Another week, another split. Once again, Michigan lost on the road and won at home. In this case, they played two teams that they had already played (and beaten) earlier this season. I was hoping that they could steal a win on the road against Maryland, since they had beaten them by 35 points in Ann Arbor, but it wasn’t to be. I was also hoping that Michigan would have an easy time against Minnesota, since they beat them by 15 points on the road, but it also wasn’t to be. The loss and the win leave Michigan right where they were last week (and the week before that, and the week before that): on the wrong side of the bubble for the Big Dance. They need to win both games in a week, and win on the road, and beat a ranked team. They’ve had a tough time with all of those things.
Game Flow
In both games, Michigan got off to a very slow start, and they played most of both games behind, often by 10 points or so. This was especially true in the Maryland game, where they had a miserable start, falling behind by 11 points (17-6) at the 10:29 mark. Maryland pushed the lead up to 13 points (28-15) with 6:32 to go, before Michigan finally woke up and ended the half on a 17-6 run to only trail by 2 points at halftime, 34-32. After fighting so hard to get back in the game, Michigan started the 2nd half with another slow start, quickly falling behind by 6 points (40-34) at the 15:51 mark. Michigan fought back again, and actually tied the game (42-42) with 12:26 left, but they never led. The game was still tied (44-44) at the 11:09 mark, when Maryland went ahead for good. They pushed the lead up to 10 points (59-49) with 4:30 to go, and never let Michigan get closer than 4 points the rest of the way. It was a dreary, disheartening loss to a team that Michigan should have beaten, even on the road.
The start of the Minnesota game was almost as bad. Michigan was quickly down 8-0 in the first 2:00, and down 10 points (20-10) with 10:16 to go. They clawed their way back with an 8-0 run, and were only down 2 points (20-18) at the 5:18 mark. With a chance to tie or even take the lead, Michigan did the following on their next 5 possessions:
Fortunately, Minnesota wasn’t scoring either, and Michigan managed to tie the score up (23-23) at halftime. After Minnesota went up by 3 early in the 2nd half, Michigan finally got their first lead, 27-26, at the 18:13 mark. They pushed the lead up to 5 points (31-26) with 16:19 to go, but Minnesota tied it up again (31-31) at the 14:55 mark. It was still tied up (33-33) with 13:42 to go, when Michigan went ahead for good. They pushed the lead as high as 8 points, and kept it in the 4-6 point range the rest of the game. It was a decent 2nd half, following a miserable 1st half.
Stats
The game stats for the Maryland game were sad. Michigan shot pretty poorly overall (23-for-55 = 41.8%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (8-for-28 = 28.6%), and they shot free throws terribly, and not very often (4-for-8 = 50.0%). They won the rebounding battle (36-35), but lost the turnover battle badly (12-6). They lost this game with turnovers and fouls; Maryland was 13-for-17 from the free-throw line.
The game stats for the Minnesota game were miserable. Michigan shot poorly overall (22-for-60 = 35.7%), they shot 3-pointers incredibly poorly (2-for-14 = 14.3%), but they did shoot free throws pretty well (14-for-18 = 77.8%). They won the rebounding battle (37-36) and the turnover battle (10-15). They won this game with free throw shooting and taking better care of the ball. They were lucky that Minnesota isn’t very good. 14% shooting from 3-point range will lose most games.
Dickinson usually saves his best games for Maryland, and he was Michigan’s high scorer, but he wasn’t nearly as dominant as he usually is against Maryland. He scored 19 points, and had 10 rebounds, for a double-double, but it wasn’t quite enough. He did shoot 3-for-5 from 3-point range vs. Maryland. He had a better game against Minnesota, with 23 points and 9 rebounds. He shot 9-for-9 from the free throw line vs. Minnesota!
Jett Howard had an up-and-down week. He was the only other Michigan player in double figures vs. Maryland, with 13 points, but he was scoreless in 15 minutes of action against Minnesota before he injured his ankle and missed the entire 2nd half. At this point, it isn’t clear how serious this injury is. Even though he had 13 points vs. Maryland, it wasn’t one of his better games, with 4-for-14 shooting, 3-for-12 from 3-point range. He also had 4 fouls and 4 turnovers.
Bufkin also had an up-and-down week. He only had 2 points vs. Maryland, on lousy (1-for-6) shooting, but he had 12 points vs. Minnesota. He had a terrible week shooting 3-pointers: 0-for-2 vs. Maryland and 0-for-4 vs. Minnesota.
McDaniel was yet another player with an up-and-down week. He had a rough time vs. Maryland (4 points, on 2-for-10 shooting, 0-for-4 from deep), but bounced back nicely vs. Minnesota (10 points, on 4-for-10 shooting, 2-for-3 from deep). His assist-to-turnover ratio was pretty good: 7 assists/3 turnovers vs. Maryland, and 3 assists/0 turnovers vs. Minnesota.
Williams had a better week than usual. He almost hit double figures vs. Maryland (9 points), and he had his normal 5 points vs. Minnesota. He was Michigan’s leading rebounder vs. Maryland, with 13.
Tarris Reed, Jr. did a nice job backing up Dickinson. He scored 4 points in each game, and played solid, rugged defense.
Will Tschetter chipped in 2 and 4 points, and played solid defense.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
Joey Baker had a decent game vs. Maryland (5 points), but he was horrible vs. Minnesota. He scored 2 points on 1-for-6 shooting, and he missed a breakaway layup, with Michigan clinging to a narrow lead in a tight game. It was embarrassing.
Who Else Played?
Isaiah Barnes played in both games, but didn’t attempt a shot.
Time is running out for Michigan. They can’t afford to keep playing 0.500 ball. They need to string a couple wins together, including a couple on the road and a couple against ranked teams. There’s still time, but it’s getting late.
They still look a lot like an NIT team, not an NCAA Tournament team.
What’s Next?
This week, Michigan plays two games. On Thursday (01/26/2023, 9:00 p.m., FS1), they play (#3) Purdue in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (01/29/2023, 12:00 p.m., BTN), they play at Penn State.
Purdue is currently 19-1 (8-1 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#6) Gonzaga, (#8) Duke, (#24) Ohio State, and Michigan State, and one bizarre loss to Rutgers. They have a couple noteworthy players (Fletcher Loyer and Zach Edey) and a lot of height: a 6’10” guy, a 7’2” guy, and Edey, who is 7’4”. Edey is the biggest problem (literally), since he’s 3 inches taller than Dickinson, but Loyer (younger brother of Foster Loyer, who was at Michigan State for a couple seasons) is a great outside shooter. It’s a lethal combination, and Michigan will have to play their “A+” game to stand a chance of pulling off the upset in this one.
Penn State is currently 13-6 (4-4 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#17) Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana, and unimpressive losses to Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Wisconsin. Michigan played PSU pretty recently (01/04/2023), and beat them by 10 points (79-69) in Crisler Arena. That was a close game, and it’ll be even tougher on the road.
Check back next week to find out what happened and why.
The last couple weeks Michigan has been holding even, winning two games at home and losing two games on the road. It’s a shame that they lost the Iowa game, since they had a decent lead with not much time left in regulation, but they played pretty poorly down the stretch, and were flat in overtime. It would have been great to steal a win on the road in the Big Ten, but Michigan just couldn’t seal the deal. They looked like they were fixing to give away the home Northwestern game, but they woke up and played solid ball in the closing minutes, avoiding the upset. Still, Michigan needs to do better than just holding even. They need to string together a few wins, and beat a ranked team or two.
