The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Thursday (02/23/2023), they beat Rutgers 58-45 in Piscataway (NJ), then on Sunday (02/26/2023), they beat Wisconsin 87-79 in overtime in Crisler Arena.  The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 17-12 (11-7 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Wow, what a great week!  Two big wins against two solid teams, one of them on the road.  They were both hard-fought, exciting games, but the end of the Wisconsin game was amazing.  Read on for more details.

Oh yeah, the Wisconsin game was Senior Day, but it was a low-key affair.  The only player honored was Joey Baker.

Game Flow

The Rutgers game started terribly, but ended well.  Rutgers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but Michigan hit a 3-pointer to make it 4-3.  Rutgers then went on a 9-0 run to lead by 10 (13-3) at the 14:00 mark.  Michigan finally scored again with 11:37 to go in the half to make it 13-5, but during that scoring drought they missed 10 shots in a row, along with two turnovers.  Michigan kept chipping away at the deficit, and got within one point (13-12) at the 9:13 mark.  Rutgers stretched the lead to 7 points (19-12) with 6:18 to go, but Michigan answered.  They finally got the lead, 22-21, with 2:37 left in the half, and led by 3 points (26-23) at halftime.  Rutgers scored the first basket of the 2^nd half to pull within one point (26-25), but Michigan started pulling away.  UM led by 8 points (36-28) at the 14:59 mark, and kept the lead in the 4-6 point range until the 6:57 mark, when it was 44-38.  That’s when Michigan pulled away for good, getting the lead as high as 15 points and winning by 13.  It was a very impressive win against a good Rutgers team that hasn’t lost many games at home this season.

The Wisconsin game also started slowly for Michigan, although not as slowly as the Rutgers game.  Wisconsin led by 2-4 points early, with Michigan getting a momentary lead (9-8) at the 16:34 mark.  Wisconsin got the lead back, and started pulling away.  They led 17-9 with 12:24 left in the half, but Michigan came back.  UM got within one point (17-16) with 9:09 to go, tied it up (20-20) at the 6:12 mark, and pulled ahead by 7-9 points for the rest of the half, leading by 8 points (35-27) at halftime.  Michigan kept the lead in the 7-9 point range for the first 4 minutes of the 2^nd half, up by 7 points (48-41) at the 12:59 mark.  Wisconsin cut into the lead, and it was only in the 2-4 point range for the next 6 minutes.  The Badgers went back ahead, 53-52, with 7:30 to go, and the lead went back and forth for the rest of the half.  Things looked pretty dismal when Wisconsin went up by 3 points (68-65) with 8.1 seconds left, but Hunter Dickinson hit an amazing desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, 68-68.  The lead went back and forth in the first 2 minutes of overtime, with the score tied 75-75 at the 2:14 mark.  That’s when Michigan went ahead for good, pushing the lead up into the 6-8 point range, and winning by 8 points.  It was a glorious, exciting win.

Stats

The game stats for the Rutgers game were pretty weak.  Michigan shot poorly overall (22-for-54 = 40.7%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (7-for-25 = 28.0%), and they shot free throws decently (7-for-11 = 63.6%).  They won the rebounding battle (37-31) and the turnover battle (11-13).  They won this game with rebounding and defense.  It helped that Rutgers was terrible from the free-throw line: 5-for-16 = 31.3%.

The game stats for the Wisconsin game were pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-59 = 49.2%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (7-for-21 = 33.3%), and they shot free throws well (22-for-26 = 84.6%).  They won the rebounding battle (39-33), but lost the turnover battle (12-8).  They won this game with rebounding and free throws.  UM made twice as many free throws as Wisconsin (22-11)

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Joey Baker, Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Dug McDaniel, and Will Tschetter.  Baker started in place of Jett Howard, who is out with an ankle injury.  Jett didn’t dress for the Rutgers game, but he was dressed and available for the Wisconsin game, although he didn’t play.  Tschetter started in place of Terrance Williams II, who is slowed down with a bruised knee.  Williams played in both games, but he didn’t start in either of them.

Who Looked Good?

Bufkin was the star this week, with 14 points against Rutgers and a new career-high 28 points vs. Wisconsin. He also had 3 assists and 3 steals in the Rutgers game, and 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals vs. Wisconsin.

