Ohio State recap

Well the Michigan basketball team just ran into a better team yesterday in Columbus.  It would have taken one of our best games to beat the Bucknuts, and they did not have it. 

Michigan would have had to shoot the ball extremely well, especially from 3, to keep up with OSU.  Even though the shooting percentage was better yesterday than in some previous road games, there were way too many missed open looks.  Smot is just not shooting the ball with any confidence right now, Novak scored a whole astounding 0 points, Stu ended up scoring a few points but missed many open looks and a layup. 

We would have to keep OSU off of the boards to stay in this game, but they ended with near as many offensive rebounds as we had defensive.  Douglass and Hardaway constantly missed a box out attempt and allowed OSU with second chance opportunities.  Morgan actually played one of his best defensive games of the season, but got into foul trouble so his minutes were limited.  Smot and McLimans were not able to body up Sullinger as well.  A majority of his rebounds came when Morgan was on the bench.  The problem though was that Sullinger was all that Morgan could handle, so while OSU’s big dog wasn’t getting boards either was Jordan.  OSU shot the ball poorly, but finished with 64 points.  They had 18 second chance points, this means that Michigan’s defense was extremely good for every part besides the rebounding.  The Wolverines continue to be one of the better team defenses in the B1G.  It is games like this that we really miss Horford coming off of the bench. 

It is usual in the B1G to struggle on the road, and the officiating is one of the reasons why.  Yesterday this was no different.  While Michigan’s offensive style does not promote many free throw attempts, only attempting 4 for an entire game is crazy.  One of the biggest differences in the game yesterday was the free throw discrepancy. 

But all in all, I am not too discouraged from the game.  I expected Michigan to play hard but not have enough talent to keep up with OSU yet.  I think the Wolverines can keep the game closer when these two play in Ann Arbor in a couple of weeks. The next two games might be the most important of the season for this Michigan basketball team. 

New Prince in the D!!!

So the big news in the sports world today is that somehow the Detroit Tigers convinced Prince Fielder to come play in the olde english D for the next 9 seasons. 

How did this happen?  Apparently Ilitch and Fielder's agent (Boras) are friends.  The other 3 teams in the running for the bowling ball were offering a 6 year contract, and when Boras told the Tigers owner that they were looking for a 9 year deal Ilitch was all over it.  He is in his 80s and wants to win now.  Even though he owns the Red Wings as well, he doesnt try to hide the fact that he wants a World Series title the most.  Yes the 9 year deal will likely be terrible come 2017 or so, but it will be a lot more bearable if the Tigers can win a championship in the next 4-5 years.  This contract (9 years for 214 million) is the 4th largest in MLB history.  And from the 2 ARod contracts in the past, it shows that the Yankees are stuck in the terrible contract right now. 

What does this mean moving forward?  Well now we have 2 of the best 1st basemen in the entire league.  Fielder looks like he will either be the 1st basemen or the DH, while Cabrera will move to 3rd base.  It will be interesting when VMart comes back from injury.  Will the Tigers look to trade one of the 3 players, or deal with some below average defense for one of the best lineups in the history of the franchise?  I was worried at first that Miguel was not asked about this move before it was finalized, but in an interview today he seemed very excited about playing with Prince. So what will be the lineup this year?  Will Prince and Miguel share time at first base and DH?  I think Miguel should at least begin to transfer over to the 3rd base position so it will be smoother when VMart comes back.  But honestly, if either Miguel or Prince DH full time I think that will give us the best chance of winning next year but hurt in 2 years.  Maybe Leyland can convince Peralta to move to 2nd base full time and then Santiago and Inge can share time at shortstop.  But this option will leave out Kelly and Raburn from the rotation, and I have a feeling Raburn can have a big offensive year as well.  Delmon Young may also be able to DH at times.  It could be likely that when Miguel is spotted to play 3rd base (major defensive liability), that Kelly or Boesch will move over to left field to provide some defensive support to the left side of the field.  This would leave Delmon to DH on occasion.  I just know that Comerica Park has not had a left handed hitter hit more than 14 home runs in one season since it opened.

I know Cabrera has had some big off field issues that have affected his image, but he is still my Tiger and arguably the best hitter in the entire game right now.  He is the only player in the game that I want to watch every single AB because you always feel like he is going to hit the towering home run, laser line drive that hurts the left fielder after 2 bounces, or the standard double to the left center gap.  I do not want the Tigers shopping him after this season to load up on prospects and unknown talent.  I know that would be the best for the franchise in the long run, but I want to see the best hitter in baseball retire a Tiger. 

Potential batting order next year:
1. Action Jackson
2. Boesch Bomber
3. I see you Miguel
4. Pepsi Porch Prince
5. Indestructable Avila
6. Jahonny
7. Bubba Gump Young
8. Dr. 200 First Half/ Mr. 320 Second Half (Raburn)/ Mendoza line Inge
9. Grandpa Santiago/ Kelly

Now here is where it gets awesome.. just think of batting order 2013
1. Jackson
2. Boesch
3. Miguel
4. Prince
5. VMart
6. Avila
7. Peralta?
8. Raburn
9. Santiago

AL Central pitchers just got some chills today.  Let's hope the idea to go with all offense does not backfire like it did in 2008. 

Game 21 Preview: Purdue

Tonight provides the Michigan Basketball team another shot at getting their first road win.  They go to Mackey Arena to face Purdue.  This is not the same Purdue team that was a Final Four favorite the past few years, but it doesn't mean that they are any easier to beat on their floor. 

Offensively, Purdue runs a similar set that we do.  They like to run the high ball screen for Jackson to create shots for his teammates.  Usually he is not a huge threat to score much himself, but he is the key to setting up his teammates for open looks.  It will be very interesting to see how Burke matches up against the 5'8" quick point guard. Burke has done a nice job on the two great point guards he has faced this year already (Taylor and Appling), so I would expect him to perform well again.  Purdue does not have a post presence outside of Hummel.  Even he uses an outside in approach, and is more like a small forward than a traditional low post guy.  The only other guy that can really hurt us tonight is Ryne Smith, one of the best shooters in the entire league.  He is a spot shooter that cannot get lost when Jackson drives.  He is averaging 6 3 point attempts per game, and is making near 50% of them.  He cannot get to double digit points tonight.

Defensively, Purdue is a very good pressure man to man team.  Jackson will be one of the quickest players Burke has to play against this year, so protecting the ball will be huge.  They will force the Michigan guards away from the basket, hedge out on screens and be very susceptible to the hard center roll to the front of the hoop.  Burke has struggled to see the open big off of these pick and roll plays lately, so it will be impotant for him to convert the open looks tonight.  Purdue is a very average rebounding team.  Since they are so short, Michigan should be able to collect some important offensive boards tonight. 

