The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won one and lost the other.  On Tuesday (02/01/2022), they beat Nebraska 85-79 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/05/2022), they lost at (#4) Purdue 82-76.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 11-9 (5-5 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

The win over Nebraska was embarrassingly close, and felt like a loss, and the loss at Purdue was closer than expected, and felt like a win.  After the way Michigan crushed Nebraska in Lincoln back in December, 102-67, it was reasonable to expect them to win by at least that much in Crisler, but no.  Instead, Michigan played a miserable game and Nebraska played with fire and determination.  The lead bounced back and forth in the early going, with neither team able to get a lead bigger than 4 points.  It was all tied up, 20-20, with 10:21 left in the 1^st half when Nebraska started pulling away.  They got the lead up to 10 points (36-26) with 4:57 to go, let Michigan creep to within 3 points (36-33) with 2:40 left, built it back to 10 points (43-33) at the 1:17 mark, and led by 7 points (44-37) at halftime.  Michigan came roaring back out of the halftime break, ripping off a 20-3 run to lead by 10 points (57-47) with 13:57 to go.  Just when it looked like Nebraska was going to fold and give up, they went on a 19-3 run of their own, to reclaim the lead, 66-60, with 8:51 to play.  They pushed the lead up to 7 points (73-66) with 6:08 to go, when the biggest play of the game turned the tide.  Keisei Tominaga of Nebraska had come in off the bench and scored 5 big points, including a huge 3-pointer at the 6:08 mark, and he was all fired up.  He was all over the court, hustling and diving and playing good defense.  He got a little too much of Hunter Dickinson’s arm when he tried to block his shot, and he got called for the foul.  He lost his mind, and ran around the court yelling and waving his arms.  It was the most out-of-control reaction I’ve seen since Bobby Knight threw a chair back in the 70’s.  Well, he certainly deserved a technical foul, and he got it.  Michigan made all 4 free throws, which cut the lead to 3 points (73-70), and Nebraska never recovered.  Michigan finally went ahead for good, 77-75, with 2:27 left, although Nebraska did tie it up, 79-79, with 1:20 to go.  Michigan scored the last 6 points of the game to win by 6.  It shouldn’t have been that close.  Thank goodness for Tominaga losing his cool at a crucial moment.  He cost his team the game.

So much of supporting a team depends on expectations.  Michigan was expected to blow out Nebraska, and they just squeaked by, so it felt like a loss.  Michigan was expected to get clobbered by big, bad Purdue on the road, and they only lost by 6 points, so it felt like a win.  Purdue jumped out to a decent lead early, 20-8 with 12:33 left in the 1^st half.  They kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for much of the half, but Michigan clawed their way back to within 1 point (32-31) at the 4:31 mark.  Purdue pushed it back up to 6 points at halftime, 39-33, but Michigan cut it back to 1 point (41-40) with 18:24 left in the game.  The teams traded baskets, and it was still a 1-point game (45-44) at the 16:47 mark.  This was the turning point in the game.  Twice during this stretch, Michigan was down 1 point with the ball, made a basket that would have finally given them the lead, only to see it waved off as an offensive foul.  Twice in two minutes.  It really felt like Michigan could have pulled off the big upset if they could have gotten the lead, even just by 1 point, but the two offensive fouls killed any chance of that.  Both calls were highly questionable, and Purdue got the benefit of “home cooking”.  After the second offensive foul, Purdue pulled away, pushed the lead up into the 9-11 point range, and kept it there for most of the rest of the game.  Michigan did manage to get within 4 points (76-72) with 2:19 left, and they got the ball back, but they turned the ball over and that was the game.

Stats

The stats for the Nebraska game are just so-so.  Michigan shot decently overall (28-for-60 = 46.7%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (2-for-15 = 13.3%), and they shot free throws well enough (27-for-33 = 81.8%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (39-24), and tied in the turnover battle (11-11).  They won this game with decent overall shooting and good rebounding.