Dickinson was the star in the Wisconsin game, even though he wasn’t the high scorer, due to his deep, desperation, buzzer-beater 3-pointer at the end of regulation.  It was very exciting.  He had 23 points and 10 rebounds in that game, for another double-double.  He also had a double-double in the Rutgers game, with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

McDaniel continues to improve and impress, with a team-high 16 points vs. Rutgers and another new career high of 20 points vs. Wisconsin.  The only downside: not many assists (2 vs. Rutgers, 0 vs. Wisconsin).  Still, he’s doing a great job running the offense, and he’s scoring a lot more than he did earlier in the season.

Baker had one decent game (9 points vs. Wisconsin) and one miserable game (6 points vs. Rutgers).  6 points doesn’t sound so bad, but when you dig a little deeper, you see why it was a miserable game: 2-for-11 shooting, 2-for-9 from deep.  Ugh.

Tarris Reed, Jr. didn’t score very many points this week (2 and 5), but he played solid, rugged defense, taking some of the pressure off Dickinson.

Williams had a decent week, scoring 4 and 2 points, mostly on free throws.  He did play some pretty good defense, and he grabbed 9 and 7 rebounds.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Tschetter had a lousy week, scoring 0 points in both games, on one shot attempt (vs. Rutgers).

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard played in both games, and scored 3 and 0 points.  He hit his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer vs. Rutgers.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Gregg Glenn III, and Youssef Khayat were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play this week.

Ian Burns, Jackson Selvala, and Cooper Smith were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play this week.

What Does It Mean?

These two wins mean that Michigan is now getting close to being “on the bubble” for the NCAA Tournament.  They’re not there yet, but they’re at least part of the discussion.  With only 2 regular season games left, Michigan probably has to win at least one of them, along with one win in the Big Ten Tournament, to stand a chance.  They still haven’t beaten a ranked team, and they’ve only beaten two good teams on the road (Northwestern and Rutgers).  They have a chance to get on the bubble this week.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Thursday (03/02/2023, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN), they play at Illinois, then on Sunday (03/05/2023, 4:30 p.m., CBS), they play at (#17) Indiana.

Illinois is currently 19-10 (10-8 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#8) UCLA, (#2) Texas, (#14) Wisconsin (twice), Michigan State, (#24) Rutgers, and (#21) Northwestern, and unimpressive losses to Penn State (twice), Missouri, and Ohio State.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: a 6’10” guy and a 7-footer.  There is a lot of bad blood between Michigan and Illinois, going back to their delusional arguments about winning the Big Ten over Michigan in the 2020-2021 season, and this game could get nasty.

Indiana is currently 20-9 (11-7 in Big Ten).  Michigan played IU in Crisler a couple weeks ago (02/11/2023), and lost a heartbreaker, 62-61.  This will probably be another close, exciting game, but Michigan will have to play their best to pull off the upset.

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 lost one and won the other.  On Tuesday (02/14/2023), they lost at Wisconsin 64-59, then on Saturday (02/18/2023), they beat Michigan State 84-72 in Crisler Arena.  The loss and the win leave Michigan with a record of 15-12 (9-7 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Another week, another split, predictably with the loss being on the road and the win at home.  As has happened so often this season, both games came down to the final minutes: the endgame.  In the Wisconsin game, Michigan couldn’t get a basket when they needed it, but they were magnificent in the endgame vs. MSU.  In fact, the last 2 minutes of the MSU game were the best 2 minutes Michigan has played so far this season.

As an aside, I’m full of sorrow about the shooting incident at Michigan State this past week, and I’m impressed with the way the UM community showed their support to MSU, but I’m still glad Michigan beat Michigan State on the basketball court.

Game Flow

The Wisconsin game was close early, with the teams exchanging the lead a few times in the first 11 minutes.  With 8:38 to go, Michigan had a one-point lead (20-19), when Wisconsin went on an 8-0 run to go up by 7 (27-20).  Michigan fought back, and made a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in the half to lead by one point at halftime, 32-31.  That lead lasted for all of 2 minutes in the 2^nd half.  Wisconsin went ahead 35-34 at the 18:13 mark, and pushed the lead as high as 12 points (54-42) with 10:27 to go.  Michigan went on a nice 12-1 run to get within a point (55-54) at the 4:10 mark, and they were only down 2 points (59-57) with 24 seconds to go, but they couldn’t get the stops or the baskets they needed to win.  Michigan held Wisconsin without a made field goal (on 15 attempts) for the last 10:45 of the game, but the Badgers made 12 free throws (on 14 attempts) down the stretch to win the game.  The game was there for Michigan to win, but they couldn’t make the clutch shots.