I think Burke will have his biggest struggle tonight against Jackson offensively, so it will be important for him not to force the issue if he is being locked down.  Morgan will need to dominate the post tonight, since Purdue lacks skill in the center position.  He will need to be ready for the pass when he rolls from the high screen.  Novak will likely be matched up with Hummel, so scoring from him will be limited.  Someone will have to step up tonight.  I naturally look for that to be Hardaway, but I am getting sick of saying the same thing in these previews.  Hardaway has to step up and score close to 20 points for Michigan to win.  I think Smot can play some critical minutes tonight when Morgan needs some rest.  Our bigs will need to combine to outscore Hummel.  Even though Hummel went 0-11 against MSU, he always plays well against us.  I look for him to recover.  Along with Hardaway and Morgan, will Vogrich or Douglass step up and hit some big shots for Michigan?  I think we are flat out the better basketball team, but Purdue is a very tough place to play.  I think Michigan wins 68 - 62 in a game that shouldnt be within 10 points.

Go Blue

Arkansas Recap

This game was going to be the perfect opportunity for Michigan to pull out their much needed first road win.  But it was not meant to be, and the Wolverines are left with a loss to an overlooked Arkansas team. 

The Razorbacks had one of the most efficient offensive halves that I have ever seen.  They began the game making their first 12 shots (4 of them were threes).  They finished the half with 7 missed shots, but 4 offensive rebounds that they converted to points.  Pretty much they didnt score on 3 possessions in the entire half.  Usually Michigan surpasses that total while on the road after the first 4 trips down the floor.  This led to Michigan being down 46-33 at the half, it was more than a few teams have scored on us for the entire game.  It was a combination of great shooting, bad defense, and turnovers leading to easy shots. 

Michigan looked confused by Arkansas' full court press in the beginning, leading to 5 early turnovers.  But then settled in very nicely and performed well for most of the game.  The early hot streak by the Razorbacks put us into a 20 point hole, and for the rest of the game we slowly chipped away at the deficit.  The same thing happened on Saturday that has happened with all of our earlier road losses.  We began chipping away once Michigan began attacking the middle of the suspect defense.  Jordan Morgan had 3 huge dunks in a row to begin the second half, and finally the lead was under 10 points.  Once Michigan pulled within 2 points with 5 minutes left they were held scoreless for the next 3:30.  The frustrating part of this stretch was that Arkansas also did not score.  The Wolverines began shooting three after three.  The worst culprit of this, again, was Stu Douglass who went 2-10 for the entire game.  For the first time he also did not take a single bad shot in the game.  He missed corner threes all game.  For being a group of great shooters, they have gotten into a slump as an entire team.  If they can put together a game where they shoot well finally, they will be really tough to beat.  Let's just hope it comes against MSU or OSU... or during the NCAA tourney. 

After Arkansas started 12-12, Michigan's defense dominated the game.  With just under 10 minutes left to play in the game, the Razorbacks had a 34-14 lead.  In the last 30 minutes they didnt even match that total to finish with 66 points.  So Michigan outscored Arkansas 50 to 32 for 75% of the basketball game, yes it is pretty easy to see that the better team did not win on Saturday. 

While losing at Arkansas will not go down as a bad loss, since they haven't lost at home yet, but it was definitely a winable game.  And most people in the nation do not view Arkansas as a good team.  I think the game was a very good one for Michigan to play, and I even think it will help with it being scheduled during conference play.  It gave us the chance to play against a different style than we are used to in the B1G, and it let us play in a hostile environment that we are not used to.  I just wish they would have pulled out the W.

MSU Game Recap: Birthday Edition

Yes, today is my 25^th birthday, and my birthday week had a great start by being at Crisler to enjoy the Michigan victory over Sparty.  It wasn’t the best played game of the season by the Wolverines, but it was good enough to get the very important W.  Regardless of winning 3 in a row over MSU, it was just important for this team to come out and play well after 2 subpar games.  They needed to get back into a winning mentality, especially entering their toughest part of the season. 

Offensively Michigan performed well at times and were extremely frustrating at others.  The team finished shooting over 50% for the game for the first time since the Indiana game, but they still only shot 6-21 from 3.  This means that Michigan shot an astounding 71% from inside the arc.  The game would have been a blowout if the best shooters on the team knocked down their 3 point chances.  Many players had wide open looks out of the 21 threes jacked up.  Hardaway has taken a major step backwards from last season. I don’t know what is going on in his head sometimes.  He basically did absolutely nothing on either end of the floor, not only did he not perform well it looked like he could care less to be on the floor for most of the night.  Then with 3 minutes left, Michigan runs 2 plays in a row for Hardaway isolations. Nobody on MSU’s team can keep up with Hardaways quickness or finishing strength around the rim, yet he settles for becoming invisible for most of the game.  We need him to play a lot more aggressive.  He cannot just continue to go 0- whatever from the 3 point line and let it take him out of his game.  He is not Stu or Vogrich, his offensive abilities are not limited to shooting 3s.  He is doing himself and his team a disservice by just putting self limits on himself by staying 20-25 feet from the hoop at all times.  To show you how little respect Izzo had for our supposed best player and scorer, when Appling (MSU’s best defender) picked up his 3^rd foul early in the 2^nd half Izzo just switched him from Burke to Hardaway.  How did Tim not demand the ball on the next few possessions and take the ball right at Appling?  Instead, he stayed in his favorite spot, first row of the stands with Lloyd Carr.  First off, Izzo feared Burke more by having Appling defend him, then secondly he thought Hardaway was having such a little impact in the game that instead of sitting his only point guard and best defender he just switched him onto Tim.  Izzo’s plan should have backfired immediately, and Hardaway should have went into attack mode and made Appling make a decision to defend or let Tim go by for easy lay ups.  If Appling picked up his 4^th foul, you could argue that the MSU run would have never happened.  Appling made many great decisions on offense to put the ball in open players hands.  Also, during their run Appling had 2 rebounds and a steal. 

Defensively Michigan played pretty well for most of the game.  The Wolverines held the B1G’s most efficient offense to 59 points for the entire game.  A big part of their success is that they did not foul.  They finished the game with 8 fouls.  Usually they have 9-10 in one half.  The refs let both teams play physically, and it really helped us get into a defensive rhythm.  Burke seems to be one of the most under rated defenders in the conference, and he is becoming one of our leaders on this end as well.  Morgan struggled with Payne and Nix at times, but for the most part he fought hard down low and put in his best defensive performance of the year.  I know I called out Tim in the offensive section, but I have to do it again on the defensive side.  I guess it is pick on Tim day.  But he is hands down the worst defender on our team.  He had a terrible game again on the most important end of the floor.  He gave up 2 threes to Thornton, which doesn’t sound bad, but Thornton can do one thing and that is shoot threes.  Both times Hardaway did not close out like he should have, instead he worried about Thornton driving around him off the dribble.  Thornton couldn’t dribble drive on me, he is as close to useless on offense as McLimans.  Hardaway also got lost on his assignment to guard Kearney when he knocked down the 3 pointer in the corner to give State their first lead.  The worst part of his game though is he constantly gives up the baseline, which is the first rule in any defense.  The baseline has to become an extra defender, and you cannot let the offensive player between you and the line.  Hardaway did this 4 times, that I remember, and all 4 ended in wide open shots because our defense was now way out of position.  It led to Greens open 3 at the end of the first half, 2 uncontested layups from the opposite block, and the other 3 that Kearney knocked down.  On top of being inept in the man to man defense, Hardaway was constantly out of position while in the 1-3-1.  He got beat off the dribble while in a zone, this cannot happen when you are the point person in the 1-3-1. He needs to improve dramatically to even be considered an average defender. 