The stats for the Purdue game are deceptive.  Michigan shot well overall (29-for-52 = 55.8%), they shot 3-pointers well (8-for-18 = 44.4%), and they shot free throws well (10-for-12 = 83.3%).  They lost the rebounding battle badly (32-22), and they lost the turnover battle as well (11-7).  They lost this game at the foul line.  Even though Michigan shot free throws well, Purdue shot them a lot more: 17-for-21.  That 7-point difference is just about the difference in the final score.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson has been on a tear, starting with the San Diego State game on 12/04/2021.  He has been the leading scorer for Michigan in 9 of the last 13 games, with 23, 19, 22, 25, 21, 25, 26, and 28 points in those games.  The 28 points vs. Purdue ties his career high.  He outplayed and outscored Purdue’s 7’4” monster.  He just needed more help.

Jones is the only other player to hit double figures in both games this week, with 18 vs. Nebraska and 13 vs. Purdue.  He still isn’t great on his assist/turnover ratio, with 2 assists/2 turnovers vs. Nebraska and 4 assists/3 turnovers vs. Purdue.  He was called for the two costly offensive fouls in the 2^nd half vs. Purdue, although both calls were shaky.

Brooks almost hit double figures in both games, with 20 points vs. Nebraska and 9 points vs. Purdue.  It was nice to see him score some serious points in the Nebraska game.

Houstan had a decent week, with 6 points vs. Nebraska and 11 points vs. Purdue.  His 3-point shooting was off this week: 0-for-3 vs. Nebraska and 2-for-6 vs. Purdue.

Diabate had one decent game (6 points vs. Nebraska) and one sad game (2 points vs. Purdue).

Terrance Williams II had one decent game (6 points vs. Purdue) and one sad game (1 point vs. Nebraska).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Kobe Bufkin had a tough week, with 2 and 3 points.

Frankie Collins had a tough week, with 3 and 0 points.

Brandon Johns, Jr. had a tough week, with 3 and 3 points.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard only played in the Purdue game.  He didn’t attempt a shot, but he did hit a free throw.  He plays great defense, and he helped force Purdue into a backcourt violation, and almost helped force a second one.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Adrien Nuñez, and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play.

Zeb Jackson is no longer on the team.  He entered the infamous “transfer portal” mid-season, which is kind of unusual.  He played a bit last season, but not much this season.  We wish him well.

Ian Burns, Jaron Faulds, and Brandon Wade are the scout team players who didn’t play.

What Does It Mean?

Michigan was expected to win the Nebraska game and lose the Purdue game, and that’s what they did.  These results don’t change Michigan’s chances for post-season play.  They’re still a little ways from “on the bubble” for the NCAA Tournament.  They need to spring a few upsets to solidify their chances.  The Purdue game was another such opportunity, but Michigan didn’t take advantage of it.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan is scheduled to play three games.  On Tuesday (02/08/2022, 9:00 p.m., ESPN2) they are scheduled to play at Penn State, on Thursday (02/10/2022, 9:00 p.m., ESPN) they are scheduled to play (#4) Purdue in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/12/2022, 6:00 p.m., ESPN) they are scheduled to play (#16) Ohio State in Crisler Arena.  The Purdue game on Thursday is the rescheduled game that was postponed on 01/11/2022.  This means that Michigan will play Purdue twice in 5 days.  It also means that Michigan will play 3 games in 5 days.  Yikes!

Penn State is currently 9-10 (4-7 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Iowa, and no unimpressive losses.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they don’t have much height (a couple 6’9” forwards).  This is a road game that Michigan can win, but they have to be very careful.  PSU is better than their record would indicate, and they’re 7-3 at home.

Purdue is currently 20-3 (9-3 in Big Ten).  Since they just played (and beat) Michigan this past week, they are easy to scout.  Things went pretty much as expected: Purdue had a big advantage down low with 7’4” Zach Edey and 6’10” Trevion Williams.  Michigan has a very slim margin for error, but if they play their best game, they could pull off the upset.