The MSU game was also close early, with the teams exchanging the lead a few times in the first 8 minutes.  With 11:38 to go, Michigan had a one-point lead (18-17), when MSU went ahead for the rest of the half.  They pushed the lead as high as 8 points (33-25 at the 3:59 mark), and led by 3 at halftime, 36-33.  The 2^nd half was more of the same: MSU led by 3-5 points for the first 6 minutes, until Michigan managed to tie it up (46-46) with 14:11 to go.  This was a key moment: as he made the basket to tie the game, Jett Howard landed wrong and re-injured his ankle.  He left the game, and didn’t return.  His status is unknown at this point.  So, even though the game was tied, Michigan had to play the last 14+ minutes without their best shooter.  Yikes!  For the next 9 minutes, the same pattern kept playing out: MSU would get ahead by 1-3 points, and Michigan would tie it up.  The game was tied at 46-46, 50-50, 52-52, 54-54, 63-63, and 65-65.  In between those ties, MSU actually got ahead by 6 points at one point: 63-57, with 8:23 to go.  So, there we were, tied at 65-65 with 5:43 to go.  Now it was Michigan’s turn to have a slim lead in between ties.  UM went up 67-65, then MSU tied it up 67-67.  UM went up 69-67, MSU tied it up 69-69.  UM went up 72-69, MSU tied it up 72-72.  Fortunately, those were the last points MSU scored.  They went the last 2:29 without a point, missing 4 shots.  Michigan scored the last 12 points, to win by 12.  It was awesome!

Stats

The game stats for the Wisconsin game were weak.  Michigan shot pretty poorly overall (24-for-57 = 42.1%), they shot 3-pointers decently (5-for-16 = 31.3%), and they shot free throws poorly (6-for-10 = 60.0%).  They lost the rebounding battle (38-37) and the turnover battle (12-5).  They lost this game with poor shooting, turnovers, and rebounding.  Even though they were only out-rebounded by one, they gave up 15 offensive rebounds to Wisconsin.

The game stats for the MSU game were pretty good.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (29-for-59 = 49.2%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (9-for-26 = 34.6%), and they shot free throws well (17-for-21 = 81.0%).  They crushed MSU on the boards (38-25), but lost the turnover battle (9-8).  They won this game with rebounding.  Michigan had 14 offensive rebounds.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, Dug McDaniel, and Will Tschetter.  Tschetter started in place of Terrance Williams II, who is out with a bruised knee.  I couldn’t find an estimate for when Williams will be available again.

Who Looked Good?

Bufkin was the star this week, with a team-high 21 vs. Wisconsin and 17 vs. MSU.  His 3-pointer with 1:54 left in the MSU game broke the 72-72 tie, and started the 12-0 Michigan run.  It was an off-balance desperation shot that just beat the shot-clock buzzer, and it was the biggest basket of the game.  Bufkin was very efficient this week: 9-for-15 overall (3-for-4 from deep) vs. Wisconsin, and 6-for-9 overall (3-for-5 from deep) vs. MSU.

Dickinson had a good week, with 12 and 14 points.  He also had 12 rebounds in the Wisconsin game, for another double-double.  He hit a 3-pointer in each game, and his 3-pointer vs. MSU was probably the dagger.  It came right after Bufkin had made his big 3-pointer, to push the UM lead up to 6 points.

McDaniel had one great game (18 points vs. MSU) and one decent game (7 points vs. Wisconsin).  He was the high scorer for Michigan in the MSU game, and 18 points is a new career high for him.  He was very impressive in that game, outplaying the MSU point guards.

Jett Howard had a decent week, with 9 and 10 points, but he had a rough time with his shooting: he was 4-for-14 (1-for-6 from deep) vs. Wisconsin, and 3-for-9 (1-for-7 from deep) vs. MSU.