Game Flow
The Iowa game was close and competitive the whole way, although Michigan led for most of the game. In the first half, Michigan was either tied or ahead except for:
26 seconds from the 13:50 mark to the 13:24 mark, when Iowa led by 1 point (14-13)
29 seconds from the 13:07 mark to the 12:38 mark, when Iowa led by 1 point (16-15)
30 seconds from the 2:37 mark to the 2:07 mark, when Iowa led by 1 point (40-39)
Other than that, Michigan led by 3-5 points most of the time, including a 3-point lead at halftime, 43-40. The second half was more of the same, with Michigan either tied or leading the whole way, except for:
20 seconds from the 14:44 mark to the 14:24 mark, when Iowa led by 1 point (53-52)
Michigan pushed the lead as high as 10 points (65-55) with 10:56 to go, and still led by 7 points (77-70) with 2:18 left. UM was up 4 points (79-75) with 29 seconds left, but they allowed a 4-point play by Iowa with 20 seconds left, and couldn’t score in the final seconds, sending the game to overtime. They immediately fell behind in overtime, and never stood a chance.
I don’t often second guess Coach Howard, but with 20 seconds left in regulation and a 4-point lead, I would have intentionally fouled someone who wasn’t shooting, giving Iowa a maximum of 2 points. Letting them get off a 3-pointer was bad enough, but fouling the shooter is inexcusable. Of course, looking at the replay, it was a very questionable foul call, but still. An intentional foul was the smart play. Sigh.
Michigan led for most of the 1st half against Northwestern, by as many as 12 points (20-8 with 10:11 to go), but they went cold, and NU snuck back into the game. It was all tied up (29-29) with 3:49 left, when NU went ahead. Northwestern led by as many as 6 points (39-33 at the 1:15 mark), and by 2 points at halftime, 39-37. The lead seesawed back and forth in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half, and NU was up by 1 point (59-58) with 10:17 to go. That’s when Michigan finally got organized, and went up by 9 points, 68-59, at the 6:56 mark. They kept the lead in the 5-7 range for the rest of the game, winning by 7 points. It was a nice, solid win against a dangerous Northwestern team.
Stats
The game stats for the Iowa game were surprisingly good. Michigan shot well overall (33-for-67 = 49.3%), they shot 3-pointers very well (14-for-31 = 45.2%), and they shot free throws acceptably, just not very often (4-for-6 = 66.7%). They lost the rebounding battle (40-37) and the turnover battle (13-6). They lost this game with silly turnovers and fouls. Iowa was 17-for-22 from the free throw line.
The game stats for the Northwestern game were also good. Michigan shot very well overall (29-for-56 = 51.8%), they shot 3-pointers very well (10-for-22 = 45.5%), and they shot free throws pretty well (17-for-24 = 70.8%). They won the rebounding battle handily (41-29), but lost the turnover battle badly (18-8). They won this game with hot shooting and solid rebounding. They almost lost it with all those turnovers and poor hustle. NU seemed to get all the 50-50 balls.
What a week for Jett Howard! He was on fire in the Iowa game, with 34 points (a career high) on decent shooting (12-for-22 overall, 7-for-13 from deep). It’s a real shame that such a brilliant performance was wasted in a loss. He also had 16 points vs. Northwestern.
Dickinson wasn’t much of a force offensively in either game, although he did hit double figures in both games: 12 and 10 points. His bigger contribution this week was rebounding: 13 and 15, for a pair of double-doubles.
The most pleasant surprise this week was the emergence of McDaniel on the offensive end. He has done a nice job running the point, but there were many games when he seemed scared or reluctant to shoot when he was open. Not this week: he scored 12 points at Iowa (a career high), then topped it vs. Northwestern with 17 points. He also had 7 and 5 assists, against only 1 and 3 turnovers.
Bufkin only hit double figures in one game, but he was the leading scorer, with 20 points vs. Northwestern. He had 9 points at Iowa. He was very efficient vs. Northwestern: 9-for-11 overall, 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
Tarris Reed, Jr. has become a key defensive player. He has drawn the toughest assignments, and done a nice job. Coach Howard has played both Reed and Dickinson at the same time for several stretches lately, and it’s worked out pretty well. Reed doesn’t always score many points (2 and 6 this week), but he plays solid defense and grabs some rebounds. He’s getting better every game.
Joey Baker chipped in 3 and 7 points this week, including a couple timely 3-pointers.
Will Tschetter is getting to play more, and he’s delivering. He plays good, solid defense, and he even chips in some points: 7 and 4. The only downside? He gets out of control occasionally with cheap fouls.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
Williams plays decent defense, and gets the occasional rebound, but he is next to worthless offensively. He only had 5 points in each game. Michigan needs more scoring from him.
Who Else Played?
Jace Howard played in the Northwestern game, but failed to score.
Once again, Michigan just held even this week. They were expected to lose at Iowa and beat Northwestern, and that’s what they did. They are still looking for a win against a good, ranked team.
They still look a lot like an NIT team, not an NCAA Tournament team.
Mid-Term Grades
With 17 games down, and at least 15 left to go, it’s time for mid-term grades.
Freshman Eligibility
Gregg Glenn III (C) – Gregg hasn’t played much (4 games, 11 minutes), and he hasn’t scored much (6 points). He hasn’t looked very comfortable out there in his limited action.
Jett Howard (A-) – Jett has started every game, and he’s looked good-to-great out there. He is 2nd on the team in scoring average (15.5 points/game), and is 1st on the team by a lot in made 3-pointers (47). He’s shooting a nice percentage overall (45.1%) and from deep (40.2%). He’s fast, he’s strong, and he’s supremely confident.
Youssef Khayat (C+) – Youssef has played in 6 games, for a total of 31 minutes, and he’s scored 9 points. He is 3-for-5 shooting 3-pointers. He plays hard and fast, but not always under control.
Dug McDaniel (B+) – Dug went from a luxury to a necessity overnight when the main point guard (Jaelin Llewellyn) went down with a season-ending knee injury in Game #8 (see below). He hadn’t done much up until that point, but since he’s been starting, he’s gotten better every game. He’s 4th on the team in scoring average (7.1 points/game), and 1st on the team in assists (58). Unfortunately, he’s 2nd on the team in turnovers (30). He’s the fastest player on the team, and he’s fearless out there.
Tarris Reed, Jr. (B) – Tarris has become a defensive specialist who occasionally chips in some points. He has played in all 17 games, has scored 57 points, and has grabbed 59 rebounds. He’s another player who is improving every game.
Jackson Selvala (Inc.) – Jackson was a team manager who walked on as a player. He is part of the practice squad. He has played in 3 games for a total of 6 minutes, and he hasn’t scored yet.
Will Tschetter (B-) – Will was voluntarily redshirted last season, so he has freshman eligibility. He’s played in 12 games, and scored 32 points. He plays solid defense when he’s in.
Sophomore Eligibility
Isaiah Barnes (B-) – Isaiah has played in 11 games, and scored 14 points. He’s looked pretty good when he’s out there, but he seems to be pretty far down the bench right now.
Kobe Bufkin (A-) – Kobe has started every game, and is 3rd on the team in scoring (12.6 points/game). He acts as point guard when McDaniel isn’t out there, and he’s done a good job.
Ian Burns (Inc.) – Ian is on the practice squad, and has only played 3 games for 8 minutes, and hasn’t scored yet.
Cooper Smith (Inc.) – Cooper is on the practice squad, and has only played 2 games for 4 minutes, and hasn’t scored yet.
Junior Eligibility
Hunter Dickinson (A-) – Hunter is an enigma. When he gets fired up, he’s the best player on the court, but he seems to just drift through the game much of the time. Maybe it’s just his “game face”, but he often looks and acts disinterested or bored out there. Still, he leads the team in scoring (17.8 points/game), shooting percentage (57.2%), rebounding (151), and blocked shots (29). If only we could get him to play “fired up” more often…
Jace Howard (C) – Jace has found a role as a defensive specialist. He’s played in 15 games, but only scored 20 points. He occasionally tosses in 3-pointer; he’s 4-for-7 from deep this season.
Terrance Williams II (C-) – Terrance is the weak link on the team this season. He’s started every game, and he’s a good defender and rebounder, but he’s not helping much on the offensive end: 7.0 points/game.
Senior Eligibility
Joey Baker (B-) – Joey has played in all 17 games, but he’s only averaging 4.6 points/game. His role is “3 and D”, and he’s done pretty well shooting 3’s: 2nd on the team in made 3-pointers (19), shooting 38.3% from deep.