Ohio State is currently 14-5 (7-3 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over (#21) Seton Hall, (#1) Duke, (#22) Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Minnesota, and unimpressive losses to Xavier and Indiana.  They have one noteworthy player (E.J. Liddell) and some height (one 6’11” center).  Obviously, looking at who they have beaten, this will be a very challenging game.  This is a game Michigan can win, but they have 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 won one and lost the other.  On Wednesday (01/26/2022), they beat Northwestern 72-70 in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (01/29/2022), they lost at (#10) Michigan State 83-67.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 10-8 (4-4 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Even though the final score was close in the Northwestern game, Michigan led for almost the whole game.  They led by 3-5 points for most of the 1^st half, and by 3 at halftime (34-31).  They pushed the lead up to 11 points quickly in the 2^nd half (48-37 with 17:10 to go), then they just … stopped.  In the next 7 minutes, here’s what they did on offense:

• Missed 3-pointer
• Made basket
• Offensive foul
• Turnover
• Offensive foul
• Turnover
• Missed free throw
• Made free throw
• Offensive foul
• Missed basket
• Missed basket

At this point, Northwestern had scored 14 more points, so the score was tied 51-51 with 10:06 to go.  Once they got back in the game, Northwestern pulled ahead, and got up 7 points (62-55) at the 5:09 mark.  Fortunately, Michigan went on a 7-0 run to tie it up, 62-62 with 3:24 left.  Northwestern led one last time, 64-62 at the 2:29 mark, then Michigan got the lead back for good.  They led by 5 (70-65) with 58 seconds left, and survived a furious Northwestern rally to win by 2 points.  It was a close, hard-fought game.  It was also a very poorly officiated game, with 46 fouls called in 40 minutes, 24 of them on Michigan.  All three of the offensive fouls listed above were … questionable.

It’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, it’s tougher to win at Michigan State, and it’s even tougher still to win at Michigan State when you’re Michigan, in a big rivalry game.  Michigan managed the tempo, built a decent lead in the 1^st half, and kept things under control for the first 18 and a half minutes.  With 1:32 left in the 1^st half, MSU led by 1 point (36-35), and they added a 3-pointer to make it a 4-point lead at halftime, 39-35.  Unfortunately, Michigan couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle, and MSU opened the 2^nd half with a 6-0 run in the first 3:10 to go up by 10 points, 45-35.  Once they had a double-digit lead, they kept it there for virtually all of the 2^nd half, and won by 16 points.

Stats

The stats for the Northwestern game are great.  Michigan shot well overall (23-for-41 = 56.1%), they shot 3-pointers really well (8-for-12 = 66.7%), and they shot free throws well enough (18-for-26 = 69.2%).  They won the rebounding battle, barely (25-24), but lost the turnover battle (13-9).  They won this game with solid overall and 3-point shooting.

The stats for the MSU game are terrible.  Michigan shot miserably overall (23-for-62 = 37.1%), they shot 3-pointers horribly (3-for-19 = 15.8%), but they did shoot free throws reasonably well (18-for-25 = 72.0%).  They actually won the rebounding battle (36-32), and they tied in the turnover battle (13-13).  They lost this game with miserable shooting.  It didn’t help that MSU shot 50% (9-for-18) from 3-point range.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Houstan was the only player to hit double figures in both games, with 18 points vs. Northwestern and 11 vs. MSU.  He shot a very nice percentage (5-for-7 overall, 3-for-5 from deep) vs. Northwestern, and a reasonable percentage (3-for-6 overall, 1-for-3 from deep) vs. MSU.

Dickinson almost hit double figures in both games, with 9 points vs. Northwestern and 25 points vs. MSU.  He was limited to 30 minutes in the Northwestern game by the whistle-happy officials.  He fouled out with 2:29 left in that game.

Diabate also almost hit double figures in both games, with 8 and 11 points.  He was limited to just 22 minutes in the Northwestern game by the whistle-happy officials.  He fouled out with 1:51 left in that game.

