Ohio State Recap

Ohio State came to town on Tuesday night for another heavyweight battle.  It was the 2^nd leg of Michigan’s Tour de Contenders.  If you remember, the Buckeyes handed the Wolverine’s their first loss of the season in Columbus.  The return trip was a near must-win for the maize and blue, if they have dreams of winning the regular season Big Ten title.  It is crucial to protect home court, and also at least split meetings against the top tier teams. 

I have to be honest, I am sick of playing against Aaron Craft.  Even though Michigan ended up winning one of the most exciting basketball games of the year, I went to bed frustrated.  While unbiased observers are hoping for a potential third matchup in the Big Ten Tournament, I will be happy avoiding the Buckeyes.  Both teams started the game slowly, but then Michigan struck with their first run of the game.  It was sparked by Nik Stauskas’ fade away corner three pointer over 6’8” Sam Thompson.  In the words of Bill Raftery: “Onions.” Then Thad Matta took his first time out to stop the bleeding, and from that moment Michigan lost any momentum as Ohio State chipped away at the lead; eventually taking a one point lead into halftime. 

The second half was much of the same trajectory.  Somehow the leprechaun hit a 30 foot, uncontested, shot after the shot clock expired, and the refs counted it.  This helped the Buckeyes expand their lead to 8 points nearly 10 minutes into the 2^nd half.  My hope was shrinking and my annoyance of all things Aaron Craft was growing, but then enter: Tim Hardaway Jr.  He was unconscious; so much so that ESPN began comparing NBA shooting efforts from the past two nights as ‘a Hardaway effort.’  The improved junior guard made 4 three pointers in a span of a few real time minutes, and finished 5 for 5 in the half.  Michigan was able to chip away at the deficit, eventually taking their first lead of the half, 52-50, after one of number 10’s bombs.  The rest of the game went back and forth with both teams having a chance to win the game late, but after 40 minutes the score was knotted at 72. 

Overtime consisted of Trey Burke hitting an unbelievable three pointer over Craft with the shot clock running down, and Ohio State forgetting how their offense runs.  Michigan began playing not to lose after scoring on their first possession, and instead of pulling away in the final 3 minutes, the Wolverines floundered around.  This ultimately led to Ohio State having two chances to tie or take the lead in the last 20 minutes.  If not for two blocks on Craft, I would have likely had an even harder time falling asleep.  While most Buckeye fans are still whining about a foul not being called on Burke or Hardaway in the final seconds, they seem to forget that the refs gave Thad’s Thugs an extra 5 points in regulation.  The goon Ravenell did everything possibly to get an offensive goaltend (he touched the ball twice while still in the cylinder), and the before mentioned Craft prayer.  With those two bad calls in mind, I don’t mind the no-calls going in favor of Michigan.  So much for getting home court advantage at Crisler, though.

While the offense sputtered at times, they still managed to shred the Buckeye defense for 1.19 ppp. It was the best offensive numbers put up against the Buckeyes all season, and by a large margin.  Michigan was aided by shooting 14-24 from long range, including 8-9 in the second half.  This shooting percentage is not sustainable, but they knocked down the shots needed to win this particular game.  I would like to see Michigan attacking the basket more, whether through back cuts from Stauskas and Robinson, or isolation plays for any one of the perimeter guys.  The positive thing to take from this game, though, is no other team in America has Aaron Craft.  That alone is worth some celebrating.

I was really frustrated with the defensive performance from the Wolverines in this game.  I am sure playing the grinding Big Ten schedule has a lot to do with tired, sore, players, but Michigan will need to play at a higher level moving forward.  Ohio State outperformed their season average on offense by nearly .15 ppp, which correlates to 10 less points in the same number of possesions.  Yes, the 5 points awarded by the refs does factor into this number some, but Michigan also played one of its worst games on defense.  The young Wolverines were constantly late for rotations, forgot to box out on too many shots, and the big men allowed the ever-so-soft Amir Williams to seal them on the block.  Williams and Ross had career games in one of the most hostile environments they have ever played in.  I am very interested to see how Michigan responds this weekend against Wisconsin.  They have an extra day off to prepare and rest, hopefully Jordan Morgan will be ready to play closer to 10 minutes, and the Badgers struggle on offense.  Michigan should target holding Bo Ryan’s team to 1.00 ppp or under.  GRIII seemed to play with more energy on Tuesday night, and he might have been helped by being able to go to the bench for a few minutes.  He has had an extremely tough back to back assignment with two potential NBA players (Watford and Thomas). Wisconsin runs a lot of offensive sets through Ryan Evans, so Glenn will be crucial for Michigan locking down the Badgers.  I also want to see Michigan play more physical on the defensive end.  There are times when Trey Burke exerts a lot of effort to body up the ball handler, and McGary is physical just by being on the floor, but the rest of the guys do not dictate where they want their matchup to go.  Too often Michigan plays reaction defense.  By that, I mean, the passing lanes are not denied, block position is too easily allowed, rotations are late, help defense is too hesitant, and lately players have struggled to be in good rebound position. 

It was a good win for the Wolverines on Tuesday night, but Michigan will need to continue to improve on the defensive end to win the Big Ten and compete for a Final Four.  I definitely think the extra day will help the team, but Wisconsin will pose a physical test.  The Wolverines should be able to get some more rest and recovery after the next two games, with a Tuesday/ Sunday week next up and then a week off following.  Just hopefully they can compete on an elite level before then.