Jaelin Llewellyn (B-) – Jaelin did pretty well in the 8 games that he played before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. He averaged 7.0 points/game, and had 22 assists against only 9 turnovers. It’s a shame about his injury.
What’s Next?
This week, Michigan plays two games. On Thursday (01/19/2023, 7:00 p.m., ESPN), they play at Maryland, then on Sunday (01/22/2023, 1:00 p.m., BTN), they play Minnesota in Crisler Arena.
Maryland is currently 11-6 (2-4 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#16) Illinois and (#24) Ohio State, and unimpressive losses to Wisconsin and Rutgers. Michigan has already played Maryland this season, beating them soundly in Crisler Arena on New Year’s Day, 81-46. None of the Maryland players looked very good in that game, but Donta Scott is their best player. You can expect Maryland to be pretty fired up for this game, since Michigan embarrassed them last time. It’s always tough to win on the road, and I expect this to be a tough game.
Minnesota is currently 7-8 (1-4 in Big Ten), with an impressive win over Ohio State, and unimpressive losses to DePaul, UNLV, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, and Nebraska. This is another team that Michigan has already played this season. Michigan’s lone Big Ten game in early December (12/12/2022) was at Minnesota, and Michigan beat them easily, 90-75. The final score was deceptive, since Michigan could have won by 25-30 points if they had wanted to. If Michigan can trounce them on the road, they should be able to handle them at home.
Check back next week to find out what happened and why.
The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 9-6 (3-1 in Big Ten).
What Happened?
Michigan played a pretty good game against a pretty good PSU team, but they played a pretty poor game against MSU. If they had played in the MSU game the way they played in the PSU game, they probably would have won. It’s tough to win on the road, especially in the Big Ten, and it’s even harder in a rivalry game. That’s why it’s such a shame that Michigan didn’t take advantage of a mediocre game by MSU.
Game Flow
The PSU game was a game of runs. It was a seesaw affair for the first 4 minutes, with PSU getting their last lead, 8-7, at the 15:49 mark. At that point, Michigan went on a 13-2 run to go up 20-10 with 12:17 to go in the half. Note the difference there: 11 points. That number will show up a lot in the rest of the game flow. Michigan kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for the rest of the half, pushing it up to 11 points a few times (there’s that number again). It looked like UM was going to lead by 11 points at halftime, but PSU hit a half-court buzzer-beater to cut it to 8 points, 42-34. Early in the 2nd half, Michigan pushed the lead back up to 11 points a couple times, the most significant of which was 47-36 at the 18:51 mark. Over the next 4 minutes, PSU went on a grinding 11-0 run to tie the game up (47-47) with 15:06 left. It was very frustrating, watching all the “dry” Michigan possessions in a row. UM finally woke up, and pushed the lead back up to 11 points (58-47) with 12:57 to go. In fact, they got the lead as high as 14 points (61-47) at the 11:20 mark. They still led by 14 points (68-54) with 8:25 to go, when PSU went on another 11-0 run, to cut the lead to 3 points (68-65) at the 4:28 mark. The Michigan lead was still only 3 points (72-69) with 2:17 left, when Michigan closed out the game with a 7-0 run to win by 10. It was a good, solid win against a good, solid Big Ten team.
The MSU game was very frustrating. The game was right there for Michigan to win. MSU didn’t play very well, but Michigan played even worse. MSU’s defense didn’t stop Michigan, Michigan stopped themselves. The first 15 minutes (yes, 15 minutes) were ragged and choppy. Neither team was shooting well, and the score was tied 14-14 with 5:08 left in the half. You read that right: each team had 14 points in 15 minutes. Lots of missed shots and turnovers. It was ugly. Unfortunately, MSU finally got on track offensively in the last 5 minutes of the half, and finished the half on a 13-4 run to lead 27-18. MSU kept it going in the 2nd half, and kept the lead in the 10-12 point range. It was still 10 points (47-37) with 6:02 to go when Michigan made their push to get back in the game. They got as close at 4 points (47-43) at the 3:55 mark, but MSU kept the lead in the 5-7 point range for the rest of the game. UM did get back within 4 points (57-53) with 13 seconds to go, but that was as close as they could get. MSU hit a pair of meaningless free throws with 0:00 left to make it a 6-point game.
Stats
The game stats for the PSU game were decent. Michigan shot pretty well overall (27-for-58 = 46.6%), they shot 3-pointers well (8-for-19 = 42.1%), and they shot free throws decently (17-for-25 = 68.0%). They won the rebounding battle (37-35) and the turnover battle (3-8). They won this game with good shooting and very low turnovers.
The game stats for the MSU game were miserable. Michigan shot very poorly overall (19-for-55 = 34.5%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (3-for-20 = 15.0%), and they shot free throws well (12-for-16 = 75.0%). They lost the rebounding battle (38-34), but won the turnover battle (10-12). They lost this game with absolutely terrible 3-point shooting. 3-for-20 is ridiculous, especially since most of the shots were wide open and not contested. If Michigan had hit anywhere near their season average from 3-point range, they would have won easily.
Dickinson was the high scorer for Michigan in both games, with 17 and 18 points. He shot pretty well (6-for-10 and 8-for-16), he grabbed 6 and 7 rebounds, and he even hit another 3-pointer.
Bufkin also hit double figures in both games, with 14 and 15 points. He didn’t shoot particularly well: 5-for-12 overall (1-for-4 from deep) vs. PSU, and 4-for-11 (0-for-3 from deep) vs. MSU.
Jett Howard was the third player to hit double figures in both games, with 14 and 10 points. He was one of the main problems with 3-point shooting vs. MSU. He was open, and he kept firing away, but he only made 2 shots on 6 attempts. Michigan needed him to be hot.
McDaniel had one good game (12 points vs. PSU), and one horrible game (0 points vs. MSU). He’s another player who could have won the MSU game with a decent game, but he was 0-for-4 shooting.
Williams had a decent game vs. PSU (8 points), but a lousy game vs. MSU (3 points). He was the leading rebounder in the PSU game (9 rebounds), and he got 4 more vs. MSU, but he was worthless offensively in the MSU game.
Tarris Reed, Jr. is getting better and better backing up Dickinson, scoring 5 points in each game. He is playing with more confidence each game.
Joey Baker had one good game (9 points vs. PSU), and one miserable game (0 points vs. MSU). He was another key offender in the “bad 3-point shooting vs. MSU” category, going 0-for-3, all good looks.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
No one looked “not-so-good” this week, although several players had weak games in one of the two games.
Who Else Played?
Isaiah Barnes played in both games, but failed to score.
Jace Howard played in both games, but failed to score.
Will Tschetter played in the MSU game, and scored 2 points.
After getting closer to being a “bubble team” for the Big Dance by beating Maryland last week, Michigan just held even this week. They were expected to beat PSU and lose to MSU, and that’s what they did. The win over PSU will help their chances a little, and the loss to MSU will hurt their chances a little, so it’s a “push”.
They still look a lot like an NIT team, not an NCAA Tournament team.
What’s Next?
This week, Michigan plays two games. On Thursday (01/12/2023, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2), they play at Iowa, then on Sunday (01/15/2023, TBA, BTN), they play Northwestern in Crisler Arena.
Iowa is currently 10-6 (2-3 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Seton Hall, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, (#15) Indiana, and Rutgers, and unimpressive losses to TCU, Eastern Illinois, Nebraska, and Penn State. They have one noteworthy player (Kris Murray) and some height (a 6’10” guy and a 6’11” guy). This is another team that Michigan needs to be able to beat if they want to go to the NCAA Tournament. Michigan has always had a tough time in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, so this will be a challenging game. Michigan can win if they play like they did vs. Maryland and PSU, but not if they play like they did vs. MSU.