Jones had one good game (15 points vs. Northwestern) and one mediocre game (6 points vs. MSU).  He shot very well vs. Northwestern (4-for-5 overall, 1-for-1 from deep), but not so well vs. MSU (2-for-7 overall, 0-for-3 from deep).

Brooks finally had a good game (12 points) vs. Northwestern, but a mediocre game vs. MSU (8 points).  He shot well vs. Northwestern (4-for-7 overall, 3-for-4 from deep), but not so well vs. MSU (3-for-11 overall, 1-for-4 from deep).

Terrance Williams II didn’t score many points this week (3 and 2), but he played a crucial role in the Northwestern game.  With Dickinson and Diabate limited by phantom fouls, he was called on to play power forward for 11 minutes, even though he’s about 3 inches too short for a Big Ten power forward.  He only hit one shot, but it was a huge 3-pointer with 2:08 left in the game that put Michigan back in the lead.  Even more importantly, he played solid defense against bigger, taller players.  He didn’t do much in the MSU game.

Jaron Faulds only played in the Northwestern game, he didn’t attempt a shot, and he missed 2 free throws with 8 seconds left, but he was still an important part of the win.  He played for 5 minutes at center, including the last 1:51 when both Dickinson and Diabate were fouled out, and he held the fort.  He and Williams played tough, solid defense against the Northwestern big men, and managed to bottle them up just enough to save the win.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Kobe Bufkin had a tough week, with 2 and 3 points.

Frankie Collins had a tough week, with 2 and 1 points.

Brandon Johns, Jr. had a tough week, with 3 and 0 points.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard only played in the Northwestern game.  He didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Zeb Jackson, Adrien Nuñez, and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play.

Ian Burns and Brandon Wade are the scout team players who didn’t play.

What Does It Mean?

Michigan was expected to win the Northwestern game and lose the MSU game, and that’s what they did.  These results don’t change Michigan’s chances for post-season play.  They’re still a little ways from “on the bubble” for the NCAA Tournament.  They need to spring a few upsets to solidify their chances.  The MSU game was one such opportunity, but Michigan didn’t take advantage of it.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan is scheduled to play two games.  On Tuesday (02/01/2022, 9:00 p.m., BTN) they are scheduled to play Nebraska in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/05/2022, 2:30 p.m., FOX) they are scheduled to play at (#6) Purdue.

Nebraska is currently 6-15 (0-10 in Big Ten).  They have no impressive wins, and a few unimpressive losses: Western Illinois, Creighton, and Rutgers (twice).  Michigan has already played them once, in Lincoln, and they whomped them 102-67.  In that game, one of their players (Alonzo Verge) scored 31 points against Michigan, but he didn’t have much help.  Their big men were no match for Dickinson and Diabate.  If Michigan can beat them by 35 points on the road, they can certainly handle them at home.

Purdue is currently 18-3 (7-3 in Big Ten).  They have several impressive wins: (#18) North Carolina, (#5) Villanova, Iowa (twice), NC State, (#17) Illinois, and (#16) Ohio State.  2 of their 3 losses have been puzzling: Rutgers and Indiana.  They have several noteworthy players (Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey, Sasha Stefanovic, and Trevion Williams), and great height (a couple 6’10” guys, and a 7’4” monster).  Edey is the tallest player in the Big Ten, and while he’s not as powerful or physical as Kofi Cockburn of Illinois (no one is as powerful as Cockburn), he’ll be a tall challenge (pun intended) for Dickinson.  Even more, Williams is strong and physical, and he’ll be an even bigger challenge for Diabate.  Michigan is used to having an advantage down low, but they’ll be the underdogs in this matchup.  Mackey Arena is a tough place to play, and Michigan hasn’t had much luck there lately.  This will be a major upset if Michigan can pull it off, but a blowout loss is much more likely.