Tschetter had a decent week, scoring 4 and 7 points.  He did hit a 3-pointer vs. MSU.  He still has a tendency to play a little too fast and a little too out-of-control.  Because of it, he gets called for silly fouls or commits silly turnovers.  He needs to slow down and play with more control.

Tarris Reed, Jr. was another star in the MSU game. He had 8 points, which is great for him, but even more importantly, he had 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  4 of his 10 rebounds were offensive, and he finished through contact a couple times.  He had a decent game vs. Wisconsin, with 6 points (and 7 rebounds).

Joey Baker had one good game (10 points vs. MSU) and one lousy game (0 points vs. Wisconsin).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked not-so-good this week, although a couple players had one good game and one mediocre game.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard played in both games, but failed to score.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Gregg Glenn III, and Youssef Khayat were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play this week.

Ian Burns, Jackson Selvala, and Cooper Smith were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play this week.

What Does It Mean?

I guess we’re still talking about Michigan’s chances for the NCAA Tournament?  The win over MSU sure helped, but the loss to Wisconsin sure hurt, so it was another break-even week.  With only 4 regular season games left, Michigan probably has to win at least 2 of them, along with one win in the Big Ten Tournament, to stand a chance.  They still haven’t beaten a ranked team, and they’ve only beaten one good team on the road (Northwestern).  They’re not on the bubble, but they still stand a chance of getting there.  A slim chance, but a chance.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Thursday (02/23/2023, 8:30 p.m., FS1), they play at Rutgers, then on Sunday (02/26/2023, 2:00 p.m., CBS), they play Wisconsin in Crisler Arena.

Rutgers is currently 17-10 (8-7 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#8) Indiana, (#1) Purdue, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, and unimpressive losses to Temple, Miami (FL), Seton Hall, and Nebraska.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have decent height: a 6’10” guy and a 6’11” guy.  On the one hand, they’ve beaten several good teams, but on the other hand, they lost to Nebraska by 10 points at home last week.  This is probably the best team that Rutgers has had since they joined the Big Ten, and it should be a challenging game.

Wisconsin is currently 15-11 (7-9 in Big Ten).  Michigan just played them last week and barely lost to them.  Since that game, they lost to Rutgers at home.  This will be another very challenging game for Michigan.  It’s Michigan’s last home game of the season, and it’s Senior Day.

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 one and lost the other.  On Wednesday (02/08/2023), they beat Nebraska 93-72, then on Saturday (02/11/2023), they lost to (#18) Indiana 62-61.  Both games were in Crisler Arena.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 14-11 (8-6 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Michigan won the game they were supposed to win (Nebraska), and got so close in the Indiana game, but couldn’t quite pull it off.  UM was dominant vs. Nebraska, and they looked every bit as good as Indiana, but IU managed to be one point better.  It’s a real shame, because Michigan led for most of the IU game, only to go stone cold in the final minutes.

Game Flow

The Nebraska game was close early, with the teams exchanging the lead a few times in the first 6 minutes.  With 14:34 to go, Nebraska had their last lead, 12-11, then Michigan went on a nice 14-0 run to put the game out of reach.  Michigan pushed the lead as high as 24 points (41-17) in the 1^st half, leading by 12 (46-34) at halftime.  Nebraska got within 9 points (48-39) at the 18:01 mark, but that was as close as they got.  Michigan pushed the lead back up to 21 points (68-47) with 11:41 to go, led by 23 a couple times, and coasted to a 21-point win.  It was a dominating performance.

The IU game was close for the first few minutes, with IU ahead by one (6-5) at the 17:16 mark.  Michigan went on a quick 8-0 run to take a small lead, 13-6, with 15:35 to go.  UM kept the lead in the 6-8 point range for the rest of the half, pushing it as high as 11 (32-21) at the 6:27 mark.  Michigan still led by 8 points (37-29) with 2:25 left in the half, but they allowed IU to score the last 4 points of the half, cutting the lead to 4 at halftime, 37-33.  IU kept it going after halftime, and finally caught and passed UM, 40-39, at the 16:34 mark.  Michigan responded, and took the lead back, pushing it up to 7 points a few times.  Michigan was up by 7 points (53-46) with 11:34 to go, when IU made another push.  They grabbed the lead again, 54-53, at the 9:05 mark, but Michigan came right back again.  They led for most of the rest of the game, but only by 1-3 points.  UM was up by 3 points (61-58) at the 5:12 mark when they just fell apart offensively.  IU outscored them 4-0 in the last 5:12 to win by one point.  During that 5:12 drought, Michigan did the following:

• Missed 3-pointer
• Missed 3-pointer
• Missed layup
• Missed short jumper
• Missed jumper
• Turnover
• Missed jumper
• Missed 3-pointer

That’s 7 missed shots and a turnover.  Disgusting.