Northwestern is currently 12-3 (3-1 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#20) Michigan State, Illinois, and (#15) Indiana, and unimpressive losses to Pittsburgh and Ohio State. They have a couple noteworthy players (Boo Buie and Chase Audige), and some height (a 6’10” guy and a 7-footer). Northwestern is MUCH better than predicted for this season, with three impressive wins in the Big Ten. This game looked like a pretty sure win when the preseason predictions came out, but now it looks quite challenging. Michigan needs to play their “A” game to win this one.
Check back next week to find out what happened and why.
Phil and Clint discuss Michigan’s crushing loss to TCU in the College Football Play-off semifinals. With audio from QB JJ McCarthy, RB Donovan Edwards, and Jim Harbaugh.
Phil Callihan 0:14 We’re going to talk about Michigan falling short, by a score of 51 to 45. Losing to TCU in the college Football playoff semi final. Well, Clint, what did you think about this one?
Clint Derringer 0:30 It was shocking. It was it was totally out of left field, in kind of all three phases, just I don’t think I wouldn’t say that Michigan looked flat, as if they didn’t, you know, weren’t ready or didn’t want to be there. You know, they played with a lot of energy. But it was a sloppy, it was a sloppy, and there was a moment in the first or maybe early second quarter, where I kind of told my family where I was watching, I said, you know, it’s crazy even on tackles where they go down, the balls keeps popping out, right? Like they’re fumbling, every, every time they get tackled and hit the ground, the balls coming out, you know, it was it was just ugly, and a bad feeling from from the start that they were not playing as sharp, or as crisp plays, as we have seen for almost the whole last two seasons. So that was a bad feeling that obviously the scoreboard was, you know, got lopsided quickly felt a lot like the Georgia game last year. And then the second half, especially the third quarter was, you know, kind of a point of pride, where they showed a ton of guts and determination to claw back into it. And to have a chance. And I really, you know, until really late in the fourth quarter, I didn’t expect the that they would be able to get back into striking distance where they’d have a reasonable chance to win. And they definitely did. They did that all the way up until the fourth quarter, and one too many big mistakes, and they couldn’t dig out from underneath the rubble. So it was it was just strange. It was just strange. But not all bad. It was it was just nothing that I expected, which, you know, goes to show what, you know, what do we know?
Phil Callihan 2:21 Well, Clint, I will tell you, this is the reason I don’t bet money. Because as sure that I was that Michigan was going to put the smackdown on Ohio State. I wasn’t sure in this game. And the frustrating thing is, for all the things that went wrong for all the mistakes and pick sixes and all kinds of other shenanigans that happened. Michigan only lost by six points. And, again, they lost the game. Okay. There’s, you know, let’s acknowledge that right out of the gate. But if there was a time machine, and someone came back and told me that, you know, the litany of everything that would go wrong, and that Michigan only lost by six, I’d be shocked. Okay. And, you know, there was some, there were some things that happened, okay. Now, if this time traveler came back and told me that JJ threw to pick sixes, believe it or not, that wouldn’t have surprised me. Okay. I’m not saying it’s okay. I’m not saying it was expected. But JJ has exhibited such confidence. And you and I have talked about this in previous podcast, there are times where he is so confident in hitting such a small window, that he’s tempted fate. Okay, and we can go back and look through the game films, but you know, and I think what happened is what you can get away with against lesser opponents, you can’t get away with in a game on this stage. Right. So okay, so JJ through to pick sixes. If you had told me that Michigan was going to be first in Gaul, short yardage and struggle in that situation. I wouldn’t be surprised because we’ve talked about that. And you know, it’s interesting because, for me, all these negative tumblers were coming up, right. So when JJ through the first pick six, I was like, yep, that’s he’s been close to that a few times. And you know, we can go back in the podcast and I’ve said, you know, I, I honestly believe that JJ thinks he can throw through defenders sometimes. Right. Okay, so you had to pick six that happened. Obviously, not a good not a good situation. But to have the short end goal now, what happened? Last steer is you had thunder and lightning, right? You had assign Haskins who really was the power. And you had Blake who was the lightning, right? And what kind of exhibited itself last season as the schedule played out is that Haskins could power through and and help the team be more successful in short yardage shortened goal situations right? This year. Blake comes back bulks up a little bit. And and has more of that power. Right? Well, what happened entering this game? Blake went out prior to the Ohio State game. So what we had was Donovan. And again, you know, a talented Running Back but not exactly the power that Blake was able to do. So, again, looking at the things that went wrong, I was like, oh, man, shorten goal that’s, it’s almost like, you know, Michigan’s first and goal the the opponent has us right where they want us. Right. So, so again, when you see that, now, with that said the thing. So there’s two things that happened that I wasn’t surprised by okay. The third thing was how our defense could not shut them down in that second half. And, you know, no disrespect to TCU. But I think out of everything that went wrong, that Michigan can control. And I’m gonna preface that because we’re going to talk about some of the things that irked me that Michigan couldn’t control. Right. But out of the things that Michigan could control, that the defense, you know, again, Michigan scored 39 points in that second half, the defense gave up 30. And you know, again, when you’re when you were outscored 21 to six in the first half. You know, that’s that’s how that works, right?
Clint Derringer 6:56 Yeah, I agree. I agree. The defense was a big surprise. But I wanted to finish the point. On the offense at halftime, Michigan’s points per scoring opportunity, right, where we call a scoring opportunity, a fresh set of downs. First down inside the other teams 40. So at the 40 or closer, you’re gonna have four scoring opportunities in the first half. And they, they had one field goal to show for it, they had the the initial drive, where they turned it over on downs. They had the last fumble after the calm and I’m sure it will talk about on the bomb to to Wilson. And then they had one where they just crossed the 40. And then had a couple of negative plays and penalties that drove them back. They actually had to punt. So for scoring opportunities in the first half, and one field goal to show for it that is, you know, really, it’s what’s bitten Michigan in almost all of their losses in the last two years for sure. And then it hadn’t been as big of a problem this year. We did see some, they weren’t very, they didn’t dominate and punch touchdowns in when you and I talked about it, but at least they scored. Right. And I think the staff has talked about how they, they kind of calculate a metric that they want drives that end in points. So they don’t, they’re not as concerned when when a field goal is the final result. But to have four opportunities and only score wants to have a field goal, their points per drive is actually less than one it was, you know, 0.8 in the first half for the whole game, right they end up with 10 opportunities, so they ended up with six more scoring opportunities and scored on five of them in the second half scored touchdowns. So of the 10. You know, they came kind of really pushing back and eventually kicked another field goals scored five touchdowns that got them up to about 4.0 points per play, but TCU to your point, switching to the defense TCU their averages over seven years or exceeded was exactly seven because they scored every time they got inside Michigan’s 40 yard line. And that ended up being a huge difference, right for every opportunity. TC and a three point advantage even though Michigan had six more opportunities. It’s just crazy that Michigan it’s crazy that Michigan was even in the game and had a chance to win with all of the all of the different and unique ways they found to shoot themselves in the foot.
