This “must win” was no problem for Michigan as they cruised past Minnesota in a 66 possession game. It is pretty obvious but this offense is damn fun to watch when the shots are going in. It was the first time Michigan shot over 40% from behind the arc since the Illinois home win 13 games ago. Novak came out on fire and hit four three pointers in the first 11 minutes of the game and after that the shooting touch was contagious. Michigan rolled to a 40-25 lead at halftime and didn’t look back in the second half.
The supporting cast usually comes out at home and this was definitely the case today. The Northwestern game was all about Manny Harris but this one was all about everyone else. Zack Novak had 18 points while Douglass, Grady, and Sims all added 12 a piece. The game got sloppy down the stretch but Michigan really dominated this one and had a lead greater than 20 points for a nice stretch in the second half. Down the stretch Michigan missed front ends of 1 and 1s, missed quick shots, and let Minnesota get a couple easy buckets but this game was never in question. If you would have told me Manny Harris would have played 22 minutes with 4 fouls, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 turnovers, and 2 assists I would have told you that Michigan lost. I’ll gladly take the easy win without Manny.
Michigan dominated the four factors of the game. They held Minnesota to an eFG% of 49.1% while shootings an eFG% of 56.8% themselves. Michigan also won the turnover battle, forcing Minnesota to turn the ball over on 18.7% of their possessions while only turning it over on 12.5% of their own. The most impressive thing to me was Michigan’s effort on the glass. Minnesota only rebounded 16.7% of their misses, a season low. Michigan didn’t pull down that many offensive boards but that is a hell of an effort on the defensive glass against the 2nd best offensive rebounding team in the conference.
Don’t look now but Michigan has won three of their last five games, are in the midst of their first winning streak since early January, and have scrapped back to a .500 confernece record. A win Sunday in Iowa City would have this thing headed back in the right direction and set up the huge contest with Purdue next week. Michigan has to take it one step at a time and realize that a road trip to Iowa is no cakewalk. The Hawkeyes have had a week to get healthy and prepare for Michigan and they aren’t going to roll over.
Recruiting. Ray McCallum (profile) and Amir(e) Williams (profile) were in the house with what looked to be a bunch of their DCD teammates. Devin Oliver (profile), a 6-foot-5 wing forward from Kalamazoo Central also made it in for his visit.
Player Bullets:
- Zack Novak: On fire: 6 for 10 on three pointers for 18 points in 36 minutes with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Can’t ask for much more from Zack. A couple of those shots looked like fouls in the first half but I saw Hightower explain to Zack at halftime that he wasn’t getting that call because of the way he kicks his leg out on his shot.
- Stu Douglass: 12 points on 6-10 shooting with 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. Solid effort for Stu and he easily could have had a few more points if he made a few more free throws and layups. This is the first game that Stu and Zack have both hit multiple three point shots since Norfolk State on November 25th.
- Kelvin Grady: Great to see Kelvin hitting his shots: 12 points in 14 minutes on perfect shooting (3 for 3 on triples) to go along with 3 assists and 1 turnover. Kelvin looked great against the press and hit all his open looks. I would hesitate to call his performance perfect but it is definitely a start. Kelvin got a chance with Manny getting in foul trouble and he made the most of it, even if he still had a couple defensive lapses (I won’t comment more specifically yet because I haven’t watched the tape).
- Manny Harris: Manny never really got going because of foul trouble and everyone else rolling. It turns out that he wasn’t needed so I guess that is ok. He had some frustrating turnovers (the look on Beilein’s face when he threw that “alley oop” was priceless) but he did a great job on the glass (6 rebounds in 22 minutes) and starting the break off the rebound.
- DeShawn Sims: Peedi got a little jumper happy but he had overall a solid game. 12 points (5-16 shooting), 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. I thought Peedi did a very good job on the defensive glass and he pulled down a lot of tough boards.
- CJ Lee: Not much to complain about with this line: 4 points (1-3 shooting), 4 rebonds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers while leading the team with 37 minutes. CJ got forced into a little extra duty because he had to pick up some of Manny’s minutes at the three (also why Kelvin got a chance off the bench in my opinion).
- Zack Gibson: 6 points (3 of 3 shooting) in only 8 minutes with 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Another solid game for Zack but I think he picked up about three fouls on one possession in the second half and that earned him a seat on the bench. Gibson is giving the offense a nice spark, he is shooting 57% (15/26) from the field in Michigan’s last 6 games.