Stats

The game stats for the Nebraska game were excellent.  Michigan shot very well overall (34-for-59 = 57.6%), they shot 3-pointers very well (14-for-26 = 53.8%), and they shot free throws very well (11-for-13 = 84.6%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (35-23) and the turnover battle (13-15).  They won this game with great shooting and rebounding.

The game stats for the Indiana game were mediocre.  Michigan shot decently overall (23-for-54 = 42.6%), they shot 3-pointers pretty poorly (5-for-20 = 25.0%), and they shot free throws pretty well (10-for-13 = 76.9%).  They lost the rebounding battle (33-31), but won the turnover battle (11-13).  They lost this game with poor 3-point shooting.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, Dug McDaniel, and Terrance Williams II.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson had a good week, with 16 points in each game.  He also had 10 rebounds in the Nebraska game, for another double-double.  The only downside was his defensive performance against IU’s Trayce Jackson-Davis.  Dickinson couldn’t stop him, and could barely slow him down.  TJD scored 28 points, although some them were scored while Dickinson was either on the bench with 2 quick fouls in the 1^st half, or playing very cautiously with those 2 fouls late in the 1^st half.  He did better defensively in the 2^nd half, but he still only slowed TJD down, but couldn’t stop him.

Jett Howard also had a good week, with a team-high 22 points vs. Nebraska, and 12 points vs. IU.  He shot well in the Nebraska game (7-for-17 overall, 6-for-14 from deep), but not so well vs. IU (5-for-14 overall, 2-for-8 from deep).  He had a miserable 2^nd half vs. IU, and he missed two huge 3-pointers in the last 5:12, including the final shot at the buzzer.  He’s Michigan’s best option for a last-second shot, and he bricked it.  Sigh.

Bufkin also had a good week, with 13 and 14 points.  He also had a miserable 2^nd half vs. IU.  If he could have hit just one more basket, UM might have pulled off the upset.

McDaniel had one great game (14 points vs. Nebraska) and one lousy game (5 points vs. IU).  He was very efficient in the Nebraska game, shooting 5-for-7 overall, 2-for-2 from deep, but he was very inefficient in the IU game, shooting 1-for-8 overall, 0-for-4 from deep.  He also missed a key front-end-of-the-one-and-one free throw late in the IU game.

Williams also had one good game (10 points vs. Nebraska) and one lousy game (4 points vs. IU).

Joey Baker was yet another Michigan player with one good game (11 points vs. Nebraska) and one lousy game (2 points vs. IU).

Tarris Reed, Jr. had a pretty good week, with 4 and 8 points.  More important than his scoring was his defense, especially vs. IU.  He had to try to contain Trayce Jackson-Davis when Dickinson was on the bench with 2 quick fouls in the 1^st half, and he did a pretty good job.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked not-so-good this week, although a couple players had one good game and one mediocre game.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard played in both games, scoring 3 and 0 points.

Jackson Selvala played in the Nebraska game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Cooper Smith played in the Nebraska game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Will Tschetter played in both games, but didn’t attempt a shot.  He was on the wrong end of two terrible calls in the IU game; first, he was called for a foul that was clearly a charge, then he was called for a charge (wiping out a basket) that was clearly a foul.  The refs were pretty bad in the IU game, and just those two bad calls more than account for the difference.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Gregg Glenn III, and Youssef Khayat were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play this week.

Ian Burns was the only practice squad player who didn’t get to play this week.

What Does It Mean?