Michigan almost got doubled up in their rebounding efforts Tuesday night.  This was mainly due to their overwhelming concern of Appling in the fast break.  The Wolverines only used 2 guys to crash the offensive glass, while the other 3 drifted back to stop any transition chances.  Then on the defensive end, especially when Nix played, Michigan consistently put one guy in motion to increase the tempo, therefore only using 3-4 players to rebound over 4-5.  When we actually did come up with a rebound though, the strategy did work.  State struggled in transition defense, Michigan usually came up with a bucket or got fouled.  But anytime you get outrebounded 31-18, you are fortunate to win the game.

It was a good turn around game from NW and Iowa, and a huge win for the team and the fans, but which team shows up on Saturday at Arkansas?  Michigan has the talent to go through this gauntlet stretch with a winning record, but they also have the ability to look awful and lose the next 5 games.  Will this team take the next step and actually compete for a B1G championship?

Rivalry Preview Edition: Beat Sparty

This review will have to be quick since the game is almost here, so lets jump in.

Michigan State started out the year with two of the toughest games any team has played in quite a while.  They played hard, but in the end they lost to better teams.  Then their 15 game winning streak just ended at Northwestern where they gave up 85 points to an average offense. 

Michigan State has been the most efficient offense in the B1G, which is a great improvement from last year when they finished 11 (when we still had 11 teams).  Derrick Nix has found his role on this basketball team, and has become one of the most dominant players off of anyone’s bench.  He will come in and play extremely hard for 3-4 game minutes, usually collects a few rebounds and scores 4-6 points, then takes a seat to rest up for the next spurt.  There are not many people who can defend him well, and that will continue tonight.  Michigan will need to double down on him to make him dribble.  This is his main offensive weakness.  He takes too long to make decisions, and then when he is forced to put the ball on the floor it generally results in the turnover.  Morgan has to stay on the floor because he is only one that has any chance of bodying Nix up.  If Jordan can keep him off the blocks, it will be a successful night.  Appling and Green are also scoring the ball better than they did a year ago.  Green is playing like he is the main competition for Jared Sullinger for B1G player of the year.  Other than these 3 guys, MSU has a bunch of role players.  Many are very athletic or young and will develop into more, but right now if another player gets 10+ points they are having a great night and Sparty will likely win the ball game.  Michigan has to defend the 3 point line tonight from Trice, Appling, Thornton, and Wood.  If they cannot do that, MSU might have a shooting night like IU had against us.  MSU is a very solid rebounding team, like usual, so the winner of tonight’s game will likely be the winner of the glass as well.  This falls upon Morgan to use strength when grabbing the ball, Smot to get in good position against either the freshman Dawson or the veteran (and MSU rebounding leader) Green.  The guards will have to play a big role in rebounding tonight as well.  If Hardaway and Novak can be aggressive and not lose containment, Michigan has a shot to win the rebounding battle. 

Defensively Michigan State has just flat out been struggling this season.  Their highly regarded freshman, Dawson, looks out of place and useless on the defensive end for most of the B1G season.  Offensively he is one of the most talented freshman in the nation, but he is such a defensive liability that his minutes have been cut drastically.  Shurna beat Dawson on back cuts time and time again.  Depending on who he has to defend, Michigan will have to exploit that mismatch tonight.  Hopefully Izzo tries to put him on Hardaway, but likely it will be Smot.  Green is a very physical defender, and if he is left for Hardaway it could take him out of his game and force him to shoot perimeter shots (not like THJ needs any encouragement in that area).  Hardaway will need to continue to be aggressive and go towards the hoop on offensive possessions.  His shooting struggles have morphed into more than just a slump.  Appling is usually on the opponent’s best offensive player, but I think Izzo will keep him on Burke tonight.  Izzo will stress to his team that they cannot let Burke beat the Spartans.  He will want Appling to take him away as much as possible.  Burke will need to control the ball and the tempo in this game.  He cannot let Appling control this game.  Burke will need to focus on distributing the ball tonight, and hopefully his teammates can step up and shoot better than 25% for the game.  if shots aren’t falling for the supporting cast, it will be a long night for Michigan because Burke cannot beat MSU by himself. 

Michigan should be able to exploit MSU on back cuts, but look for MSU to switch into a seldom used zone since Michigan looked so bad against it at Iowa.  I want to think the Wolverines get out of their slump tonight and score the ball more efficiently, but they have struggled so much against other B1G defenses so far that I don’t think that is a reasonable expectation.  I hate to do this, but even though this is a very must win situation for Michigan, I think MSU will come out with the win because they will be able to score more effectively than Michigan in the end of the game.  MSU 68 Michigan 65.  I hope I am wrong.

Go Blue

Iowa 75 Michigan 59... awful

Well the basketball team couldn't avoid a bad loss all season I guess.  They have kept playing with fire during the Minnesota and Northwestern games, but today they made sure it all came together to complete one of the most embarassing losses in the B1G this season. 

I feel like I have to give Iowa some credit for punching Michigan in the face today, but I can't.  Iowa is a terrible, awful, poorly coached basketball team.  The only good thing that I can say about them is that they will not finish in 11th or 12th place in the conference.  Michigan has more talent at every position on the floor, yet they proved that any team is able to beat the Wolverines when they are not focused on playing basketball. 

I was surprised to see them come out so flat for the second game in a row.  I really didn't think the seniors would allow it to happen.  The one thing that Michigan had going for them in the first half was Trey Burke scoring a quick 6 points.  He looked determined to keep Michigan in the game, but then he picked up his 2nd foul with 12 minutes left of the half.  It is the same situation that happened in the game vs Virginia earlier this season.  Beilein again chose to take out one of his star players for the remainder of the half.  During this time, not only did Michigan look completely inept on the offensive end but Burke got extremely cold on the bench.  Burke averages 2 fouls per game, and I think Coach B made the wrong decision again in this situation.  Sometimes he needs to trust his players not to pick up that 3rd foul.  And really, even if Burke did pick up another foul then you can just sit him the rest of the game.  It is close to impossible to get Burke fouled out of a game.  He is smart enough to run our offense so well, then he is smart enough to know he can't get another foul.  Alright, enough of that. 

Defensively Michigan looked awful.  They allowed way too many layups to an unathletic team.  They got outrebounded by 7 to a terrible rebounding team, and somehow they gave up 10 offensive rebounds.  Iowa was also helped out by some pretty questionable calls and very dumb fouls that resulted in 28 free throw attempts (11 more than Michigan).  The Wolverines played with no energy or intensity for the 2nd game in a row.  The only saving grace on Wednesday night was that they turned it around a bit in the 2nd half.  Today they slept walked through all 40 minutes. I mean, come on guys, Iowa just got done losing by 29 and 34 points in 2 games.  How do you give up 75 points, and almost lose by 20? 