- Laval Lucas-Perry: 6 minutes, 0-2 shooting, 2 assists for Laval. I liked how he tried to penetrate but he was getting swatted out there. I think this is Laval’s role on this team right now, 8-10 minutes off the bench spelling Stu, and I think I’m ok with it.
- Dave Merritt: 3 assists and a steal in 9 minutes, fine effort for Merritt off the bench. I loved his hustle on the loose ball to cause the tie-up in the second half.
- Jevohn Shepherd: Shep had a couple nice back door cuts but I think he also got caught way out of position in the 1-3-1 in the first half. His final numbers were 2 points on 3 shots in 4 minutes with a steal.
- Eddie Hightower: The man can travel, he has officiated 6 games in 6 days, I think I’ve watched at least 4 of them and been frustrated in every one. It’s not just the players that step up down the stretch. In all seriousness, I think there needs to be some kind of limit on the number of games these guys can officiate in a week.
- Red Panda: The best halftime show made its return to Ann Arbor, I don’t think there is anything cooler than watching someone on a unicycle flip 5 bowls on to their head.
My only criticism was that it was frustrating watching Peedi settle for jumpers. He has so many good moves down low and he didn’t use them at all tonight.
I’m glad Kelvin had a good game. Aside from Novak, Grady is the only player I really feel comfortable shooting 3s, and he was spot on tonight. I know there has been lots of discussion about Grady but I think he really needs to be considered for situational minutes when teams are pressing and when he might get open looks from behind the arc.
Tate’s Ankle Still Hurting
http://illinois.scout.com/a.z?.....8;c=840652 ($)
Great game to weatch, you know it’s going good when David Merritt makes a nifty pass for an easy two.
This win should put us in the field for tomorrow’s ESPN Bracketology… I still think it’s ridiculous how many people there are out there (Michigan fans) who think we still have pretty much no shot to make the tourney and would need to go at least 10-8 with “a few wins in the BTT” to have a chance.
Folks, the bubble is very weak this year due to the fact that mid-majors aren’t as competitive (except for the MWC). It doesn’t matter how PSU, Minny, OSU, etc finish out; 9-9 with one win in the BTT should get us in.
Kelvin proved why he should get 12-13 minutes a game. HIs ballhandling is light years better than CJ. He is just so much more confident with the ball and when his shots are falling thats a bonus
I’m beginning to think that I would rather see us beat Minnesota on the road than Iowa on the road (if we can beat Purdue at home). This would give us a real quality road win over a Top 50 RPI team while also putting us ahead of Minnesota in the pecking order for a Tourney bid… we would be the 6th or 7th team in line rather than the 7th or 8th.
Giddings, I totally agree with you 9-9 would get us in. I don’t even think we need to win a BT tourney game. Will be tough to win in Iowa City, but if we can get Stu or Zach working with Peedi and manny that should give us enough offense to win there. Everyone’s D has gotten better with the insertion of CJ. I thnk the message Beilein sent to Kelvin got through to the whole team. It was a little glimpse into the future tonight of what this offense will look like in a few years. Good luck in Iowa City boys.
Red Panda is awesome! I was very happy to see Grady get a chance to do some things tonight. The lineup with Grady, Lee, Novak, Peedi, and Douglass was playing really well out there. Grady really ran the offense effectively. He did get beat off the dribble 2-3 times which was unfortunate (as did Douglass but Westbrook is extremely quick off the dribble) but he played exceptional offensively. I would love for him to have a role the rest of the season like he played tonight. Grady can be a good spark off the bench and help when the opponents are pressing us. He dribbles through the press like it’s nothing. I’d love to see him get 15-20 minutes every game and help the team as much as he can.
It was a great collective team effort on a night when Manny and DeShawn did not do a whole lot on the offensive end.
Great win tonight, though I can’t understand why DeShawn kept bombing from the perimeter — perhaps he’s frustated because his teammates don’t look for him when he’s on the low block?
My biggest pet peave at Crisler is that I wish the band would play the Victors more — I look forward to the games that the Alumni Band is in atttendance. And why do they keep blaring out so much recorded music?
Great win tonight. Red Panda is the best halftime show EVER!
We are 17-10. 2 more wins will put us on the bubble come Selection Sunday. According the CBS’s mock bracket they filled out last week, we were one of the first four out, and since then we’ve won 2 games. If we win 3 more games we will have 20 wins, a pretty decent RPI, an excellent SOS. I guarantee we will make the tournament if we get 20 wins, regardless if it’s 20 before the BTT or 19 wins and beating a team like IU or Iowa in the first round of the BTT. I say our chances to make the tournament are 50/50 right now.
