UM Hoops.com

Basics Who: Michigan (3-1) vs. Alabama (3-2) Where: Milk House, Orlando, FL When: Sunday, November 29th, 5 PM EST TV: ESPNU Radio: MGoBlue, WTKA (AM 1050) Old Spice: Bracket, Preview

No real preview because I’m traveling and haven’t caught any of the Alabama games.

Michigan needs a win over the Crimson Tide to escape Orlando with an acceptable 2-1 record. Alabama picked up a pretty nice win over Baylor but they are still far from a complete team. Anthony Grant has been on the job for only a couple months and his program is very much in a transitional state.

I haven’t seen them play this year, but from what I understand, Alabama is a similar team to Creighton and Marquette in terms of style of play but they lack Marquette’s skill and Creighton’s experience and discipline.

Michigan has to worry about the inside outside duo of  JaMychal Green and Mikhail Torrance. Green is the man inside, averaging 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks. Torrance is the outside threat, shooting 40% from three point range and averaging 16.8 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game.

A way too early look at the Tide’s statistical profile shows that they have been able to score the ball extremely efficiently but haven’t been able to stop anyone. On offense they hold onto the ball, get to the line, and crash the glass. But on defense they have had loads of trouble defending the three point shot (38.6%) and have allowed opponents to rebound 40% of their misses.

This is a game that Michigan simply has to have. Predictions and in game discussion belongs below in the comments.

This moment was bound to come. The one where everyone says “What the hell? This isn’t a top 15 team!” Pre-season rankings are an extremely inexact science, they are based largely on last year’s results and a quick look over what players are returning. At this point, they probably aren’t a top 15 team but that shouldn’t change your outlook on the season one way or another.

Luckily this isn’t football. You don’t have to run the table and losses not only happen, they are prevalent. A college basketball season is a constantly evolving being with hundreds of variables changing by the second. November games are fun but barring disaster, they have little consequences.

Last November Anthony Wright was starting for Michigan at the power forward. In December, it was Jevohn Shepherd. In conference play, Zack Novak led the team in minutes, playing the same power forward position, while Wright and Shepherd sat on the bench.

The bottom line is, the team we saw today will look nothing like the team that we see by March. They will continue to gel, the freshmen will improve, and everyone will become more accustomed to their roles.

If Michigan can take care of Alabama on Sunday (5 PM, ESPNU), this weekend should still be considered a success. 2-1 was the most realistic result to begin with and a serving of humble pie should certainly do this team good going forward.
Continue reading ‘Game 4: Michigan vs. Marquette Post Game’

Basics Who: Michigan (3-0) vs. Marquette (5-0) Where: Milk House, Orlando, FL When: Friday, November 27th, Noon EST TV: ESPN, ESPN360.com Radio: MGoBlue, WTKA (AM 1050) Line: Old Spice: Bracket, Preview Opposition Blog: Cracked Sidewalks

There is no time for Michigan to hang around because they will be back on the court at noon tomorrow taking on Marquette.

The Golden Eagles lost their dynamic backcourt of Jerel McNeal, Dominic James, and Wesley Matthews but they are no slouch. Marquette rolled to four easy wins over the likes of Centenary, Maryland Eastern Shore, Grambling, and South Dakota. Marquette got a very nice win over a Xavier program in a very similar rebuilding position. (Box score with tempo free stats)

I didn’t catch the whole game but from what I saw, Marquette is small but very fast. They pushed the ball against Xavier in a 72 possession game and they won the game by forcing turnovers (28% TO rate for Xavier) and getting to the line (52.9% free throw rate). They managed to win despite getting dominated on the glass, rebounding only 18% of their misses and letting Xavier rebound almost half (45%) of their misses.

Continue reading ‘Game 4: Michigan vs. Marquette Preview’

Beilein audio | Player audio

Creighton gave Michigan all they could handle and then some, but Michigan prevailed in overtime. There were times when Michigan looked like a top 15 team and there were times when they looked lost. But at the end of the day this was an extremely gutty victory over a very tough Creighton team.

Manny Harris was far from his best. He couldn’t find his range from three, missed numerous bunnies inside, turned the ball over four times, and missed five free throws. But the light finally came on. Harris made just enough plays to help Michigan limp into overtime before taking over in extra time. Harris scored 7 of Michigan’s 14 overtime points and assisted two baskets which led to five more points.

While the game wasn’t pretty, this was a perfect game for Michigan. They obviously got the victory but they certainly had to work for it. Creighton punched Michigan in the mouth time and time again and Michigan managed to find an answer. There were plenty of big plays that stood out: Manny Harris dunking in overtime over a helpless Justin Carter, Stu Douglass nailing a 30 foot three pointer, Manny Harris coming down with an offensive rebound between 3 Blue Jays, and Laval Lucas-Perry catching fire in the second half.

The four factors do a great job of telling the story in this one. Creighton outshot Michigan, 56.1% eFG% to 50.7%. But Michigan won the turnover battle and got to the line. Creighton turned the ball over on nearly a quarter of their possessions while Michigan turned it over on only 15% of theirs. Michigan’s free throw rate (FTA/FGA) was more than triple the Jays however they couldn’t quite make them pay shooting a dreadful 13 of 23 from the line.