Offensively we played even worse.  In my preview I said Michigan needs to attack the middle because Iowa was likely to play some matchup zone.  It is the only way an overmatched team is able to stay in a game, if the other team just shoots threes (and misses).  Well Michigan played perfectly into the trap.  For the 2nd straight game we shot over 30 threes in a game.  There is no reason why they had to shoot even 20.  Today was an absolute joke. Jordan Morgan was 1-1 from the floor.  I didn't make a mistake, yes the 2nd leading shooter in the B1G got 1 shot attempt off.  On the other hand the 3 starting guards finished 14-37 for the game.  Hardaway finished the game 0-8 from the 3 point line, are you serious?!?  Why is he not attacking the hoop.  Iowa could put any 3 guys on him, and Hardaway is still more athletic than those guys combined. His basketball IQ has to be nearly as low as Smot's.  Iowa should not be a team that we need to make 15 threes to win.  I could go on and on, but I should stop here... you get the idea though, today was an embarassment.

It was the perfect opportunity to keep up with MSU in the standings (and right now they are down by 10 so we should be tied for the conference lead).  Now Michigan is just starting to get into the most difficult part of their schedule.  They play 6 of 8 games on the road, and a lot of these 8 games are against the top teams in the B1G and a pretty good Arkansas team. The loss today makes Tuesday night vs MSU a very high pressure game. If we cannot take care of home court, Michigan could go on a 7 game losing streak.  Right now I am the lowest on this basketball team as I have been all season.  Will they respond over the next 3 weeks?  Today's game could serve as an eye opener, or it could be the beginning of a very disappointing season.  I still think they have enough talent to finish in the top 3/4 of the conference, but they will need to find someway to win a few games on the road because right now they are 0-3 on the season.  I believe in the leadership from Novak to make today an opportunity to improve for the rest of the season, but it will be very difficult.

Game 18 preview: Iowa

The Michigan basketball team will be looking for its first true road win of the season.  Winning games on the road in conference play is always tough, especially for a young team that has lost its first two games away from home.  Kind of crazy that they are 14-3 on the season, and they only have played 2 true road games.  Yes they played in Maui and got 2 wins there.  Yes they played in Auburn Hills at the Palace, but it was not Oakland’s home floor.  Iowa is a very scrappy team that has pulled off a few good games in the conference already.  They only lost to Purdue by 3 at home, then went on the road and won two surprising games.  They beat Wisconsin in the Kohl Center and then followed it up at Minnesota, both are two of the toughest arenas in the league.  Recently they have hit a rough patch, losing to OSU and MSU by a combined 73 points!

This is a team Michigan should not struggle with too badly, but either was Northwestern.  Iowa is one of the 3 worst teams in the B1G this year, so tomorrow is as close to a must-win game as there can be in mid-January.  Iowa runs a very perimeter heavy offense.  There 3 leading scorers are guards.  They do have a very good sophomore post player in Basabe, but he is having a down year so far.  The Hawkeyes get most of their production from 4 of their starters (average about 45 points from the 4).  Iowa’s style of play would be very tough to stop once they get more athletic.  They would like to play at a high tempo, force turnovers and get transition buckets.  This style backfires miserably when you aren’t very talented.  That is pretty much what has happened the past two games.  Ohio St and MSU have a lot of big bodies to throw into the game, but michigan’s depth down low is very slim right now with Horford still out.  They were able to control the rebounding game.  Iowa is not a great shooting team, so they rely on 3 guys crashing the offensive glass on most shots.  When you put a body on them, their offensive ability is greatly reduced. 

Defensively like I said above, they would like to run a high pressure defense to force turnovers and create easy opportunities for their offense.  They will switch between a matchup zone and man to man.  They will even occasionally throw in a corner trap scheme.  Since they are lacking in the overall athletic department, they will be found out of position a lot trying to get some steals.  The only problem here is that they are too slow to recover in time, and they allow easy shots too many times.  Michigan needs to attack them from the inside out.  Even though we have little depth down low, Morgan and Smot are better than whoever Iowa can put on the floor.  In the last two close games (IU and NW) michigan found themselves in some big holes at times during the game (18 points at IU and 10 at home vs NW).  the only reason the Wolverines were able to chip into the lead and eventually tie the game up is from attacking the hoop by using all of their offensive pieces.  Specifically when Morgan is not involved in the offense at all (setting a screen, posting up, rebounding) our offense tends to stall out.  He doesn’t need to shoot every possession, but he needs to be involved.  When he is not, he tends to lose his focus and begins to drop easy passes or miss open shots.  Michigan needs to come out and get Jordan involved immediately.  The long shot will be there all day vs the Hawkeyes, but even when they are open Michigan seems to not put the ball through the hoop. 

Look for Beilein to stress working the ball inside, either off the dribble from Burke, back cuts by Tim and Novak, or by the screen and roll to set up Morgan on the block against a guard.  When our players are able to knock down a few easier shots early, the 3 pointer will start falling later.  I would be surprised if Coach B allows Michigan to jack up over 25 threes again, honestly this team should not put up 20 in a game.. they are just too good to do that to themselves.  Unless they have an IU-type game (18-24 against PSU).  I will go with my prediction from the last game, I expect one of our post players to break through with another big game.  they both need the confidence going into the game vs Sparty.  Like usual Hardaway will get an uneventful 20-25, Burke will likely put up a ton of shots and get to 17. 

If Michigan comes out flat and allows Iowa to get into a shooting rhythm, look for this game to be high scoring and a lot closer than needed.  I have a hard time thinking that the coaching staff and seniors will allow that to happen for two games in a row.  They need this win badly to stay in the conference race.  I think we break out offensively tomorrow in Iowa City, Michigan 78 Iowa 65.  If Michigan can put both facets of the game together, they can continue Iowa’s streak of losing by 29+ points.  I think Michigan will play a little weak on the defensive end, at least to start the game, therefore the closer than should be final. 

Go Blue!

Excitement in the B1G basketball race

The craziness of B1G play is in full swing now.  The conference is so good from top to bottom that there has been some key losses already.  Through all of these “upsets” MSU has built up a 1 game lead on Illinois and Michigan St, and a 2 game lead on both of the conference favorites. 

Michigan St started 0-2 on the year, and looked like a young team that will be talented but likely to lose a fair share of conference games. But then their schedule shaped up very favorably, and they have gotten into a rhythm.  Since then they have won 15 straight games and are the lone remaining undefeated team in conference play.  They have dominated most of their conference opponents so far, including home against Indiana and punching Iowa in the face (winning by 44 points).  If they can beat Michigan on the road next week they can open a “comfortable” B1G lead only a few weeks into the season.  Yes, they haven’t played Ohio St or a road game against one of the top teams, but it must be nice being 5-0 right now.

Illinois has surprised people already by knocking off Ohio St at home behind Paul’s 43 points.  I don’t believe they are on the same talent level as Michigan St, U-M, OSU, or IU, but if they can pull off some more upsets of the 4 teams in front of them they can hang around the conference lead for most of the season. 

IU was, and probably still is, America’s team.  How many times have you heard that IU is back to its glory days.  I think it is a little too early for those statements, since they have passed their win total from last year. Yes they are very good this year, and look to be one of the B1G’s top teams, but I think it takes longer than a half of a season to claim a program is back from almost a decade of disappointment.  Last night they lost their first game at home against Minnesota.  This gives them 2 conference losses already with OSU coming up next. 