Another thing I came across just now. Selection Sunday is on March 15. 11 years ago on that exact date was the last time we played an NCAA tournament game, losing to 6-seed UCLA by three points as a 3-seed.
If the tournament started today, we would be in, plain and simple. Expect Lunardi and many of the other bracket sites that update tomorrow to include us in their field of 65.
I am going to work on getting some sort of bubble tracker over the next week as well. Don’t have it laid out yet but if you have any suggestions, shoot me an email (umhoops@gmail.com)
Although as a student I am pissed that the Purdue game is over break, it may actually be an advantage for Michigan to have an early spring break. While players on other teams will have to deal with schoolwork, Michigan will be able to concentrate 24/7 on preparing for Iowa, Purdue, and Minnesota, all during spring break.
We need a WIN in Iowa to set up a packed Crisler arena for the Purdue game. We need secure two wins in the next two games and try to steal a third one. The team does have some momentum now as everyone except LLP is playing up to their expectation.
The Purdue game is not a must win, but it sure as hell would look damn good on our resume. Like I said earlier, 20 wins is all we need. Doesn’t matter how we get them, we just need 20.
It will be sweet to see some of the brackets showing us IN the tourney now.
About Kelvin, although we all think he was getting benched because of minutes, Beilein said it wasn’t any particular part of his game (media-speak maybe, or the mystery continues). Great game for Kelvin though, and the team…
BEAT IOWA!
I meant to say “benched because of defense…”
I thought, even on TV, that Novak got fouled on a couple of those threes. If our buddy told Novak those were “no-calls” due to his leg kick on his shot, are other teams going to go out and start clipping his foot on his shots??? I would. I bet the refs had some sort of memo/meeting about that…..
i have been watching hightower ref games for 25 years or so now. he has sucked for a long time. on top of that, he’s always seemed to have
something against michigan.
Kelvin got beat pretty good off the dribble twice but both times received 0 help. Keep in mind Henderson also made a number of players look foolish.
There was also a play pretty late where someone got an open three and it looked as though half the team was in zone and half in man. Grady was eventually the man to come out but was under the hoop playing 1-3-1 so if they were in zone Lee shoulda stepped out cause he was on the wing but if they were in man it was probably his bad.
I think overall he played solid d, he even went over a screen or two. He seems to be relatively flat footed for someone so quick which is weird.
To Avery Queen:
Grady thought we were in zone, but everyone else was in man. Grady’s man say open for a good 4 seconds before Grady realized it, and by then it was too late.
We need Kelvin to get rid of these mental lapses on defense. Today he played exceptional on the offensive end, but if he continues to have lapses on defense then there’s no way he can be trusted on the floor in a tight game.
To Gary Grant Fan:
I agree 100% about the piped-in music. Please email the Athletic Department. This year they have been very, very receptive to how things are run, especially with basketball. They have been trying to do things to “get the crowd pumped up” but they have kinda lost their vision and made things worse. The music being one of the main culprits. They need to just stick to the band, keep things simple. If enough people email them, maybe they’ll listen.
I think everyone is writing off the Wisconsin game as a loss, and I think more than likely it will end up that way, but let’s not forget about how close we were to winning that game last year, and that was with a much less polished/talented squad. But their slow bigs always give us trouble, so I suppose I shouldn’t be too optimistic.
And how terrible is Jim Jackson? I remember him saying towards the end of the game, “Michigan, being a team that hasn’t won a lot of games…” What an idiot. Has he not done any research this year? I don’t know. Maybe he has called only losses for us. But seriously, going into that game we were a game under .500 in conference play and had 16 wins, including Duke and UCLA, and I’m pretty damn sure he knew that. Just proving what a great education they provide down their to the south…
The tea-cup/unicycle act is the most amazing thing I have seen in my entire life. This is not hyperbole.
Also, I hear a lot of talk from people saying if we beat Iowa and then Purude, that we’re most likely in. I beg to differ. I just can’t see the tournament committee being too excited to accept a team riding a two game conference losing streak to close out the year. If we do lose those last two, we obviously have to win one in the Big Ten Tourney, and MAYBE two.
I’m going with Kelvin on the zone/man play. Pretty sure Beilein was calling or the 1-3-1 and CJ didn’t get the sign. I’ll have to double check.
Red Panda Acrobat Rules!!!!!
That shit was awesome!
Michigan looked pretty good as well.
Regarding the tourney chances, I’ve said this a lot in my diaries at mgoblog, but the first step is to get to at least 9-9 in league.
