The Michigan basketball team is back on the floor tomorrow
against the Arkansas Razorbacks. This game
is the last leg of the home and home series which saw the Pigs win a
frustrating game last year in Fayetteville.
This game will have a different feel than last, the Wolverines were in
the midst of struggling to start the B1G and us fans weren’t sure if we were
even a bubble team. Fast forward to the
present and Michigan has put itself in the conversation as one of the nation’s
most talented teams and Arkansas is still a mid-level SEC squad. Crisler should be rocking tomorrow for the
first home Saturday game of the season, and the last decent non-conference team
to come to Ann Arbor.
Arkansas hired a Nolan Richardson descendant to bring back
the ’40 minutes of hell’ style of play.
As a result, the Pigs on Wheels will go at the fastest tempo that Michigan
will see this year. NC State was a test
run for an athletic up and down team. The
incredible thing about Arkansas is that even with playing at this quick pace,
they are one of the best teams in that nation at turnover percentage. If they are not turning the ball over, that
means they are putting up a lot of shots.
Since they don’t slow down to set up an offensive set, the majority of
their offense will come from attacking the basket. Whether this means getting fouled and going
to the line or kicking the ball out for an open 3 point attempt. This is a very challenging team to
defend. Their best player is sophomore guard
BJ Young, who is likely to be a mid-first round draft pick if he chooses to
leave after this season. Young is the definition of a high volume scorer, so it
will not be out of the ordinary for him to put up 25-30 points tomorrow. The key will be to force him into getting
those points on 20-25 shots. The rest of
the Arkansas lineup is dripping with length and athleticism that allows them to
get up and down the floor. I have been
writing about how the depth of the Michigan team is a strength this year, and
it will be greatly tested in this game. Look for even McLimans to see some
action to spell the bigs. Coach Beilein
will likely limit the 2 post test trial tomorrow in order to keep 4 better
athletes on the floor.
Defensively, Arkansas continues its fast pace of play by
relentlessly pressuring their opponents.
I am not worried about Trey Burke struggling to break it down, but the
Razorbacks will try to keep the inbounds pass out of Burke’s hands. The remaining ball handlers will be pushed out
of their comfort zone. The one area that
does concern me is that when Michigan does break the press, they cannot fall
into the trap of always attacking which can lead to quick forced shots. The Wolverines need to offset the Pigs on
Wheels by running their offensive set and making Arkansas play defense for around
27 seconds a possession. This will allow us to find the best shot possible, and
also give our bigs a rest of running suicides.
The lengthy Razorbacks might also try a little zone tomorrow, which will
make Stauskas’ eyes light up. Michigan
will limit its focus on offensive rebounding in order to get back and stop
transition points. I think Michigan will be forced into a few quick possessions
where Burke or Hardaway take some ill-advised shots, but the key will be to
limit these.
I expect the Razorbacks to focus on Nik Stauskas, and try to
prevent him from getting the ball at all.
Michigan will need Hardaway, Burk, and Robinson to carry this team
offensively which should free up Molson Ice for some open looks. Arkansas is a better team than their record
shows, and could even be in the bubble consideration at seasons’ end. I think the Michigan bigs will struggle to
adjust to the fast pace of play, but the guards should have no problem. If Burke continues his amazing stretch of
around 8 assists and no turnovers, this game will get out of hand quickly. I do think Hardaway, Stauskas, Robinson, and
Albrecht will make their share of mistakes in this game though which will likely
push the turnover totals around 15. I
can see Arkansas hanging with Michigan to start the game, but Michigan is just
too much better than the Razorbacks to lose this game at home.
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