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

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (01/18/2022), they beat Maryland 83-64 in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (01/23/2022), they won at Indiana 80-62.  The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 9-7 (3-3 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Michigan really needed a win going into the Maryland game, and they got it, comfortably.  They led from start to finish, built a solid lead, and held off every Maryland rally.  Michigan scored in the first 14 seconds off the opening tip, Maryland tied it 2-2, then Michigan hit a 3-pointer to go ahead for good.  They pushed the lead up to double figures (20-9) with 10:59 left in the half, then pushed it up over 20 (35-14) with 3:14 to go.  The lead was 20 points (39-19) at halftime, and Michigan kept it in the 18-22 point range for most of the 2^nd half.  At one point, Maryland crept within 13 points (57-44) with 11:12 left in the game, but Michigan pushed the lead back up to 19 points (63-44) with 9:03 to go, and that was the last gasp for Maryland.  Coach Howard put in the subs for the last 3:00, and they did a fine job protecting the lead.

The win at IU was the most impressive win of the season so far for Michigan.  IU was coming off an exciting home victory over (#4) Purdue, and they were undefeated at home.  They were fired up, and the game was broadcast nationally on CBS.  It didn’t look promising for Michigan, but they played their best game of the season, and won convincingly.  Michigan trailed 2-0 and 4-2, then they went ahead 6-4 with 16:27 left, and never trailed again.  They quickly pushed the lead up to 9 points (14-5) at the 14:38 mark, then up to 16 points (29-13) with 7:16 to go in the half.  They let IU whittle the lead down to 8 points (38-30) at halftime, but they pushed it back into double figures (44-34) at the 18:23 mark, and kept it in the 10-12 point range for the rest of the game.  IU got within 9 points once (52-43) with 14:14 to go, but that was as close as they got, and Michigan pulled away in the final two minutes to win by 18 points.

Stats

The stats for the Maryland game are very nice.  Michigan shot well overall (35-for-60 = 58.3%), they shot well from 3-point range (8-for-20 = 40.0%), and they were perfect shooting free throws (5-for-5 = 100.0%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (32-20), and they won the turnover battle (8-13).  They won this game with solid overall and 3-point shooting.

The stats for the IU game are wonderful.  Michigan shot very well overall (29-for-51 = 56.9%), they shot fabulously from 3-point range (11-for-17 = 64.7%), and they shot free throws well enough (11-for-14 = 78.6%).  They crushed IU on the boards (36-26), but they did lose the turnover battle (14-8).  They won this game with great overall and 3-point shooting.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson was the star of both games, with 21 points vs. Maryland and 25 points vs. IU.  He not only scored a lot of points, but he did it with great shooting: 10-for-14 overall (1-for-2 from deep) vs. Maryland, and 9-for-12 (3-for-4 from deep) vs. IU.  These are his two best games of the season so far.

Houstan had the two best games of the season so far as well.  He scored 16 points vs. Maryland and 19 points vs. IU.  He also shot well: 6-for-7 overall (3-for-4 from deep) vs. Maryland, and 7-for-12 (5-for-7 from deep) vs. IU.

Diabate also hit double figures in both games, with 14 and 10 points.

Jones almost scored in double figures in both games, with 12 and 7 points.  He had 7 assists against 3 turnovers vs. IU.

Terrance Williams II had one good game (10 points vs. IU) and one sad game (0 points vs. Maryland).  He shot 4-for-5 (2-for-2 from deep) vs. IU.

Brandon Johns, Jr. returned to the lineup in the IU game after missing 3 games due to COVID-19 issues, and he looked good.  He scored 5 points, shooting 2-for-2 overall (1-for-1 from deep).

Frankie Collins also had a decent week, with 6 and 2 points.  He’s getting better every game at running the point.

Jace Howard had a nice week, with his best game of the season vs. Maryland (5 points, including a nice 3-pointer), and a minute of mop-up action vs. IU (no shot attempts).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

What’s up with Brooks?  He had a mediocre game vs. Maryland (7 points), and a lousy game vs. IU (2 points).  He’s supposed to be a senior leader at shooting guard.