OSU lost at IU which wasn’t a bad loss, but then they got beat at Illinois by one player.  They couldn’t find any way to shut him down.  This has resulted in a surprising 2 losses already.  The loser of Sunday’s game will likely fall 3 games back on MSU after just 6 games in, yikes.

Wisconsin lost its 2^nd game at home to an unranked conference team since Bo Ryan has been their coach.  They looked terrible in their loss to Iowa, then came back and lost on a controversial play against MSU at home, then looked terrible again against Michigan to start 1-3.  Then last night they went to one of the toughest places to play in the nation (Mackey Arena – Purdue) and punched them in the mouth.  I think Wisconsin is down this year, but it is nice that Michigan doesn’t have to play them twice this season.  I think they will have at least 1 more big win this season that impacts the conference outlook. 

Purdue started 2-0 with wins at Iowa and home against Illinois, but then got beat by lowly Penn St by 20!  They did find a way to beat Minnesota, but then lost to Wisconsin last night.  Purdue should make the tournament, but I don’t see them as being a real threat for B1G champions. 

A lot is still going to happen in the tight conference race, but it has been very exciting already for the nation’s best conference. 

Michigan 66 Northwestern 64 OT (14-3, 4-1)

Another ugly win for the basketball team last night.  It is amazing how badly they can play at home, especially just a few days after playing one of their better games all year.  Last night was perfect evidence of how important the mental aspect is of a basketball game.  If Michigan would have gone into the game as focused on NW as they were against Wisconsin, the game would have looked completely different.  While it is still good that Michigan found a way to win yesterday in Crisler, it should make them realize that in order to reach any of their goals this season they will have to focus on each and every game for the rest of the season.  They will have no chance of sneaking into the top 3 of the conference if they fall in one of the “should” win games.

Michigan was terrible on offense again last night.  Outside of Hardaway going 5-9 from 3, the rest of the team supported him by going 2-21.  I didn’t mistype that number… 2-21. I didn’t know that was possible, especially since a lot of the shots were open looks.  Somehow Stu off the bench shot 6 threes last night.  The only situation where this should happen is if he is shooting well (4-6 or so).  There is absolutely no reason a bench player should be on the floor if he goes 0-6 from 3.  Yes he did some good things last night on defense, and hit some big free throws down the stretch, but how does a “shooter” go 0-6 from 3 when he is coming off the bench.  I don’t think Big Blue could have shot worse.  What is even more frustrating after last night’s game is the production we received from our post players. Northwestern has little to zero athletic ability in their post (I am not including Shurna in this, even though he is 6’9” he plays more of a wing position).  How does Morgan and Smot combine to score 11 points?  In a game where they both should have been in double figures.  With each B1G game, Smot drifts further from the basket.  Most teams can make him just a 3 point jump shooter without much effort.  I blame the lack of Morgan’s production on the guards and also Morgan’s attitude last night.  When Michigan was down by 10 early in the 2^nd half, the only way we caught up was because we passed the ball inside and let the offense flow through Morgan.  He scored all of his 6 points in a very short time span, and also during this time other players were open for easy lay ups and buckets.  Then we tied the score back up at 48, our next 3 possessions resulted in us taking a 3 point shot.  I don’t understand the mindset in those moments, when you witness a 10 point comeback in a matter of a few minutes from going inside and using the back cut effectively, how do you immediately begin to settle for what got you in the 10 point hole in the first place? 

So many people say Michigan lives and dies by the 3.  While previous Beilein teams have done this, and it has angered many fans, this team should not.  They are too athletic and too talented to be limited to one shot on the floor.  When Michigan begins attacking with Burke, Hardaway, and even Novak at times, the results are great. With people driving to the hoop, it causes the defense to be sucked in leaving open looks for 3 if needed, but more importantly it allows more offensive players to crash the offensive glass and get easy put backs or passes.  When Michigan gets stagnant in their offensive movement and shot selection, they limit their own effectiveness and take away the rare athletic advantages they should have.

Even though Burke and Hardaway combined for 38 points on 12-30 shooting, Burke did seal the game away at the end of overtime.  Burke finished the game 8-8 from the line, and he wanted the ball in his hands to take those high pressure shots.  The impressive thing here is that the seniors on the floor accepted that and gave him the ball.  The trust this team shows in Burke on a game to game basis is pretty special.  Michigan finished 15-16 from the line, and it was one of the major factors in them pulling out the win.  Burke’s stat line yesterday read 19 points on 5-17 shooting, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.  Not bad for his 5 B1G game ever.  Along with free throws, the big reason Michigan pulled this ugly game out was because of offensive rebounding. The Wolverines had a season high 17 offensive rebounds. There was a time in the 2^nd half and OT when it seemed like Michigan was guaranteed to get a second chance opportunity.  This type of efficiency that we have seen the past few games has been very impressive, and if Michigan can continue to rebound the ball well off our own misses, they will be able to stay in a lot of games.

Defensively we allowed the only 2 players that could beat us, to beat us.  The Shurna/ Crawford combo finished with 41 points and 12 rebounds.  The rest of the NW team finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds. The Wildcats continued to play to Crawford’s right hand strength by setting top of the key screens for him to drive in with his right and get an easy shot off.  I don’t know how many times a team can get beat by the same play.  Shurna was himself last night and threw up a ton of junk shots that somehow managed to go in.  Michigan had nobody that was able to match up with him. He was way too quick for Smot and way too tall for Novak.  Michigan did not cover the complex Princeton style offense well for most of the game.  they were beaten by their own game of back cutting, and caught off guard with a lot of screens.  The wings also did not close out well on the 3 point shooter for most of the game, causing NW to shoot 50% from the field for the entire game compared to our 33%.  We have got to recover the intensity that was present in Sunday’s game vs Wisconsin. 

Michigan hopefully learned its lesson yesterday that they cannot take anyone lightly in this conference at home or on the road, because they have another potential trap game coming up on Saturday.  They head to Iowa where they seldom play well, and the game is right before the huge showdown with Sparty.  Michigan should come in focused after a few days of intense practices and game planning, but if not look for another frustrating game.  Next time I don’t think they will be as fortunate if they come out as unfocused on the road.

Best Bowls of the Season?

This is definitely up for people’s opinions, so let me know.  But I have listed my top 5 bowl games of this season:

5.  MSU vs Georgia (yes each coach tried to lose the game multiple times, but it was an entertaining game with lots of big hits and good football)

4.  U-M vs VaTech (even though people who are not fans of Michigan would think it was one of the worst BCS games ever, Big Blue still found a way to win the Sugar Bowl and in a few years we will still have the trophy and nobody will remember how we won)

3. Purdue vs WMU (yes Western turned the ball over on most possessions and Purdue had 8 personal foul penalties, but Jordan White had an amazing game to end his college career, and the Broncos overcame 2 onside kicks and 6 turnovers to have a chance to win the game on their last drive… too bad they had 7 turnovers for the game)

2. Baylor vs Washington (no defense I know, bad tackling, bad fundamentals, bad, bad, bad…. But very entertaining.  RGIII deserved to have a bigger stage for his last game, but their defense was worse than U-M’s under RR.  Washington is going to have a very good offensive year next year and their QB could be a Heisman finalist)

1. Ok St vs Stanford (Best QB vs Best WR that college has seen in quite a few years.  Luck did nothing but improve his number 1 overall draft status, and Blackmon basically told the defense the ball was coming to him and they couldn’t do anything to stop it. Made me wish Ok St had a shot at the NC)

Game 17 preview: Northwestern

Michigan looks to hold serve tonight at home against Northwestern.  A win will be another game closer to their first conference winning record in what seems like forever.  It will also increase the excitement for the huge matchup next week at Crisler vs MSU.