Phil Callihan 9:44 Absolutely. You know another thing about those pick sixes you know, I would say in my mind the much maligned 3-3-5 Right, not my favorite defense. But one of the things that it allows the five to do right The defensive backs there is that they can take more risks because they have backups. Right? And it was interesting that, you know, I, I painfully broke down the tape again. And, you know, again, you gotta give it to TCU I think the biggest surprise I had is that their defense was better than I thought in the first half. I thought Michigan made some great adjustments. Okay. And, you know, there’s this. I’m gonna say the drive by media, right? Oh, my God, Michigan got thrashed, oh, my God, everything that went wrong. And Michigan only lost by six points. And I will tell you heading into that last couple of minutes stretch, I firmly believe Michigan was going to win. Right. And again, after everything had gone wrong, I think, you know, in final summation is you can’t make that many mistakes and win a game. Okay. You know, and again, we can talk about, you know, you know, the national media will will rave about TCU is Quarterback. And by it, it’s okay, it sounds crappy to say, JJ had to pick sixes and completely outplayed him, right? So I think sometimes, the media mistakes a great story for a great talent. And again, I don’t mean to diss the guy, the guy, you know, plays his heart out, I love the way he plays. But if I have to pick a Quarterback, I’m picking JJ, you know, 11 out of 10 times. And again, it’s unfortunate the way it worked out. Now, we talked about some of the things that Michigan can control. And, you know, I think I’m going to be breaking down this defensive film, probably till next season. And again, just, you know, painful to go back and watch it. You know, I’d really like to see that the Lebanon 11 film for the entire game, kind of be working to do that. But even just breaking down the broadcast. Lots of lots of questions. Now. Okay, so Michigan lost the game, they made too many mistakes. Okay. I want that firmly in the record. And I am going to say, as we have talked about repeatedly, or I’ve talked about repeatedly, and I think you’ve agreed, you know, is that, you know, I’m really befuddled by you know, okay, so here it is. We have Michigan playing their heart out, we have TCU playing their heart out. And you have 19 and 20 year olds facing the media post game. And you know, really heartbreaking for the Michigan side, and elation from TCU. So they will face the music and answer questions about their performance while the referees just skip out into the night. Okay. And I want to be crystal clear that I am not blaming the referees for Michigan’s loss. Okay, Michigan made enough mistakes. But it is, for me yet another example of how you have three main forces in the game. You have the two teams and you have the referees, to you know, the teams answer questions and discuss what happened. And there’s no discussion of what the referees were thinking or what they were seeing. And I’ll tell you what I was thinking, as time was running out on Michigan at the end of the game was, you know, the refs took two touchdowns off the board, okay. No discussion on what they saw on their on their video replays. Again, even the, you know, the broadcast crew thought that, you know, Roman Wilson scored a touchdown. And, again, what view are they watching that they were able to make that decision so quickly that it wasn’t a touchdown. And then later, when you had the Ronnie Bell one, you know, they they take a good amount of time. Okay. So again, when time was running out a Michigan in the game, I’m like, Well, how much time did we lose? Because you took two touchdowns down off the board and, and Michigan had to go on and run some more plays and you know, have a have not great results. So, you know, and again, I Clint, you know, we’ve watched a lot of high school games together. We’ve lot watched a lot of NCAA games, and every couple of games there are inexplicable calls, and no explanation. And when you’re on the losing side, and you mentioned it, you sound like you’re a whiner. Right that’s all your whining and If you’re on the winning side, you just shut the hell up and say, well, it was great call, right, which is exactly what TCU is coached it on that absolutely obvious by definition, targeting call right now, I again, I You gotta sound like I’m whining. Listen, just wait for the next time because there will be a next time there will be a game and listen, sometimes it’s been in Michigan’s favor, I can think of a couple of calls over the last five, six years that have gone Michigan’s way. But again, I don’t know how long we can go like this. Where there’s no like, listen, sometimes it may be Hey, I don’t understand maybe I don’t understand the rules. Okay. And I think it would be great for if the, you know, and again, I’m gonna, I’m going off on a rant here, as you can tell, listen, I completely understand there’s a human element and they make mistakes, right. But again, you have the grown men who have been doing their job for years, skating off into the night, not explaining what they saw or what they did. And you got, you know, JJ and Mike Sanders still and Donovan Edwards, up there facing the heat. And same on the TCU side. And I just, I think it’s fundamentally unfair. And I don’t like it. And you know, I’ve spoke about this before. And, again, it irks me to no end that, you know, and, you know, we’re talking about that targeting call, right? Hey, listen, I understand they probably didn’t want to kick that guy out. And next game. Hey, that’s not what the rulebook says. Okay. I am one of the biggest critics of the targeting call. Okay. You know, again, it’s, it seems to be very shaky when it’s called. That was the very frickin definition of it. Okay. And I just, you know, of course, TCU has coats as well, I thought the made the right call. Yeah, of course you did. Right? Of course, you did. So I just, you know, again, adding an extra layer of frustration here on this game, and we’ll just wait till the next time it happens, because it’ll happen again.
Clint Derringer 17:16 And then there was there was a really, really awful roughing the passer call that benefited Michigan, where there’s, what are you even looking at what there was? No, you know, there was no way that it could have appeared to be either late or overly physical. Right. So it was what that the reason that that bothers me is that it gives the impression that the referee felt that he had to have an impact on the game, right? And that, well, that guy, you know, are the one guy made a bad call. So you know, we got to even get back out and help. It makes more of a mess, it makes more of a mess, when when, when that feeling is creeping into anybody’s head, you know, and whether that’s how it’s going or not, or if they’re just if it’s subconscious, that a referee feels that, you know, with your Michigan got jogged on that call, the next close one should go their way, you know, that you can’t keep that calibration tight, you know, to the line, right? It’s gonna wobble wobble wobble, and all of a sudden, the wheels fall off. So just just call it correctly, right. And then, when you and I are old enough that we watched a lot of college Football before replay ever existed, right, and NFL games as well. And my, the best part, when they instituted replay for me, was the if it’s not conclusive, right, if there has to be inconclusive, or there has to be absolute, no conclusive video evidence to overturn a call, it has to be clear as day on the video to overturn what the referee called right. And that was the best part like, when in doubt, give it to the guy who made the call in real time, the guy that you’re paying to be the official. So any replay that you need to pause and kind of squint your eyes and kind of lean into, that’s too close, it’s too close to make a change stick with what was called, they should be making these much, much quicker. It should be clear as day. Yep, I see it right. Sometimes you might need a second or a third angle, right? I’m glad that there are different TV angles for some of these calls to get made correctly. And reversed. You know, I think replay still in theory is a good thing. But they’re going to such finite detail on slow motion replays and splitting hairs that if it takes that level of analysis, then stick with what the referee called on the field, right? That’s why you pay those guys and the delay AES in the timing and the flow of the game is also impacted by that. So just take a look, show me all three views. No, I’m sticking with what the guy said. I would rather they say that over and over and over quickly, even though it would, you know, there would be times that you get even more times that the human eye hurts our team. Right. But if it was quicker, and, you know, it had to be absolutely crystal clear, then I would, I would love for that. And I think they did that well, early in the life of video replay. And now, everything is, you know, rehashing the Zapruder film from from the JFK assassination.
