Illinois Recap

Michigan traveled to Illinois to play in the first Assembly Hall of the week.  In case you are forgetting where this program has come from, the Wolverines snapped a 13 game losing streak on this floor with their win last season.  While the Illini have been struggling so far in conference play, this is still the same team with double digit wins against Butler, Gonzaga, and Ohio State.  According to the most recent polls, each of those wins is more impressive than Michigan’s best (Kansas State).  Also, it was another game that the young Wolverines had a number one ranking over their head.  All of this to say, Sunday night’s game was not going to be one to overlook.  While Michigan might not have played their best game, they looked dominant at times and finished with another double digit conference win. 

John Groce implemented the same defensive strategy on Sunday as he did last March while coaching the Ohio Bobcats.  Illinois began the game by switching on every ball screen, and this resulted in multiple possessions where Burke was defended by Egwu, the Illini center.   The Michigan offense was confused by this strategy at times.  Burke’s biggest weakness is his height, and by putting the 6’10” defender in front of him it limited his ability to find the mismatch now on the block.  Trey then settled for multiple long distance two point shots, which are the lowest efficiency shot in basketball.  Once the Wolverines adjusted, by attacking the basket more and running Stauskas off of screens, Michigan scored more than 1 point per possession again.  Burke led all scorers with 19 points, but it was one of his most inefficient games of the season. 

Jordan Morgan went down in the first 2 minutes of the game with a nasty looking ankle sprain.  This put a lot of pressure on Horford, McGary, and Biefeldt, but all three guys stepped up and played quality minutes.  The center position notched 17 points and 14 rebounds, and that is without the best player of the group.  Morgan’s absence was noticed on the defensive end of the floor, however.  I think we have taken for granted just how athletic big number 52 is.  While he is lacking height to be a truly elite offensive center, his quickness allows him to be a shutdown defensive presence. Illinois was able to corral 41% of their misses, which is drastically better than what they were averaging in Big Ten play so far. 

Even though Sunday’s game was not Michigan’s best of the season, the Wolverine’s clearly looked like the best team in the country.  At one point late in the first half Michigan was only up by 3 after an Illinois three, and my wife walked into the room to ask how the Wolverines were faring.  By the time I was done expressing my frustration, Michigan finished the half on a 7-2 run to expand the lead to 8.  This even included a missed free throw to push the lead closer to double digits.  Each time Illinois threatened the lead with a run, Michigan was able to flex their muscles and pull the lead back out to around 15.  They were in complete control of the game, even when it wasn’t their best game and Michigan was playing on the road.  This team is impressive; enjoy the ride because this level of effectiveness is not sustainable over a long period of time.

Looking forward, the Wolverines get to head back to the confines of Crisler for a rematch against Northwestern on Wednesday.  Then Michigan heads to Bloomington for the regular season game everyone has been waiting for, the game against Indiana.  Hopefully Morgan’s injury is not as serious as it looked and he is able to play a few minutes against the Wildcats or at least Indiana.  Michigan will need him to be able to slow down Zeller, as the other big men are not quick enough to stay in front of him.  It could be a long night trying to rebound against Indiana without Morgan, since Zeller, Watford and Oladipo will crash the glass all night.  If you do not think Michigan will miss their starting center, the Big Ten Network just compiled a number of defensive stats around the conference and Morgan was selected as the best defender in the entire league.  The Wolverines are definitely not at full strength without Jordan Morgan, and it comes at a bad time with the toughest 4 game stretch of the season on the horizon.