Northwestern is not that good. They are 1-2 in the B1G so far.  Their two losses are against decent teams (Ohio and Illinois), but they lost by 33 to the Bucknuts. They do not play that well on the road, and Michigan should win by double digits without much worry.  The Wolverines cannot come out flat after 2 huge games where they played very well.  This will not only be a very discouraging loss, but if the Wildcats find a way to win in AA tonight, it will be the first “bad loss” of the season.  When the program is fighting for more respect and national recognition, a loss against a team like NW has the potential to be very damaging. 

Michigan does not have to play its best game of the season to win tonight, which is refreshing for a change in B1G season.  That doesn’t mean they can just overlook the Purple people eaters.  Even though Northwestern will likely finish in the bottom half of the conference, they have the number 1 and 2 scorers in the conference so far.  Shurna scores nearly 19 a game, while the point guard Crawford scores 17. 

Northwestern does not have a very good post presence on the offensive side of the ball.  They focus on moving the ball side to side, trying to set up Shurna for a good shot opportunity.  He is a very good shooter with a very bad shooting form.  Doesn’t make sense, but I will move on.  I would guess Michigan will put Novak on Shurna for most of the game since defense is still Hardaway’s biggest weakness. While a more athletic player like Hardaway should be able to lock down Shurna, Coach B will likely put the more physical, tougher defender on the top scorer.  Shurna is 6’9” so Smot could see some time on him, but that would be a very tough matchup for him. Shurna is very smart, and would likely put Smot into foul trouble very quickly.  Novak will likely need a lot of help if he has this assignment.  Look for Michigan to switch guys a lot.  Even though the fans should get a little breather tonight while watching this game, Burke gets no rest.  He kept Hulls to 3 points and Taylor to 12 over the past week.  Hulls scored 28 in their last game vs Penn St.  Tonight’s matchup with Crawford again will be very challenging for Burke.  If we have learned anything over the course of the first 16 games, it is Burke is always up for the challenge.  I think Crawford still finds a way to score some points tonight, but look for Burke to have a big game on both ends.  Other than these two players, Northwestern’s offensive production is very limited. 

Defensively, NW likes switching between a zone and man to man.  They are not athletic enough to keep up with Michigan in a straight man, so look for some modifications to that tonight.  If Michigan can come out shooting the ball well, Northwestern will have a very tough time hanging with us.  If the long shots are not falling again for Big Blue, then look for NW to stay in a zone for the majority of the game.  Northwestern is not a great rebounding team on either end.  Smot, Hardaway, and Morgan all should have a big night on the glass. 

I just cant see this Michigan team, led by Novak, to come out flat and overlook a conference opponent.  If I am right, look for this game to be well in hand at half time or early in the 2^nd half.  Northwestern does not have any answer for all of Michigan’s weapons.  Hardaway should break the 20 point barrier again tonight, and look for Burke to continue his double digit outings.  It has been a little while since one of our post players has had a great game, and I think that ends tonight.  Whether it is Smot getting into a rhythm and putting up 15, or Morgan controlling the paint where he will see a single team all night.  Tonight would be the kind of game where coach B can get some production out of our slim bench (Vogrich or McLimans hitting a few shots).  Michigan is just too athletic, and seems to have a clear team mission, to lose tonight.  Michigan 76 NW 61.

Go Blue!

National Championship recap: glad Michigan didn't get Les Miles

Wow, I kept waiting for last night's game to get better.  Waiting for LSU to remember they have a game to play in. I waited all the way until the 4th quarter ended and wanted to punch myself in the face for losing an hour of sleep over that game. 

The bowl season was full of coaches trying to be cute and outcoach themselves and go away from the only reason the team was successful in the first place.  Well Les Miles definitely did not do that last night.  It looked like they had a game the weekend before, and Nick Saban had over a month to gameplan for it.  LSU looked completely unprepared to compete last night, but on the flip side Alabama made a lot of adjustments from the first game to last night.  Give Saban credit, because he just coached circles around the Mad Hatter. 

Bama came out and punched LSU in the mouth, throwing the ball 20 times on first down plays.  AJ McCarron played his best college game last night, transforming from just a game manager to a pretty scary weapon come September 1st in Dallas.  The passing opened up the game to allow Bama to run pretty effectively as well (Richardson finished with 96 rushing yards).  The Crimson Tide moved the ball very well against one of the top defenses.  They exposed weaknesses they saw in film: the honey badger is actually pretty bad in man to man coverage, the linebackers do not cover extremely well, LSU likes putting 8 players in the box on first downs, leaving single coverage on all receivers. Again they couldn't punch the ball into the endzone until 4 minutes left in the game, but they dominated LSU with field goals.  The Tide's defense played like it always does: hard hitting, fast, and aggressive.  They proved that they are the best defense in the country, and they left no doubts. I am definitely glad that most of those linebackers will not be around next year to give Denard nightmares for the season. 

LSU on the other hand came out flat and never got anything going on offense.  The playcalling and stubborness of the coaching staff was some of the worst I saw all bowl season. I dont know if they were just arrogant or confused.  Their game plan was to get Jefferson comfortable in the pocket by throwing quick screens.  He completed these passes, but there is no way you can beat Bama to the edges.  There is no point in trying to go side to side against that defense.  The Tide didn't respect LSU to throw the ball down the field, so they played press coverage in the secondary all night.  Screens do not work against press coverage.  Yet, LSU kept trying.  LSU seemed to try to redo the gameplan they had from the first time the two teams met this year instead of learn from mistakes and try to improve.  They tried to run the option, and first off the option doesnt work if you have a quarterback who doesnt know when to pitch the ball, and second when 1 LB can spy both the QB and RB at the same time because of his speed.  But LSU kept trying.  I do not understand Les Mile's decision not to bring in the backup Jared Lee.  He is a pocket passer, and LSU needed to stretch the field.  I dont know what the risk was, because he couldnt possibly do any worse than Jefferson.  Instead Bama just kept coming, they blitzed on most 3rd downs and Jefferson looked confused and frustrated.  LSU kept trying to run the ball down the field late in the 4th quarter when they were down 15-0. Did they really think they were gonna catch Bama by surprise and put up a quick 15 on the ground? They finished with 92 total yards, 92! Seriously?  They are not Oregon.  I know the SEC is the best football conference, and I cannot argue that, but even their own conference should be embarrassed with what LSU put on the field yesterday.  Maybe other conferences are not that far behind. 