After inching their way a little closer to the bubble for the Big Dance, Michigan threw it all away in the IU loss.  Now they need to win 4 of their last 6 regular season games to stand a chance of making the tournament.  Since most of those games are against upper-division teams, and 4 of them are on the road, it doesn’t seem likely.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Tuesday (02/14/2023, 9:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2), they play at Wisconsin, then on Saturday (02/18/2023, 8:00 p.m., FOX), they play Michigan State in Crisler Arena.

Wisconsin is currently 14-10 (6-8 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over USC, (#13) Maryland, and Iowa, and unimpressive losses to Wake Forest, Illinois (twice), Northwestern (twice), Maryland, and Nebraska.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they only have one tall guy (a 7-footer).  They were ranked for a few weeks earlier in the season, but a 3-8 stretch knocked them out of the rankings.  Michigan has always had a tough time winning in the Kohl Center, and this will be a very challenging game.

Michigan State is currently 16-9 (8-6 in Big Ten).  They beat Michigan in the Breslin Center back on 01/07/2023, but it was a close game.  This is another game that Michigan can win, but they need to play their “A” game.  They can’t go 5:12 without scoring.

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 Thursday (02/02/2023), they won at Northwestern 68-51, then on Sunday (02/05/2023), they beat Ohio State 77-69 in Crisler Arena.  The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 13-10 (7-5 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Michigan finally won two games in the same week, after weeks of going either 1-1 or 0-2.  Even more encouraging – both opponents were pretty good, and Michigan was obviously better.  It was also great that Michigan finally won another Big Ten road game.  All in all, it was a very good week.

Game Flow

The Northwestern game was close for the entire 1^st half, with several ties and lead changes, and neither team getting ahead by more than 5 points.  It was all tied up 22-22 with 1:30 left in the half, and Michigan led by one point at halftime, 26-25.  Northwestern went back in front at the start of the 2^nd half, and they were up by 3 points (29-26) at the 19:13 mark.  That’s when Michigan went on a nice 18-2 run to give them a lead they would never surrender, 44-31, with 13:09 to go.  Northwestern got within 11 points once, but UM pushed their lead as high as 19 points, cruising to a 17-point win.  It was a dominating performance against a solid Northwestern team, for a season sweep.

Michigan led OSU from wire-to-wire.  OSU hung around for the whole game, getting within one point several times, but they never got ahead or even tied the score.  UM led by as many as 11 points in the 1^st half, by 5 at halftime (41-36), and by as many as 13 points in the 2^nd half.  UM kept their lead in the 10-12 point range for most of the 2^nd half, and won by 8.  It was another dominating performance against a solid OSU team.

Stats

The game stats for the Northwestern game were decent.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (24-for-58 = 41.4%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (7-for-20 = 35.0%), and they shot free throws well (13-for-16 = 81.3%).  They won the rebounding battle (41-33) and the turnover battle (7-9).  They won this game with rebounding and 3-point shooting.

The game stats for the OSU game were pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (28-for-57 = 49.1%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (8-for-23 = 34.8%), and they shot free throws well (13-for-18 = 72.2%).  They barely lost the rebounding battle (36-34) and the turnover battle (9-6).  They won this game with overall shooting and defense.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, Dug McDaniel, and Terrance Williams II.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson was the leading scorer for Michigan in both games, with 19 and 26 points.  He only had 3 rebounds vs. Northwestern, but he hauled down 11 rebounds vs. OSU, for another double-double.  On top of his scoring and rebounding, he played excellent post defense in both games.  He dominated the opposing centers, holding each team to just 6 points from that position (Northwestern: Nicholson 4, Beran 2 and OSU: Key 6, Okpara 0).  Dickinson dominated all 4 of them, offensively and defensively.

Bufkin was the only other Wolverine to hit double figures in both games, with 15 and 13 points.  He also rebounded very well, with 12 and 8, giving him his first career double-double in the Northwestern game.

Jett Howard had one good game and one decent game, with 8 and 16 points.  He didn’t shoot very well in either game: 2-for-8 overall (2-for-7 from deep) vs. Northwestern, and 5-for-12 overall (2-for-7 from deep) vs. OSU.

McDaniel had a decent game against OSU (8 points), but a lousy game against Northwestern (2 points, on 1-for-7 shooting).  He ran the offense pretty well.

Williams had a decent week: 7 and 6 points.  He also had 10 rebounds vs. Northwestern.

