Michigan’s defense is the primary concern after a frustrating five game stretch. The Wolverines have seen their offensive production hit occasional snags but their defensive performance has plummeted consistently. Most recently, the league’s worst offense, Penn State, found great success against Michigan, with its second most efficient offensive performance of the the Big Ten season. [...]
We all know Michigan isn’t the biggest team. I think everyone can see that by watching a game or two – even watching layup lines. But that’s not always a great excuse when it comes to rebounding the ball on the defensive end of the floor. Especially now seeing that the Wolverines are a game [...]
Jordan Morgan has developed more in the last two years than many expected throughout his career. He’s transformed his body and developed into an effective player around the basket but he’s not an individual offensive threat. Michigan isn’t going to throw the ball to him on the block six or seven times per game and [...]
Trey Burke was the best player on the floor in the first match-up between these two schools but he had his fair share of struggles in the East Lansing rematch. A big part of Burke’s frustrating performance was the fact that Michigan State defended the ball screen more effectively. Tom Izzo’s major shift in philosophy [...]
Michigan State consistently attacked the Michigan defense with an array of different looks off of low cross screens out of a 1-4 set. The basic formation is pictured above and the Spartans almost always used Derrick Nix and Draymond Green as the screeners in this look. The sets not only did a great job of [...]
Michigan attempts more threes than any other Big Ten team but an unheralded strength of the Wolverine offense this season has been its ability to convert around the basket. Despite trotting out a lineup that ranks 247th in effective height, without a true low post scorer and with a handful of players that are known [...]