This may sound like a bad announcer cliche, but at that point we dont need to win a game in the Big 10 Tournament as much as we cant afford to lose one.
We’d be likely matched up against NW, Iowa or IU in either an 8/9, 7/10 or 6/11 game….a loss in those games (especially to Iowa and IU) would be considered a bad loss….and if its our 3rd in row….well, then say hello to the NIT.
But, if UM takes care of business in that game, they’ll be no worse than 10-10 in all Big 10 games this year. They will be in the field w/ a 9-9 record and a Big 10 Quartefinal appearance.
Thats at least how I analyze Michigan’s chances and the rest of the bubble.
I’ve felt for a long time that 9-9 with one BTT win will do it. I still feel that way, although if they somehow finish 8th at 9-9, I guess they could get left out. But I don’t think that’ll happen.
Sunday is HUGE. It’s probably their most winnable game of the last 4. Plus it would keep the momentum going. If they can grab it, I feel like they would be on enough of a roll to grab one of the last 3. Purdue at home is doable and with Minnesota slumping, they might be able to go in there and grab a win.
It’s crazy because every game feels like a tourney game to me now. Man, I hope they win Sunday.
Dylan, I assume you have seen this site, but this could save you some work on the Bubble Tracker….
http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm
Jamie, face it, you just want to bet on us in the tourney.
Great win last night. I watched half at work and then half when I got home and with the exception of some sloppy play with around 5 minutes left they played great basketball. To do what sans Manny was really the biggest statement of the night. We obviously will need Manny down the stretch, but to pick up this win with basically a negligible effort from him was huge.
True, Musket, true…..the moneyline on UM in a 12 vs 5 game may be too enticing to pass up if it gets to the point!!
Did anyone hear the comment Jim Jackson made last night that the Big Ten will only get 6 teams in and maybe 7 if Michigan could win the BTT? Come on Jimmy, I know you went to that school in Ohio but give us a break. In all reality, I think we have to have to win either at Minnesota or at Wisconsin (assuming we win in Iowa City). We have to win 2 more road games this season I honestly think. We only have 2 road wins in conference and the comittee looks at those type of stats more than quality home wins. I think a road win over one of those two is more important than Purdue at home. Sounds crazy I know but I think thats what it will take.
Dylan, I know you like the KenPom site, and I do as well. Saw your shout-out yesterday for him getting credit for predicting our performance in the Big Ten more accurately (and earlier) than most. And I do agree with that. But, I would caution continued praise. His formula still suggests that North Dakota St. (among others) has had a better season than us. That is the definition of a flawed model. I know no formula is perfect and he may have corrected some inherent weaknesses in the RPI, but that’s just not right.
How could you look at our resume vs. Wisky’s side by side and decide that they are #26 and we’re #65? You just can’t do it. Love the site. Thanks for all your work.
I like Jimmy Jackson but it seems like the season is starting to wear him down. He was not sharp last night. BTN seems to have gotten rid of Kendall Gill thankfully and added Steve Smith who is doing a good job so far-class act.
I don’t think KenPom’s rankings have much to do with achievement more so then they do with predicting future games. Then again, it seems like his prediction of future games is heavily skewed towards teams who are strong offensively. How else can you explain the Big Ten being the fifth conference.
I completely agree with you Merlin. Steve Smith seems very educated (although he might be the only Spartan that is) and is completely unbiased in his announcing. I also love the addition of Gus Johnson to the BTN. He has great enthusiasm and once again is unbiased in all the games he has done. I might be the only one, but I can not stand Tim Doyle. He seems to think he is one of the all time Big Ten greats. I would also like to apologize for questioning Zack Novak. He showed last night why he gets his minutes and will in the future. Great win last night!!! Lets keep it up. GO BLUE!!!
I know this has sort of gone under the radar, but I gotta give some serious props to Gibson. I was absolutely hating on him earlier in the year, but during this Big Ten Season it seems like he has matured a ton. Obviously he still doesn’t have a huge impact on the game and still has some mental lapses, but overall his contributions have been huge. We really needed a second big guy to step up and spell Sims for a few minutes at a time, and I think he’s done a more than adequate job.
Drew-I agree 100%. Gibson has really come along. He provides Sims a breather and has actually been finishing around the basket. I would still like him to hit his free throws a little better. All in all, I am pleased with the job he is doing.
Go Blue!