Joey Baker had a good week, with 14 points vs. Northwestern and 8 points vs. OSU.  He was deadly in the Northwestern game (5-for-6 overall, 3-for-4 from deep) and pretty efficient vs. OSU (3-for-5 overall, 2-for-4 from deep).  This is exactly the kind of contribution Michigan needs from him.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked not-so-good this week, although a couple players had one good game and one mediocre game.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard played in both games, scoring 1 and 0 points.

Youssef Khayat played in the Northwestern game, but didn’t score.

Tarris Reed, Jr. did a mediocre job backing up Dickinson.  He scored 2 and 0 points, but he did play solid, rugged defense.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Gregg Glenn III, and Will Tschetter and were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play this week.

Ian Burns, Jackson Selvala, and Cooper Smith were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play this week.

What Does It Mean?

Did Michigan inch their way a little closer to the bubble for the Big Dance?  Maybe, but they’re still a long way from actually being on the bubble.  Still, if they can keep playing at this level, they might sneak into the tournament.  However, they STILL have to beat a ranked team.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Wednesday (02/08/2023, 6:30 p.m., BTN), they play Nebraska, then on Saturday (02/11/2023, 6:00 p.m., ESPN), they play (#21) Indiana.  Both games are in Crisler Arena.

Nebraska is currently 11-13 (4-9 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Florida State, Boston College, (#7) Creighton, Iowa, Ohio State, and Penn State, and unimpressive losses to Colorado, St. John’s, Oklahoma, and Kansas State.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: a 6’10” guy, a 6’11” guy, and a 7-footer.  They may be near the bottom of the Big Ten standings, but they’ve beaten some good teams and lost some close games to other good teams.  This will not be an easy game.

Indiana is currently 16-7 (7-5 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#18) North Carolina, (#18) Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, and (#1) Purdue, and unimpressive losses to Rutgers, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, and Maryland.  They have a few noteworthy players (Tracye Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, and Miller Kopp), but they don’t have much height: one 6’10” guy.  IU has an impressive resume, some star players, and a ton of confidence after beating (#1) Purdue.  This will be an extremely challenging game.  Michigan can win, but they will need to play their “A+” game.

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 lost both of them.  On Thursday (01/26/2023), they lost to (#1) Purdue 75-70 in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (01/29/2023), they lost at Penn State 83-61.  The two losses lower Michigan’s record to 11-10 (5-5 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Both games were close, until the other guys had a big run to make it “not close”.  In the Purdue game, Michigan was up 28-26 with 8:02 to go in the 1^st half when Purdue went on a long, grinding 15-0 run to go up 41-28 with 3:06 left in the half.  Michigan never led again.  In the PSU game, Michigan was only down one point (31-30) with 4:34 to go in the 1^st half when PSU went on a long, grinding 18-0 run to go up 49-30 with 31 seconds left in the half.  Michigan never got close again.  In that 18-0 run, PSU hit five 3-pointers in a row without a miss, then a short jumper, while Michigan missed four 3-pointers and a jumper.  Michigan couldn’t buy a basket.

Game Flow

As mentioned above, both games were close in the early going, with Michigan leading in both.  In the Purdue game, UM led by as many as 6 points, and still led by 2 points when Purdue went on their 15-0 run.  Michigan managed to get close by halftime, pulling to within 6 points (41-35).  Unfortunately, Purdue started the 2^nd half hot, Michigan was cold, and Purdue quickly pushed their lead back up to double digits, 48-37, with 17:27 to go.  They kept the lead in the 8-10 point range until the final minute, when Michigan got as close as 3 points (73-70) before losing by 5.  It was a noble effort against an obviously better team.

In the PSU game, Michigan only led once, 6-4, with 17:45 to go in the 1^st half.  They kept the game close for most of the half, trailing by just one point when PSU went on their 18-0 run.  Michigan trailed by 17 points (49-32) at halftime, and never got closer than 20 points in the 2^nd half.  PSU pushed their lead up as high as 32, and won by 22.  It was a miserable effort against a team that isn’t any better than Michigan.