Phil Callihan 20:40 You know, and you know, another point, right. So, and again, this is a point that has irked me before this game, right? These are supposed to be the best crews. Could you imagine what the bad crews do? Okay. And Clint, we don’t need to imagine. Okay. When Michigan was struggling during the, you know, the end of the brady hoke era, the rich Rodriguez era, it was very clear that we were getting the bottom of the barrel referees, okay. And I remember, you know, being at the stadium, and I’d say, Well, this is what happens when the games don’t matter, right? Because you would see things that was inexplicable. Like, what view are you looking? So again, it to me, it’s a larger issue. And I think that, you know, and we’re going to have some offseason podcasts to focus on this, you know, exclusively but, again, if there’s going to be something good that comes from the NFL money, the expanded sports betting, there’s going to be more there’s going to need to be more transparency on the performance of the referees, how they’re graded. If this is the best you got, I’m not impressed. Okay. And again, I know that there’s a human element in it, right? But the idea, hey, have a guy come out and say, Hey, I saw this view was a, it was a, you know, a game time decision, or, you know, it was a it was I had to make a call, and I made the call I can live with that. I can’t live with how inexplicable it is. Right? Like, you have to believe that, you know, the broadcast team has way more angles. What are they looking at, right? And again, just, Hey, show me the view, you looked at, hey, I thought it said this, I can live with mistakes. I can’t live with the lack of accountability. And again, it’s it’s been a long term, you know, that somehow the the referees are deified, right, like, well, we can’t say anything. Well, you know, what, when you have all these camera angles, like you said, Either use them or don’t. But when you have all these angles, you know, another thing that bugs me, is that, so here, this is a really important game, right? One of the three most important college Football games of the season, okay, college Football playoffs, you know, the two semis and then the finals, you should have every camera angle you need, you should have a camera or right down looking down on the on the goal line, right. And it’s funny, because you mentioned you know, there was a play that went against TCU. I think TC TCU got jobbed in the game, they lost, okay, there was a play in the overtime, where the refs were so worried about, you know, where the fumble went, that I think they missed, the guy scored a touchdown, and they should have won. Right? And there’s no discussion of it. It’s just Oh, well, that’s, you know, the broadcast crew mentioned it and, you know, just moving on, because it’s not, you know, we’re all part of the machine here, right, we all need to just say everything is is bright and smiley. And, again, just when you have so much riding on the game, if it is not painfully clear, then like you said, go with the human element. And I just, you know, it’s like, you know, you mentioned that it looked like the referee was, you know, gave them a makeup call, Hey, you know, get the call, right? Don’t do makeup calls. You know, this isn’t hockey, you know, come on your it’s not your job to keep the game close. And, you know, I will mention that the bulk of the money on this game was on Michigan. Okay. And you sit there and watch some of these calls. And, you know, I’m not saying it’s fixed, but boy, boy, interesting. Interesting. Right? I again, it’s just, there’s going to need to be more transparency. You know, listen, it is very it’s widely known that when Lloyd Carr was the coach at Michigan, he complained to the big 10 Because they had a referee. Who was impair had impaired sight? Who was a referee? Come on, right? Listen, I feel bad for the guy. But you can’t you can’t have that. Right? So you just wonder if this is the best you got? What are the lower tier, what’s happening at the lower tier games. And like I said, I have an idea, because we saw it for a while. So again, Michigan lost the game, I want to be very clear on that they lost the game, because they made too many mistakes. But there are a couple of things that we did see here that I think are going to need to be fixed as we move toward this larger playoff. And I think that, you know, again, everybody can get better, right? You know, and it’s interesting, because, you know, we got JJ, who was super upset in the postgame,
J.J. McCarthy 25:54 I’ll credit to them. They win the game in the 60 minutes that was played, and, you know, they’re a good Football team, no matter what it is, that they they got the win, and fought our hearts out. There’s a lot of things that we could have done better, I can’t wait to watch the tape. But we’ll be back and I promised Coach Harbaugh.
Phil Callihan 26:15 Harbugh being grilled about that, you know, trickeration play that they tried,
Jim Harbaugh 26:21 Because we thought it would work. You know, and I take full responsibility for it not working and should have should have, should have had should had something different called not working. You know, put that one. But then when I made, but they had it, they had it wired. And then they added, well defended. And I sit here now yeah, definitely would like to wish I would have called a different way.
Phil Callihan 26:50 You know, he’s up there answering questions. So you’re telling me that the refs can huddle. And, you know, here, we want to know what you were seeing on these five plays? Shoot, Clint, I could deal with it, even if it was a week from now. Okay, even if they don’t want to do it after the game. But this idea that, you know, in the big 10, you know, that the coaches need to go to the Big Ten’s office and, you know, send in a request and, you know, because I really trust the big 10 office, right, which I don’t, you know, but again, this idea that it’s all, you know, the appearance of impropriety is a problem, okay? It needs to be transparent. And, you know, we need to know how many times refs are graded down for missing a call. We need to know how many times we’re I forget the gets the rules wrong. Listen, I get the rules wrong. Okay. If if it comes out, like they’re really big to say, Man, you would not believe how many times video replay reaffirms that the refs got it. Right. Well, then explain it. Explain the rule. Okay. It’s, I think it would only help the game overall. Because, again, the casual fan don’t know, don’t always know all the rules. And again, with the way the rules teens, switching between NFL and NCAA and high school, sometimes I get the rules confused. So again, there’s, you know, a rant about that. And, you know, so, Clint, when you’re when you’re looking at this game, I think one of the bright spots is you did have moody hit that massive 59 yard field goal. And, you know, that was a bright spot in the darkness that kind of kept the embers alive for Michigan. What other things did you see that that you were happy with? Or you were encouraged by?
Clint Derringer 28:44 Well, the I agree, I thought it was a fitting kind of end for moody in his career. You know, again, I’m on the record saying I think Jake moody is that the greatest kicker in Michigan’s history. So I’m glad that he got to kind of make his mark on this game. It was He was huge for the team when things were darkest right before halftime, and to go from 21 to three to 21 to six. Right before you know on the last night for the first half is there’s not nothing right and to do to do it on a 59 yarder that breaks the Michigan record for longest ever, and sets the record for the fiesta bowl as well for the longest field goal ever. Well deserved to find another way to write Jake Moody’s name in the history books. So all of that was was certainly a positive. I thought Michigan when they decided start using JJ in the running attack. It was it was good. I think it helped kind of fuel the comeback in the third and the fourth quarters. The downside to that is that in my opinion, they waited too long to do that. I understand. You don’t want to run your quarter back, I think early with the two with the fear that you know, he gets hurt in the first or second quarter. And now you’re, you know, your whole game plan is shot. That would be obviously pretty bad. But once you were down, you know, two or three scores, you know, in the second quarter, I think that they should have kind of tweaked the running attack to try to create wider lanes and the opportunity for explosive plays that we’ve seen when JJ McCarthy is a running threat. And he has to be accounted for the other team is more likely to make mistakes. And we saw it in the third quarter where JJ McCarthy actually ran his his touchdown in from from about 2025 yards out so I think that was a positive it reinforces what we’ve been saying about what he brings to the run game. It just comes with a little bit of a sour aftertaste because I think they waited too long to go to that. I thought the the deep ball accuracy from JJ McCarthy was good. You know, he hit Ronnie bell on a touchdown over the middle, you hit Roman Wilson on what probably should have been a touchdown. deep over the middle. So the the offensive gameplan was not bad. Right? These they scored 45 points without the aid of any defensive or special teams. touchdowns. Right? So if you told me that they’re gonna score 45 points and like, yeah, that sounds about right. Sounds like they’re gonna win. Right? So I just don’t think that offense was the problem, despite the problems that we saw in the red zone. And really the mistakes that are on JJ McCarthy specifically are the two pick sixes right? I don’t know that those are gameplan or offensive coaching staff calls or problems. The on the defensive side, created three turnovers, right, that’s another big that’s the most that we saw this year for this team. That was great. Those led to some of those shot plays, you know, on those sudden changes, Michigan was able to take some of those, those deep shots down the field right after those turnovers. So that was great. And there were some questions about whether Jessie Minter really changed what he wanted to do on his game plan in this game, and I’m not I don’t know, I’ll look a little closer when I get to rewatch the film. To see if, if he was more aggressive, it’s certainly bid Michigan more in this game than we had seen it before. Right when he was aggressive and bringing pressure. We saw Michigan Miss tackles, and they went the whole way. So I’m not sure if there was a huge significant difference in how Jesse mentor called his pressures, especially on third downs. But TCU again, you gotta tip your cap to the team that won the game. They made the plays, and were able to break a tackle, and then take it the whole way. It’s kind of the reverse of what we were able to do against Ohio State when when they were aggressive. So I think that there was a there was a lot of positives, like I said, for the mountain of negatives from all directions in all three phases of this game. The fact that Michigan had the ball with a chance to win is is a huge testament to what how much they must have been doing right. And also their their mental toughness and their ability to kind of fight back through all of that adversity, because it was an avalanche of it was an avalanche of trash that they had to fight through. And they did and gave themselves a chance to win. And when you come up six points short, when you handed the other team 13 points, and interceptions and, you know, fumbled the ball away and inside the five yard line, you know, to be that close is you know, they should have won this game by multiple scores, if they could have played as clean as their second worst game, whatever their second sloppiest game was maybe Illinois, I would think if they had played to that level, they probably would beat this TCU team or would have won that game with that level of execution. But the sloppiness and in that Fiesta Bowl was just on a whole nother level.