Kobe Bufkin had a tough week, with 0 points in both games.

Who Else Played?

Jaron Faulds played in both games, scoring 2 and 0 points.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Zeb Jackson, Adrien Nuñez, and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play.

Ian Burns and Brandon Wade are the scout team players who didn’t play.

What Does It Mean?

These are two big wins.  Sure, Maryland is having a down season, but they came back and beat Illinois handily in the game after they lost big to Michigan.  IU is having a good season, and beating them in Bloomington is a big deal.

Is Michigan back “on the bubble” for the NCAA Tournament?  Maybe, but they still have a lot of work to do.  Was this week just a fluke, or have they turned the corner?  We’ll see in the next few games.  If they can string together 2 or 3 good weeks, then we can start thinking about post-season play.

Mid-Term Grades

With 16 games down, and at least 13 left to go (depending on rescheduling postponed games), it’s time for (near) mid-term grades.

Freshman Eligibility

• Isaiah Barnes (Inc.) – Isaiah is being voluntarily redshirted, so he has only played in 2 games, and hasn’t attempted a shot.

• Kobe Bufkin (C+) – Kobe has played in 13 games so far, and scored 51 points.  He’s looked good in a few games (Prairie View A&M, Southern Utah, and Central Florida) and like a freshman in the rest.  He missed one game due to COVID-19 issues.

• Ian Burns (Inc.) – Ian is on the scout team, and has only played 1 minute in 1 game so far, and he hasn’t attempted a shot.

• Frankie Collins (C+) – Frankie has played in 13 games so far, and scored 46 points.  He’s looked good in a few games (Tarleton State, San Diego State, and Maryland) and like a freshman in the rest.  He missed one game due to COVID-19 issues.

• Moussa Diabate (B) – Moussa has played in 15 games (started 9) and scored 137 points.  He has also grabbed 92 rebounds and blocked 11 shots.  He is very athletic, and brings lots of energy to the team when he’s out there.  He also fouls too much.

• Caleb Houstan (B+) – Caleb has started all 16 games this season and scored 164 points.  He has had several very good games, and a few very bad games.  Even when he has a good game, he’s too quiet out there.  He needs to show some emotion to get the rest of the team fired up.

• Will Tschetter (Inc.) – Will is being voluntarily redshirted, and he hasn’t played this season.

Sophomore Eligibility

• Hunter Dickinson (A-) – Hunter’s stats are actually up from last season, but it doesn’t feel like it.  Last season, he played with fire and intensity.  This season, he often has a blank look on his face, and he appears disinterested.  One aspect of his game is definitely better this season: 3-point shooting.  Last season, he was 0-for-4.  This season, he’s 9-for-23 (39.1%).  He missed one game due to COVID-19 issues.

• Jace Howard (C-) – Jace has played more than expected this season: 7 games, for 42 minutes, scoring 11 points.  He even hit a 3-pointer.

• Zeb Jackson (C-) – Zeb has only played in 4 games, for 35 minutes, and has scored 13 points.  Is he still on the team?  I’m not sure.  He has stayed in Ann Arbor for the last few away games, for “personal” (non-injury, non-COVID-19) reasons.

• Terrance Williams II (C) – Terrance has played more than expected this season: 15 games (started 1), for 80 points.  He’s had a couple great games (Buffalo, Nebraska, and Indiana) and a bunch of forgettable games.  He missed one game due to COVID-19 issues.

Junior Eligibility

• Brandon Wade (Inc.) – Brandon is on the scout team, and hasn’t appeared in a game yet this season.

Senior Eligibility

• Eli Brooks (B) – Eli is another player who isn’t playing as well as he did last season.  He has started every game, and scored 184 points.  He started the season well, hitting double figures in the first 10 games, but since then he has been up-and-down.  His 3-point shooting percentage is respectable (25-for-69 = 36.2%), but it’s really tailed off in the last few games.