Where are all you Grady haters now!? Haha. J/k. I was really nice to see him get in the game and capitalize though. I think that we can all just agree now that CJ should continue to play his minutes and Grady should replace those of David. With his 3 for 3 performance, he has not established a significant lead in 3pt% on the team. He also showed how valuable speed can be, because his ability to zip around the floor really can open up the offense. It can at least take advantage of lazy defenders or fast break opportunities that normally wouldnt be there. Breaking the press like he does shouldn’t be undervalued. If a team wants to bring the press then we have an instant solution.
I don’t remember Red Panda from my time in Ann Arbor, can someone explain please? When I was in school the best halftime show was “QuickChange” the magician guy that could magically change his clothes, or his hot assistants clothes instantly.
First of all, I haven’t seen this half-time routine. When I was in college a few years ago the best ever was the “spinning kids.” This guy and his wife would come out with a half-dozen (it seemed) young kids of theirs. then they would spin them around and toss them in the air. Just crazy! Very fun, though I’m sure DCFS was keeping a close eye on them. =)
I know a lot of people are down on Grady for defense, and mostly for the right reasons. But I saw last night why he needs to get 8-12 minutes per game (preferrably from Merritt). When he’s in the game the offense seems to work better. They get down the court faster, he finds open guys, and he can even drive the lane.
Dylan will no doubt point out that he can’t finish (which is true), but he draws defenders and finds an open man. He could have had 3-5 more assists if guys just made their shots after he found them open.
I don’t think you start him, and I think you pick your moments with him and CJ based on the opponent. But you HAVE to play him.
Grady did finish on one of his drives to the basket last night. If you want to dissect any player and try to find a play or two where they got beat, well you can do that to any player. If were going to put Grady under this microscope, lets look at Westbrook going around Stu at will, repeatedly all game long! I would not mind seeing Grady and CJ play together some, Stu seems to be playing too many minutes. Please coach , just tell Sims to stop shooting jumpers!!!!!!!!!
I think we saw quick change during one of the out-of-conference games earlier this year. Red Panda was a chick on a really tall unicycle who would balance between one and five bowls on her foot and kick them up and catch them on her head. It was awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIECdLtVTwA
I guarantee opponents are wondering why he doesn’t see more minutes. They are probably happy he doesn’t. Every time we play a buddy of mine’s team, he says “Why doesn’t that guy start? He’s making me nervous.”
Two thoughts on selecting tourney teams…
1) The committee will not be looking at the Big Ten standings, going down the list, and saying “OK, well the Big Ten should get maybe 6 or 7 teams in, so let’s focus on those top 6 or 7 teams and maybe consider the 8th if they make a deep run in the BTT”. There’s no doubt in my mind that a 9-9 Michigan team makes it in over a 9-9 PSU team if they both perform similarly in the BTT… and it’s also likely that 9-9 Michigan gets in over 10-8 PSU. There’s a reason we play games out of conference – the fact is, right now Michigan’s overall resume is probably a little better than Penn State’s, even though the Lions are in 4th place and we’re in 7th/8th.
2) raiderfan makes a good point about the committee looking at how you do on the road, but they also look at your record vs. Top 25 and Top 50 RPI teams. If we beat Purdue at home but lose at Wisc and Minn, I think the boost from a Top 25 RPI win may offset the fact that we’d only have 3 true road wins.
Could someone kindly explain to me what the Manny alley-oop pass was. I looked down at my key board for just a second (clearly blogging does not improve typing fundamental) and looked up only after I hear the ball splat against the back board.
It was a fast break alley oop attempt that was overthrown and went splat against the back board.
It was to DeShawn. He still hasn’t got those under control. I think we are 2 of 17 in alley-oop attempts to DeShawn this year.
“Dylan, I know you like the KenPom site, and I do as well. Saw your shout-out yesterday for him getting credit for predicting our performance in the Big Ten more accurately (and earlier) than most. And I do agree with that. But, I would caution continued praise. His formula still suggests that North Dakota St. (among others) has had a better season than us. That is the definition of a flawed model.”
very flawed…it even takes into account penis size…not really, but yes anytime ur rated below a Dakota school the alarms go off.
“Dylan, I know you like the KenPom site, and I do as well. Saw your shout-out yesterday for him getting credit for predicting our performance in the Big Ten more accurately (and earlier) than most. And I do agree with that. But, I would caution continued praise. His formula still suggests that North Dakota St. (among others) has had a better season than us. That is the definition of a flawed model.”
very flawed…it even takes into account penis size…not really, but yes anytime ur rated below a Dakota school the alarms go off.
I think as long as we get to 9-9 we are in. I think B10 sends 6/7 and we are the 6th team in. 7th team goes to either 10-8 PSU or 9-9 Minnesota.