Phil Callihan 34:39 Yeah, and I think I think this one definitely stings for me. But I think this is going to sting for the team because like you said, okay, one pick six is bad luck. Another pick six, okay, I mean, you had one pick six that you know here On one hand, it looks like Michigan was following their typical game plan. Big first possession going down to score didn’t score, right? And, you know, TCU spins out and gets a 41 yard. You know, pick six, and then Michigan’s coming back. And you know, you kind of hoped that they kind of got that out of their system. And then, you know, in the third quarter TCU manages a 28, a 29. Yard pick six. So it’s like, you know, if you’re okay, for example, and I, you know, not to always come back to betting, but can you imagine what the odds were for TCU to have to pick sixes, okay. You could have won quite a, quite a pretty penny, if you’d been able to bet on that before the game. But the point of it is that you can’t GamePlan for that, right. You can’t say, Well, we’re gonna get our to pick sixes that we normally get. Yeah, well, yeah. When that’s when that’s your main offensive weapon. Right. But you know, that’s what’s frustrating is, you know, I feel like you do, I expected Michigan to score about, you know, 45 points in this game doesn’t surprise me a bit. What shocks me is, while TCU scored 51 Yeah, but two of those touchdowns were right. And again, it’s it’s smarts, because, you know, there are games that you lose. And there are games that you run out of time before you can win. And I definitely felt that this was a game where, you know, Michigan got knocked on their butt in the first half. And they came out firing, the disappointing thing was, again, you know, you look at that, and TCU scored 32nd 32nd, half points, Michigan scored 39. But again, you’re down because of that, you know, those not being able to execute well in the first half. So, you know, again, it’s frustrating. It’s disappointing. You know, the critics will say that Michigan lost in the semis again. And this is a completely different game than what happened versus Georgia last year. And it doesn’t mean it’s gonna sting any less. And you look at this, and, you know, JJ was our greatest strength. And JJ had, you know, arguably his worst game, because of those pick sixes. So it’s it to me, it’s going to be really interesting. You know, how JJ deals with this over the next nine months, because nine months is a long time to stew on on those facts. And, you know, after the game, he said everything right. And said, he’s gonna be back. And you know, and I liked JJ a lot. Okay. I, you know, when I say, JJ thinks he can throw the ball through anybody, you know, I think you need that as a Quarterback, right? You need to have that confidence, you need to have that overwhelming belief in your skill. Right. And, you know, JJ certainly wasn’t hanging his hat in this game. He was, he came back, guns blazing, leading the team back in that second half. But, again, to pick sixes, right. So, you know, you know, between JJ and the pick sixes and kolel. Mullins, you know, on that fumble, and, again, he shouldn’t be in that position. And, and I think that when I talk about all the, you know, all the, the tumblers coming together, right, it’s like, oh, the, I think this is the game. You know, I don’t think this is the game we miss Blake the most because of his running style. And, you know, you can wonder what happened to CJ Stokes. Where was he? You know, he’s on a milk carton somewhere. He’s, uh, he’s on a milk carton, you know, on one side, and Andrew Anthony’s on the other, you know, as far as players who I think I had high expectations for, but again, it’s not Club’s fault. You know, he’s the guy who’s up because Blake’s down. And I think, you know, I was watching this game and I’m like, oh, man, this is the game. You know, there are pictures of Blake on crutches before the game and, you know, it’s like, oh, I you know, as the game progressed, I think he was the biggest difference by his absence.
Clint Derringer 39:30 Yeah, I would say this also, we’re obviously specifically to the to the Michigan point of view here but taking a step back to have two semifinal games that were really really hyper competitive and very entertaining on New Year’s Eve was was a really great was kind of a great day for the sport nationally, the feedback. There hasn’t been a lot of negative Michigan spin and it’s been much more positive TCU and more appreciative that both games were fun to watch. But the fact that both games were close with, with Ohio State being up 14 points in the fourth quarter on Georgia and letting it slip away. It’s clear that Michigan is on the level that they could have won a national championship this year. And that is, you know, to your point, that’s what makes this thing much worse. But, you know, I would say that that’s the final positive for me is that it’s clear, the foundation is built for a championship program, it’s been proven in terms of the big 10 Championship, it’s been proven that the program is built in a way that can beat Ohio State at home and on the road. And it’s clear that they are in, you know, right in the mix, to to win a national championship, even as good as Georgia has been this year. And, and with the rest of the SEC, I mean, Alabama looked really great in their ballgame. But, you know, but that team lost twice in the SEC. So they, they have some questions the same way that Michigan did this year. So I would say, as the calendar turns into 2023, there, there’s a lot more positive foundational pieces to build on moving forward. And the players that we’re talking about in this in this conversation, many of those guys are coming back and are going to be the leaders on that team next year. So we liked a lot of the language and what we heard from the players in the coaches last year after the last GA they reiterated that they weren’t just happy to be there, they wanted to be able to win. They played in this game and had a chance to win and should have been able to win this game. But they didn’t get it done. So let’s let’s hope and see if if Michigan can kind of take these mistakes, and immediately get to work on trying to correct these things as well. And and just take that next step forward and win in the semi finals and give your your give yourself a chance to play for a national title and hopefully, you know, execute crisply two times at the end of the year here and and there’s no reason that this team can’t compete right back at the same level next year.
Phil Callihan 42:38 So while the game was going on, I was able to step back and I said a couple times, man, what a great game right now. I hope that it was a great game, we were going to come back and win. But you know, there’s a I tweeted out during the game, there’s a GIF of Russell Crowe from gladiator saying are you not entertained? Right. And whenever it’s a game like this, I you know, I tweeted out to our followers because, again, this is why you watch right now, of course you want Michigan to win, but from a Football perspective, you know, and stepping back even a little bit further. Okay. What is the say about the big 10 that you could say you could make a strong case that, you know, two plays difference, okay? Ohio State somehow makes that feel gold snicker snicker right. And Michigan has one less pick six. And it’s a big 10 national championship. Right. So again, it is a you know, I think it says a lot for the strength of the conference. You know, I think, you know, Michigan’s gonna have to bounce back from this, right? Because, because this one’s going to leave a Bruce. Okay. And, you know, on one hand, they say, you know, the worst thing that can happen is that you just miss your goal, right? I mean, last year, you know, that game was over by halftime. I was there, right? It was, it was Michigan was not going to get by GA on that day. And you know, that Michigan definitely struggled, you know, down at halftime, but whereas last year, you know, they didn’t get any closer. This year, that second half, they look like a team that was that was gonna win a national championship if they had a little bit more than time. So, again, you look at that and you say, Okay, you’re getting closer, right. But again, I really wonder, you know, you know, hopefully they will use it as fuel to to get even better. And, you know, as as Coach Harbaugh said, they’re really
Jim Harbaugh 44:57 Really proud of them really proud of the fight. I’ve been a locker room of heroes the entire season. And as I stand in front of them, that’s, that’s, that’s who they are. And it’s, it’s what they are. That was super proud of. And that’s why you doing you’d never give up. Never give in. Never let up. Just keep playing keep playing the game one play at a time. And yeah, I’m sure there’s a lot of analogies to life with that. But, you know, they’re, they’re real. And our team continues to do that done it all year. And, you know, did did it right up until to the end and great season that ends one week early. One, one last big play one more big play by us. One more opportunistic play by us one less opportunistic play by them. And it’d be it’d be a different situation. But yeah, it was a it was a it was a great Football game. And congratulations to TCU.
Phil Callihan 46:07 How do you sustain that effort in the offseason and come back?
Donovan Edwards 46:11 It sucks that we lost again, you know, our whole season of preparation has been to win a national championship. And this is the second year that, you know, we’ve lost in the 14th game of the season. So, you know, we’re just like, we’ll be back. Same things we said last year.
Phil Callihan 46:29 And, you know, we’ll be here to see. Yeah,
Clint Derringer 46:31 I mean, it’s, you gotta be able to look forward through the offseason. And certainly this, this team has given us a lot of great moments this year in 22. And ended on a sour note, of course, here that should be able to fuel enough entertainment value through the offseason, as as we try to figure out whether they can take that next step forward. So it’s, it was fun. I wish that there was one more game to break down for sure. I will do the best that I can to appreciate what this season was. Because I know that it doesn’t come around all that often.
The loss and the win leave Michigan with a record of 8-5 (2-0 in Big Ten).