• Jaron Faulds (C) – Jaron has played more than expected, in some cases due to COVID-19 absences.  He has played in 8 games, for 36 minutes, and has scored 12 points.

• Brandon Johns, Jr. (C-) – Brandon has been somewhat of a disappointment this season.  As a senior with some starting experience, a lot was expected from him, and he hasn’t delivered.  In fact, after starting the first 6 games, he lost his starting role to Diabate.  He has played in 13 games, and scored 67 points.  He has had one good game (Nebraska) and a bunch of forgettable games.  He missed 3 games due to COVID-19 issues.

• DeVante’ Jones (B) – DeVante’ has started every game this season, and has been the main point guard.  He started the season slowly, but has been improving lately.  As a point guard, we need to look at his assist/turnover ratio (62/30), which is respectable.  His 3-point shooting has been improving, and he’s now up to 43.8% (14-for-32).

• Adrien Nuñez (Inc.) – Adrien has played more than usual this season: 6 games, 26 minutes, 8 points.  For someone who was recruited as a 3-point specialist, his numbers are lousy: 1-for-6.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan is scheduled to play two games.  On Wednesday (01/26/2022, 6:30 p.m., BTN) they are scheduled to play Northwestern in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (01/29/2022, 12:30 p.m., CBS) they are scheduled to play at (#14) Michigan State.

Northwestern is currently 9-8 (2-6 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Georgia and (#10) Michigan State, and not-so-impressive losses to Providence, Penn State, and Maryland.  They have a couple noteworthy players (Boo Buie and Pete Nance) and some height (two 6’10” guys and a 7-footer).  This will be a challenging game, since Northwestern was good enough to beat MSU in East Lansing.

Michigan State is currently 15-3 (6-1 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over Louisville (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) and (#8) Wisconsin, and 2 of their 3 losses are against (#3) Kansas and (#6) Baylor, with a puzzling loss at home to Northwestern thrown in.  They have several noteworthy players (Max Christie, Joey Hauser, Malik Hall, and Gabe Brown), and they have some height (a 7-footer at center).  Michigan could get blown out in this one, but they have the talent to hang around and maybe pull off a miracle, they just need to play one of their rare “A” games.

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

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team was supposed to play two games this past week, but they only played one, and lost it.  On Tuesday (01/11/2022), they were supposed to play (#3) Purdue in Crisler Arena, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the UM program, then on Friday (01/14/2022), they lost at Illinois 68-53.  The loss lowers Michigan’s record to 7-7 (1-3 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

The postponement of the Purdue game was not too surprising, after Michigan had to postpone their previous game, against Michigan State.  Even though Michigan had enough scholarship players to play the Illinois game, they were missing two key players, which made for some crazy lineups and unusual minutes for rarely-used players.

Wait a minute, I thought that Michigan fans didn’t believe in moral victories.  Well, maybe in a good season, but this isn’t a good season.  Even though the Illinois game ended up being a 15-point loss, it was much closer than that for most of the game, with Illinois pulling away in the last couple minutes.  Looking at the lineups that Michigan was forced to cobble together, and the huge size advantage that Illinois had, this game should have been a blowout from the opening tip, with Illinois leading by 30 and 40 points early in the 2^nd half.  That’s not the way it went.  Michigan played gritty, solid defense for the first 35 minutes, and it was only their anemic offense that kept them from pulling ahead and possibly sneaking out a victory.

The game was close for most of the 1^st half, although Michigan never led.  The score was tied 4 times (2-2, 4-4, 6-6, and 10-10) before Illinois pulled away for good.  The Illini pushed the lead up to the 7-9 point range for a while, but Michigan fought back, and were within 2 points (24-22) with 1:54 left in the 1^st half.  Illinois scored another basket, to make it 26-22 at halftime.  Illinois widened their lead in the 2^nd half, going up by 8-10 points for most of the half, but never pulling away.  Once again, Michigan fought back, pulling to within 1 point (45-44) with 7:27 left.  They even had the ball, with a chance to go ahead for the first time, but they missed a layup, and that was the ball game.  Illinois quickly pushed the lead back into double digits, and won by 15.

