.

Harrison Hochberg played for 2 minutes vs. UNCA and 3 minutes vs. YSU.  He didn’t shoot in the UNCA game, and missed his only free throw attempt in the YSU game.

Jackson Selvala played for 2 minutes vs. UNCA and 7 minutes vs. YSU.  He missed his only shot attempt vs. UNCA, and didn’t shoot vs. YSU.

Cooper Smith played for 3 minutes in each game, and scored 2 points vs. UNCA.  He was 1-for-1 vs. UNCA, and 0-for-1 vs. YSU.

Who Didn’t Play?

Everyone who wasn’t injured played at least 2 minutes in each game.  The injured players are: Jace Howard and Jaelin Llewellyn.

What Does It Mean?

Could Michigan be better than the “experts” predicted?  It’s a little early to say, but based on how they played against two quality opponents, maybe?  We’ll know more after their next game.  See below.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Monday (11/13/2023, 6:30 p.m., FS1) they play St. John’s in Madison Square Garden in New York City, then on Friday (11/17/2023, 7:00 p.m., BTN+) they play Long Beach State in Crisler Arena.  The St. John’s game is part of the Gavitt Tip-Off Games, which is the annual Big East/Big Ten challenge.  This is the last season for the Gavitt Games.

St. John’s was 18-15 last season, 7-13 in the Big East.  They beat (#6) UConn and (#20) Providence, lost in the 2^nd round of the Big East tournament, and didn’t play in a post-season tournament.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they don’t have much height: just one 6’11” player.  They do have a noteworthy coach: Rick Pitino.  That alone makes them dangerous.  This will be an important test for Michigan.  They’ve looked good at home against mid-major teams, but now they’ll be playing on the road against a team from a big conference.  Sure, it’s technically a “neutral site” game, but it’s a lot like a home game for St. John’s.

Long Beach State was 17-16 last season, 11-9 in the Big West.  They didn’t beat anyone notable, lost in the 1^st round of the Big West tournament, and didn’t play in a post-season tournament.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have a little height: two 6’10” players, and a 6’11” player.  This is a game that Michigan should win, as long as they don’t do anything crazy.

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

Go Blue!