It’s a quick turnaround for Michigan, who will play Marquette at noon tomorrow. I should have some sort of short preview up after the match-up is set. Michigan only played 6 players for more than 7 minutes and they certainly run the risk of running out of gas this weekend. It’s clear that Beilein is much more comfortable playing his top 6 and is hesitant to dip below that group.

Player Bullets

• Manny Harris: In a game where he struggled for probably 35 minutes, Harris still nearly posted a triple double with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists. Manny couldn’t buy a basket for a while and looked frustrated but he has the ability to take over games and he showed it today.
• DeShawn Sims: Peedi played well with 16 points (8-17 shooting) and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes. His three point shot wasn’t falling (0-3) and he missed a few bunnies but he scored the ball well on the block. The problem for Peedi is that he doesn’t look like he is quite in game shape, looking gassed for long stretches and still shaking off a bit of mental rust.
• Laval Lucas-Perry: Laval has been searching for his offensive game all year but he caught fire in the second half and unleashed a barrage of three point shots. 18 points on 5 of 11 (4-6 3pt) shooting is a very solid day from Laval, especially considering 14 of them came in the second half. I think he has the worst handle of the three “point guards” but when he’s hot he’s hot.
• Stu Douglass: His three point shot to tie the game was one of those “no, no, no, no, YES” moments. It had to be about 28 to 30 feet deep but it was all net. Stu couldn’t find his shot for most of the game, but he bailed himself out with that shot.
• Zack Novak: 14 points (5-7 shooting), 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists,  1 block in 38 minutes. Novak had a great first half before disappearing for much of the second half. In the first half he was active in the 1-3-1 zone and had a very nice backdoor reverse layup.
• Darius Morris: I love Darius’ length on defense especially in the 1-3-1 but it was clear that Beilein wanted to go with the sophomore guards down the stretch.
• Zack Gibson: I expect we will see healthy doses of Gibson this weekend just because of Peedi running out of steam but he managed 2 points and 3 rebounds in 7 minutes.
• Anthony Wright: A productive couple shifts for Anthony today, he hit a three and punched in a nice layup to go along with two boards and an assist on a perfect backdoor bounce pass.
• Matt Vogrich: Got one shift in the first half but looked rattled against Creighton’s pressure defense.

Basics Who: Michigan (2-0) vs. Creighton (2-1) Where: Milk House, Orlando, FL When: Thursday, November 26th, Noon EST TV: ESPN2, ESPN360.com Radio: MGoBlue, WTKA (AM 1050), Sirius Ch. 127/XM Ch. 105 Line: Michigan –5 Old Spice: Bracket, Preview More: Interview Preview

The lights are finally on. Michigan has rolled through Northern Michigan and Houston Baptist but those games were little more than glorified exhibition games. We have waited patiently for this season and it’s finally here. This weekend will provide fans with a chance to see Michigan take on some very tough competition.

Michigan’s first game against Creighton provides an interesting test. The Jays are a perennial Missouri Valley power house and, judging by their fans behavior, a team that is relishing the opportunity to make a name for themselves.

John Beilein and Creighton head coach Dana Altman have gone head to head before, in a first round 2005 NCAA tournament game. Beilein’s Mountaineers came away victorious, 63-61, thanks to a blocked three point shot and break away dunk in the closing second. In a game that featured plenty of threes and few free throws, the shocking number was the turnovers. West Virginia turned the ball over on 26% of their possessions, an incredibly high number for a Beilein led team.

Creighton lost MVC player of the year Booker Woodfox to graduation but the cupboard is far from dry. The Jays are incredibly deep, with 10 players averaging more than 12 minutes per game and five scoring in double figures.

In the backcourt, P’Allen Stinnett is averaging 12.6 points and 4 assists per game. Junior college transfer Darryl Ashford has given the Jays a wing scorer but they Jays also have several three point threats. Kaleb Korver and freshman Ethan Wragge are both deadly outside shooters who can’t be left open.

Similarly to Michigan, the Jays run a perimeter oriented offense. They aren’t a great rebounding team and love to shoot three pointers. They also have begun to implement some aspects of the dribble drive offense that John Calipari made famous.

Creighton has a very small lineup and this could be one of the first games where Michigan might actually have a size advantage. The main low post presence is 6-foot-9 junior Kenny Lawson who is averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds per game. Wayne Runnels is a 6-foot-6 forward who leads the Jays in rebounds with just over 7 per game.

For more on Creighton’s personnel, make sure to check out my Q&A with The White and Blue Review.

With two teams that are so reliant on the three point shot, shooting is obviously going to be huge. It’s always interesting to see how both teams react to an early start time in a smaller gym. With Creighton’s various styles of defense it will also be interesting to see whether Michigan is able to hold onto the ball as well as they have early this year (TO% under 10%).

The biggest advantage for Michigan is that I’m not sure that Creighton has anyone that can guard DeShawn Sims or Manny Harris. They have plenty of bodies to run at Harris but no elite level stopper. Kenny Lawson is big but he should have trouble with DeShawn’s inside outside presence. Because of these tough match-ups, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Creighton play around with several defenses.

Have a great Thanksgiving and Go Blue. Thoughts and predictions are welcome in the comments.