What Happened?
Talk about a mixed up week! Michigan was expected to handle CMU easily, and have a real uphill battle to stay with Maryland, and exactly the opposite happened. Michigan played terribly against a mediocre CMU squad, and lost in the last 11 seconds, then they played their best game in several seasons against a powerful Maryland team, and beat them soundly. The CMU loss ranks as one of the top (bottom?) two or three most embarrassing losses since I’ve been following Michigan basketball (since 1974), and the Maryland win is one of the most impressive I’ve seen in the last 20 years. That’s all mixed up!
Game Flow
The CMU game started out innocently enough, with UM opening up a quick 7-point lead, 7-0, at the 17:14 mark. They kept the lead in the 4-6 point range for most of the half, pushing it up to 8 points (23-15) with 5:49 to go. Unfortunately, they went cold at that point, and let CMU go ahead, 27-25, with 28 seconds left. Michigan hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left, and led by 1 point at halftime, 28-27. Michigan stayed ahead for the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half, by 3-5 points, but CMU pulled ahead again, 36-35, with 16:14 to go. The lead went back and forth for the next few minutes, and UM led 44-42 with 12:12 left. CMU went up for a while, but UM tied it up (49-49) with 8:18 to go. CMU kept going ahead by 1-3 points, and UM kept tying it up. It was tied 60-60 with 3:14 left, and Michigan actually led 61-60 with 2:27 to go, but CMU hit an off-balance 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, and UM missed 2 shots in the last 4 seconds to lose the game. It was stunning.
There was a very odd sequence in the 1st half of the game. From the 5:55 mark to the 3:54 mark (2 minutes and 1 second), there were 5 offensive foul calls in a row, with 3 against CMU and 2 against Michigan. It’s rare to see 5 offensive foul calls in a complete game, but unheard of to see 5 offensive foul calls in a row in 2:01. The refs didn’t cost Michigan this game, they blew it on their own, but the officiating was, let’s say, “unusual”.
After the stunning loss to CMU, I don’t think many fans expected UM to stand much chance against Maryland. As I pointed out in my scouting report last week, Maryland started the season 8-0, and they were ranked as high as #13 at one point. They had dropped out of the Top-25 (at #26), but they were still having a much better season than Michigan. It looked like a blowout, and it was, but not the way we were expecting. Michigan looked like a completely different team, charging out of the gate and running Maryland off the court in the first 6 minutes of the half. Michigan scored the first 17 points, on 7-for-7 shooting, and led 19-1 at the 13:57 mark. In those first 6 minutes, Maryland missed their first 10 shots, including four 3-point attempts, and they had 3 turnovers to boot. After hitting a 3-pointer at the 12:09 mark to make it 19-4, they missed 8 more shots in a row over the next 5+ minutes, and were down 27-4 with 6:50 to go in the half. They made a couple baskets and a couple free throws to pull within 22 points (35-13) with 2:29 to go, but Michigan finished the half with a 9-0 run to lead by 31 points at halftime, 44-13.
The second half was more of the same. Michigan kept the lead above 30 points for most of the rest of the game, only letting Maryland get within 28 once and 29 once, before pushing the lead up to 38 points (63-25) with 10:38 to go. Michigan kept the lead in the 35-37 point range the rest of the way, winning by 35, even with the practice team on the floor for the last 3 minutes. It was a thorough butt-whipping, and easily the best game that Michigan has played this season.
Stats
The game stats for the CMU game were miserable. Michigan shot poorly overall (20-for-57 = 35.1%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (6-for-22 = 27.3%), and they shot free throws decently (15-for-21 = 71.4%). They lost the rebounding battle horribly (44-32), but won the turnover battle (9-14). They lost this game with poor shooting and lousy rebounding. They let CMU grab 17 offensive rebounds for 23 second chance points.
The game stats for the Maryland game were mixed. Michigan shot well overall (28-for-56 = 50.0%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (3-for-11 = 27.3%), and they shot free throws well, and often (22-for-29 = 75.9%). They crushed Maryland in rebounding (49-30), and tied in the turnover battle (13-13). They won this game with free throw shooting and rebounding, and great defense. They held Maryland to 26.5% overall shooting (18-for-68).
Note that three of the starters are from “the DMV” (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia). These three players accounted for 51 of Michigan’s 81 points vs. Maryland. Dickinson in particular took the game vs. Maryland personally, and played with passion.
Who Looked Good?
Dickinson was definitely the star of the Maryland game, with 32 points and 12 rebounds for a solid double-double, but he had a disappointing game against CMU, with only 13 points and 6 rebounds. He shot very well vs. Maryland (13-for-16), but only 3-for-9 vs. CMU. He played with fire in his eyes against Maryland, but looked disinterested in the CMU game. If he could have played with the same intensity vs. CMU, Michigan might have avoided the upset loss.
Despite the team scoring 81 points, Williams was the only other Michigan player in double figures vs. Maryland, with 11. He only had 2 points vs. CMU.
Bufkin was the leading scorer vs. CMU, with 16 points, but he only scored 5 points vs. Maryland.
McDaniel almost hit double figures in both games, with 10 vs. CMU and 8 vs. Maryland. He did a decent job running the offense in both games, but he had as many turnovers (3 and 3) as assists (4 and 2) on the week. He needs to work on cutting down his turnovers.
Jett Howard hit double figures in the CMU game (12 points), but had a miserable game vs. Maryland (6 points). He shot poorly in both games: 4-for-14 overall (3-for-11 from deep) vs. CMU, and 1-for-7 overall (0-for-4 from deep) vs. Maryland.
Joey Baker chipped in some points off the bench: 3 and 7.
Tarris Reed, Jr. did pretty well backing up Dickinson, scoring 2 and 4 points.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
No one looked “not-so-good” this week, although several players had weak games in one of the two games.
Who Else Played?
Isaiah Barnes played in both games, and scored 0 and 3 points.
Ian Burns played in the Maryland game, but failed to score.
Gregg Glenn III played in the Maryland game, and scored 2 points.
Jace Howard played in both games, and scored 2 and 0 points.
Youssef Khayat played in the Maryland game, but failed to score.
Jackson Selvala played in the Maryland game, but failed to score.
Cooper Smith played in the Maryland game, but failed to score.
Will Tschetter played in both games, and scored 1 and 3 points.
Who Didn’t Play?
Everyone played in at least one game this week (Maryland).
What Does It Mean?
After the CMU game, it looked like Michigan would be lucky to win another game this season. Every Big Ten team is better than CMU. Then they came out blazing vs. Maryland and won by 35 points. Go figure! So, now they have a convincing win over a good team, which is nice, but they have a lot of work to do before they can think about the Big Dance. They still look a lot like an NIT team, not an NCAA Tournament team.
What’s Next?
This week, Michigan plays two games. On Wednesday (01/04/2023, 7:00 p.m., BTN), they play Penn State in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (01/07/2023, 2:30 p.m., Fox), they play at Michigan State.
Penn State is currently 11-3 (2-1 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#17) Illinois and Iowa, and unimpressive losses to Virginia Tech and Clemson. They have a noteworthy player (Myles Dread) and some height (a couple 6’10” players). This is exactly the kind of team that Michigan has to beat to finish in the top half of the Big Ten this season. PSU is playing better than predicted, and this looks to be a very challenging game.
Michigan State is currently 9-4 (1-1 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over (#4) Kentucky, Villanova, and Oregon, and unimpressive losses to Notre Dame (by 18 points) and Northwestern. After the Kentucky and Villanova wins, they were ranked for a couple of weeks, as high as #12, but they are currently in the “also receiving votes” list. They have a few noteworthy players (Joey Hauser, A.J. Hoggard, and Malik Hall), but not much height (one 6’11” guy). It’s tough to win on the road, especially in the Big Ten, and especially in an intense rivalry game like this. MSU will be very pumped up to beat Michigan, and Michigan will have to play like they did against Maryland to beat the Spartans.
Check back next week to find out what happened and why.