I was hoping that LSU would win just so there wouldnt be any speculation about which team is truly the best, but last night left absolutely no doubt.  I am glad that Bama got a chance to show the nation they are the number 1 team.  It is just sad that we had to watch them play a team that clearly didnt belong on the same field. 

Now Hoke gets to go up against the defending champions to open the 2012 season.  Nobody expects Michigan to win or really even compete.  I dont know what the final score will be, but I am hoping that we can manage at least triple digits in yards and not get blown out by field goals. 

BCS Punters Challenge Preview

Well the last day of the 2011 college football season is here.  It doesn’t seem that long ago when I was celebrating with friends after the improbable comeback under the lights vs the golden domers.  So much has happened in the past few months, it will be hard waiting until August now.  Good thing it is almost baseball season.

Will there be more punts than points scored tonight?  I keep looking at the matchup, and I just cant see either of these teams putting more than 2 sustained touchdown drives together for the game.  Neither offense is dynamic enough to pull away in this game.  While Les Miles said that people will get to see “big boy” football in this game, I tend to think we will just see a 70s Big Ten game.  Yes, both defenses are incredible, they might be the best two college football has seen in a very long time. But I think both offenses will again be inept against each other. 

Offensively there are very few skill players who are very spectacular.  Alabama has an incredible offensive line and Trent Richardson.  They have a QB who is a younger McElroy, the definition of game manager.  The Tide’s receiving crew is average.  LSU puts in Jefferson at QB, who knows what is going to happen with him under center.  Yes he can run decently well, and he can hand off just fine.  But when LSU gets in obvious passing downs, watch out because his throwing abilities rival that of Denards.  LSU has a group of running backs who can pound out yards in between the tackles, but they lack the running back who can get to the outside and outrun people.  The Tigers have a group of receivers with a little more talent that Bama’s but are still in every sense: average.  While these coaches hire innovative defensive coaches, their offensive prowess is straight out of a Lloyd Carr handbook (run, run, pass, punt, and repeat).  These two coaches are paid incredible amounts of money to recruit and win national championships.  They recruit the best athletes every year, which is very obvious on the defensive side of the ball, but where are they hiding them on offense?  It will be a shootout if one team can get into the 20s tonight, how is this exciting football?

Side note, you know that I enjoyed the first matchup between these two teams.  There was some great hitting, very good blitzes, and just freak athletes all over both defenses.  But I have seen this game before, and I don’t think we should be forced to watch it again.  Yes it was a good defensive battle, but how can you not even score a touchdown and then be rewarded with a rematch.  LSU has played one of the toughest schedules I have ever seen this year, they have already beaten Alabama in Tuscaloosa, I don’t think it is fair they had to beat a top 15 team in Georgia just to make the championship game while Bama got to sit home and watch.  Now the tigers have to beat the Tide one more time just to be called the nations best team.  So if Alabama wins tonight, they will have one less game, not win the SEC, not even win their own division, yet be considered the national champion.  They had their chance, and got beat at home.  I do think Bama is the 2^nd best team in America, and even if they win tonight it will not change my opinion.  Bama should have gone to the Sugar Bowl against Stanford, probably won the game and will finish the season number 2.  Ok St deserved the chance to at least play for a championship.  Can you imagine the best secondary in America, probably ever assembled on the college level, vs one of the best passing attacks including the most uncoverable receiver in college for the past 2 years.  Yes, LSU would have found a way to win, and probably by 10+ points, but it would be exciting to see how a great defense plays a great offense.  Instead we are left with 2 great defenses matching up against 2 boring average offenses. 

I think I have talked up both defenses enough, but I will add a little more.  If there was an all-star team on the college level it would include the LSU Dline, the Bama LBs, and then a combination of both secondaries.  They are by far the best 2 defenses in the country.  Out of the 22 starters, 18 will likely get a chance to play on the NFL level.  That is unheard of.  Look for both of these defenses to dominate the game tonight, but I think the outcome will come down to a big play by one of these groups.  Can LSU score yet another defensive touchdown?  Or can Alabama force a fumble or stop a 4^th and inches from inside the 5? 

I hope LSU finds a way to win again, but it will be hard to beat Saban 3 straight times.  I think Bama finds someway to win this game, but just because I really don’t want any question of the national champion.. LSU 13-Bama 10.

Playoff Recap: Well that was ugly

So my hometown pick of the Lions beating New Orleans in the SuperDome did not pan out so well, good thing I didn’t put money on it.  I didn’t think an NFL secondary could look that bad in back to back weeks, but the Lions did a nice job of proving me wrong. 

While everyone in the Detroit area is complaining about the refs in Saturday night’s game, they were not the reason our defense gave up over 600 yards and 45 points again.  There were some very bad calls, and most of them seemed to go against the Lions.  But at some point doesn’t the defense just have to step up and show a little bit of pride and make a stop on a 3^rd or 4^th down, or hold onto one of the 3 sure interceptions?  I guess not. 

The Lions scored a touchdown in every quarter, and it wasn’t good enough to even stay within 10 points of the Saints.  The Stafford to Calvin connection continues to get stronger.  He is the closest thing I have ever seen to being not coverable, even in triple teams.  He can just run faster, jump higher, and fend off any defensive back.  Stafford came out and looked great to start the game.  He drove the Lions right down the field on the first possession for a touchdown.  The offense looked like it had the previous few weeks.  Stafford had a great game, and it was until the defense put the team in such a hole that he began trying to force throws and then the 2 interceptions happened. There are a lot of things to be excited for on the offensive side of the ball.  What can Stafford do in his 2^nd healthy season, the expectations will be high, but I think he could have another Pro-Bowl type season.  I feel like after these guys (especially Calvin and Stafford) got a taste of the playoffs they will come back next season even hungrier.  Yes, there are still questions up front, and the running game is a big question mark.  I think a lot of it has to do with the offensive line not being good run blockers.  They can protect Stafford decently well, but they cannot get a consistent enough push up front to create any running lanes for any of our backs (no matter how good they are).  It will be interesting to see if they can pick up some linemen for the future in this offseason, they need to start rebuilding sooner rather than later. 