Stats

The game stats for the Purdue game were decent.  Michigan shot reasonably well overall (26-for-59 = 44.1%), they shot 3-pointers fairly well (9-for-25 = 36.0%), and they shot free throws just OK (9-for-14 = 64.3%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (34-26), but won the turnover battle handily (6-12).  They lost this game with rebounding and fouls: Purdue was 16-for-20 at the free throw line.

The game stats for the PSU game were sad.  Michigan shot OK overall (25-for-59 = 42.4%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (6-for-22 = 27.3%), and they shot free throws fairly well, just not often enough (5-for-8 = 62.5%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (36-27), but won the turnover battle (8-9).  They lost this game with rebounding and 3-point defense: PSU was 13-for-30 from 3-point range.

Who Started?

The starters for the Purdue game were Joey Baker, Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson, Dug McDaniel, and Terrance Williams II.  Baker started in place of Jett Howard, who injured his ankle in the Minnesota game last week.  He missed the Purdue game, but was back in the starting lineup for the PSU game.

Who Looked Good?

Jett Howard looked good in his only game this week, scoring 21 points on good shooting: 8-for-13 overall, 5-for-7 from 3-point range.  He was Michigan’s whole offense in the early going, while the game was still close.

Dickinson had one good game and one mediocre game, scoring 21 points vs. Purdue and 6 points vs. PSU.  He actually outscored Purdue’s monster center (7’4” Zach Edey, with 19 points), and played him about even.  He was pathetic against PSU.

Bufkin had one good game and one decent game, scoring 16 points vs. Purdue and 8 points vs. PSU.

Baker had one good game and one lousy game, scoring 11 points in his start against Purdue, but only 2 points (on 1-for-5 shooting) vs. PSU.

McDaniel had a decent game against Purdue (9 points), but a lousy game against PSU (4 points, on 1-for-7 shooting).  He ran the offense pretty well.

Williams had a decent week: 4 and 7 points.

Tarris Reed, Jr. did a decent job backing up Dickinson.  He scored 2 and 3 points, and played solid, rugged defense.

Will Tschetter chipped in 3 and 4 points, and played solid defense.

Jace Howard chipped in 2 and 6 points, and played solid defense.  He was the only other Michigan player to hit a 3-pointer vs. PSU, along with his younger brother Jett.  Jett was 5-for-7 shooting 3-pointers, and Jace was 1-for-3, for a combined 6-for-10 for the Howard brothers.  The rest of the team was 0-for-12.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

No one looked not-so-good this week, although several players had one good game and one mediocre game.

Who Else Played?

Isaiah Barnes played in both games, scoring 2 and 0 points.

Cooper Smith played in the PSU game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Gregg Glenn III and Youssef Khayat were the scholarship players who didn’t get to play this week.

Ian Burns and Jackson Selvala were the practice squad players who didn’t get to play this week.

What Does It Mean?

I’m afraid this is looking like a lost season for Michigan.  Barring a miracle run in February or the Big Ten Tournament, they probably aren’t going to a post-season tournament.  It looks highly unlikely that they’ll make the NCAA Tournament, and they probably won’t finish at or above 0.500 and qualify for the NIT.

At this point, they are playing for pride, along with getting some quality playing time for the younger players.  They can still upset some teams in the race for 2^nd place, since Purdue has got the title firmly in their grasp.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Thursday (02/02/2023, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2), they play at Northwestern, then on Sunday (02/05/2023, 1:00 p.m., CBS), they play Ohio State in Crisler Arena.

Northwestern is currently 15-5 (6-3 in Big Ten).  Michigan beat them in Crisler a couple weeks ago (01/15/2023) 85-78, and since then Northwestern has won 3 games in a row, over lower-division teams (Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota).  Michigan had a tough time putting them away in Crisler, and Michigan has played worse against teams they beat the first time around (Minnesota, Maryland, and Penn State), so this looks to be a very challenging game.

Ohio State is currently 11-10 (3-7 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Cincinnati, (#21) Texas Tech, and Rutgers, and unimpressive losses to Minnesota and Nebraska.  They have one noteworthy player (super freshman Brice Sensabaugh) and one tall guy (6’11”).  OSU started the season hot, and they were ranked for 3 weeks, as high as #23, before they lost 7 out of their last 8 games.  This is a game that Michigan can win, and in a dismal season, they need to grab every win they can.

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

Go Blue!