Stats

The game stats are horrible.  Michigan shot terribly overall (22-for-60 = 36.7%), they shot miserably from 3-point range (1-for-10 = 10.0%), and they shot free throws poorly (8-for-14 = 57.1%).  They lost the rebounding battle (33-32), but won the turnover battle (12-13).  They lost the game due to their horrible overall and 3-point shooting.

Who Started?

The starters were Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, Caleb Houstan, and DeVante’ Jones, and Terrance Williams II.  Hunter Dickinson and Brandon Johns, Jr. were out with COVID-19 complications, so Diabate started at center, and Williams started at power forward.  It was not an optimal lineup against an Illinois lineup with Kofi Cockburn and several other big, strong players.

Who Looked Good?

Jones was the only Michigan player to hit double figures, with 17 points.  He also hit Michigan’s only made 3-pointer.

Diabate gave it a good effort, scoring 9 points, but he only played 20 minutes due to foul trouble.  He was no match on either end against Cockburn, giving up 45 pounds.  When he was out, Michigan was really at a height disadvantage.

Kobe Bufkin had a solid game off the bench, with 6 points on 3-for-5 shooting.

Frankie Collins also had a solid game off the bench, with 5 points on 2-for-3 shooting.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Brooks had a lousy game, with 7 points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Houstan also had a lousy game, with 5 points on 2-for-9 shooting.

Williams also had a lousy game, with 2 points in 31 minutes of “action”.

Who Else Played?

Jace Howard scored 2 points in 15 minutes.

Jaron Faulds scored 0 points in 12 minutes.  With Dickinson and Johns out, and Diabate in foul trouble, Faulds had to try to contain Cockburn for 12 minutes.  He did his best, but that’s a big ask.

Who Didn’t Play?

Isaiah Barnes, Zeb Jackson, Brandon Johns, Jr., Adrien Nuñez, and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play.  Jackson stayed in Ann Arbor, for “personal” (non-COVID-19) reasons, but the rest of them were on the bench.  At this point, it’s obvious that Barnes and Tschetter are being voluntarily redshirted, and Johns was still recovering from COVID-19.  I’m surprised Nuñez didn’t get a few minutes.

Ian Burns and Brandon Wade are the scout team players who didn’t play.

What Does It Mean?

It was encouraging to see Michigan fight back repeatedly against Illinois, and to hang with them for most of the game, especially with the makeshift lineups they were forced to use.  If they can get this kind of effort against some of the lower division teams in the Big Ten, they might actually win another couple games.  Getting the whole team back from COVID-19 would really help.  Hitting some open 3-pointers would also help.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan is scheduled to play two games.  On Tuesday (01/18/2022, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2) they are scheduled to play Maryland in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (01/23/2022, 12:00 p.m., CBS) they are scheduled to play at Indiana.

Maryland is currently 9-8 (1-5 in Big Ten).  Their only impressive win was over (#20) Florida, and they have unimpressive losses to George Mason and Rutgers.  They have a couple noteworthy players (Eric Ayala and Donta Scott) and decent height (a 6’10” guy and a 6’11” guy).  This is one of the few games that Michigan stands a chance of winning, but they’ll have to play their “A” game.

Indiana is currently 12-4 (3-3 in Big Ten).  They have impressive wins over Notre Dame and (#12) Ohio State, and less-than-impressive losses to Syracuse, Penn State, and Iowa.  They have a few noteworthy players (Rob Phinisee, Miller Kopp, Tracye Jackson-Davis, and Race Thompson), and they have a 7-foot center.  This will be a very challenging game for Michigan, especially on the road.  UM has a lousy record in Assembly Hall, and this season’s team is not exactly firing on all cylinders.

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

Go Blue!