Defensively it was just a mess all night.  I don’t know what was worse, watching a back up QB set passing records against our starting defense or watch them constantly miss assignments and tackles.  The supposed strength of the entire team was the front four, especially in the pass rush area.  They continued their disappointing season on Saturday night by consistently not getting any pressure on Brees, but then when they bull rushed up the field it was on plays where Brees audibled to a run, setting up huge holes and an easy 8-10 yards.  For being so scary on paper, they were limited to 2 sacks and only a handful more pressures.  Yes, the Saints offensive line features 3 probowlers, and Drew Brees wouldn’t have been able to break all of those records without an amazing offensive line.  But the Lions missed a chance to step up in crunch time to validate all of the respect they think they deserve.  They fell flat.  The linebacking corps missed more tackles than I remembered for the entire season.  The Saints had 160 yards rushing, which is a disgusting amount when they have Drew Brees, but the worse stat is the Saints had 103 rushing yards after initial contact!  How is that possible?  It looked like I was watching an early season college game where Baylor plays Grambling or something.  The linebackers constantly wanted to make the “big” hit, and they would lead with their shoulders and completely forget to wrap up the ball carrier. Then the player would bounce back a little then keep going for another 7 yards.  How many times on 3^rd down did we hit them 4+ yards short only to watch the 5’6” Sproles carry guys to the first down.  Early in the game was a clear indicator of how the game was going to shape out, after Detroit punted on their 2^nd possession up 7-0, the Saints were pinned deep in their own territory.  It was a 3^rd and 10, and the Saints called a screen pass.  It is a perfect play for a 3^rd down when you are at the 10 yard line, especially when you are playing a blitz happy team like the Lions.  But the Lions were ready and waiting for it.  Sproles was hit 3 yards past the line of scrimmage.  Yet 3 Detroit Lions all had the same idea, “let’s try to knock him out” instead of just tackling him.  It turned into a gain of 12 and the Lions would barely stop another 3^rd down conversion.  I haven’t even talked about the secondary yet.  Eric Wright is one of the worst open field tacklers in the NFL.  I know the Saints defense is not statistically good, but there were multiple times when Stafford checked to a WR screen because of a large cushion, and the cornerback would come up and make the tackle.  Those things don’t happen in our secondary.  Most of the starters should not see the field, or they should be our nickel back that we rotate in on 3^rd downs.  Our linebackers were frozen over and over by the play action pass, which resulted in the middle of the field to be wide open for Brees to find Colston over and over. Even though the secondary is terrible at pass coverage, open field tackling, zone coverage, and run support, they do find a way to create turnovers.  I guess when you are so terrible you have to play aggressive and gamble on some passes, and sometimes the gamble pays off.  The Lions didn’t gamble much on Saturday, yet Drew Brees seemed to just taunt the Lions by throwing the ball up for grabs on three different occasions.  Every time the ball went right through the cornerbacks hands.  One was in the endzone right before halftime, it would have secured the 7 point lead.  One would have been a pick 6 early in the 3^rd quarter that would have put us up by 4, and the last one was when the Saints were driving late in the 3^rd quarter and Aaron Berry let the ball go right through his arms and legs near the goaline that would have held the lead at 3.  Instead the Saints scored 17 points on these 3 drives.  Pretty convenient since we ended up losing by 17. 

The past 2 games should give the executives with the Lions an easy idea of what they need to focus this upcoming offseason on.  They have to sure up the secondary anyway possible.  Their first round draft pick has to be an offensive lineman or a cornerback.  Since most offensive lineman are overvalued come draft time, it will likely need to be a cornerback.  Chris Houston would not be a terrible defensive back, if he was the 2^nd or 3^rd best on the team.  The Lions also need more depth at safety, since this year by the end of the year they were starting their 5^th safety of the season.  There are quite a few free agents after this year, it will be interesting to see who the Lions re-sign.  It will also be important for the team to begin rebuilding the offensive line, because the current guys are not getting any younger and at least 3 lineman will need to be replaced in the next few years.  At this point though, if there is a cornerback that projects somewhere between the 10^th to 20^th best player, the Lions will need to do whatever they can to draft him. 

Game 16 Recap: Michigan 59 Wisconsin 41 (13-3, 3-1)

The basketball team showed yesterday that it belonged in the discussion to be one of the 4 best teams in the B1G.  The win yesterday gave coach Beliein his first win against the Badgers, and the team left little to be questioned.  It could be a season defining victory for the Wolverines. 

The final score was 59-41, which is a pretty good representation of how the actual game played out.  We beat up on an average B1G team at home, we did what we were supposed to do.  We outhustled the best hardnosed program in the nation, we beat them at their own game, and it feels good.

Offensively, Michigan did not shoot well again, but they controlled the offensive glass.  It was the first time in my memory of a Beilein coached Michigan team that they actually controlled the offensive glass.  It was pretty amazing.  It seemed like in the 2^nd half when a shot didn’t go in, someone was there to tip it out to the perimeter to start another offensive set.  Also, the most impressive thing was on these 2^nd chance opportunities, Michigan usually found the open man for the best shot.  Scoring only 59 points and winning doesn’t necessarily say it was an efficient offensive day, but after watching the game I could not complain about how the offense performed.  Tim Hardaway Jr seemed to get out of his slump at times during the game, he knocked down a few threes (2-3) and didn’t seem to force any.  He scored a game high 17 points, but the most impressive stat was he finished with 10 rebounds.  Most of which he elevated above everyone to come down with a strong board.  Trey Burke looked uncomfortable again at times in the first half, he forced some very tough shots, but he settled in during the 2^nd half and played a very controlled, aggressive game.  Novak has one of his most efficient games from inside the 3 point line.  He finished with 12 points on 5-10 shooting (0-4 from 3).  He has really improved this area of his game to become a very difficult scorer to defend.  Many times he used the “he’s just a 3 point shooter” against the defense, going around them for an any layup.  Even though Morgan didn’t score much points, he still ended with 11 rebounds (5 offensive).  He got very good position around the hoop to pull down so many boards. 

Defensively Wisconsin had a very hard time doing anything.  They shot very poorly and didn’t look comfortable running a set offense.  When they got behind by double digits, they were not athletic enough to score quickly and it led to an unusual amount of turnovers for the nation’s leader.  Wisconsin ended with 12 turnovers for the game, 4 more than their season’s average.  Most of the turnovers were steals from Michigan which led to quick points by the more athletic team.  The one issue that Michigan had yesterday was defensive rebounding.  They struggled to box out on a consistent basis, which resulted in easy offensive rebounds for the Badgers.  Smot seemed out of position more than usual, giving up at least 3 that I remember, and Morgan while looking strong on the offensive glass got 2 balls poked away from him before he had full control.  He needs to play stronger all the time and nobody should be able to poke a ball away from him.  The defense within the 35 seconds of each possession was some of the best Beliein’s time at Michigan.  During his post-game interviews, Coach B was noticeably happy and could barely stop talking about how well the defense played yesterday.  Wisconsin is not a high scoring team, but their previous low on the year was 54 points in a loss.  Anytime you can hold a B1G team (especially one that is a tournament team) to 41 points, the defense played extremely well. 

Overall, I was very impressed with how Burke played.  I was excited to see how he played against one of the B1G’s best players.  To say he held his own is an understatement.  Burke outplayed the preseason favorite for the conference’s best player.  Burke has by far his best defensive outing, all but 1 bucket by Taylor was heavily contested.  Even though he gives up some height and pounds to Taylor, Burke held his own down low and Wisconsin was not able to post up the bigger guard at all, even though it is one of their favorite plays to run.  Burke also got some steals which led to transition buckets.  It is exciting to think what this guard can accomplish in his time at Michigan.  I know Wisconsin is not the same team of years past, and will likely finish outside of the top 5 in the B1G for the first time in what seems like a decade, but it was still a very impressive win against a ranked team.  It was an important win on many levels: it gave Coach B his first win vs the pesky fighting Bo Ryan’s, it cemented us as a B1G contender (at least to push for 2^nd), it cemented us as a tournament team (now we just have to keep it up to continue to improve our seeding), and it continues to put Michigan back on the map for basketball!

Go Blue!