If you happened to catch Michigan in action on Saturday
against Wisconsin, I am sorry. The game
was frustrating from start to finish. It
finally ended with Michigan on the wrong side of a 65-62 outcome. It was the most disappointing game of the
season, so far, since it was the first loss that the young Wolverines gave
away. The last 5 minutes of regulation
and into overtime was filled with missed lay-ups, bad coaching decisions,
inexperienced players, and horrible officiating. If you didn’t find time to watch the game, you
are now getting a feel for the over-arching theme.
It was the most physical game that Michigan has played this
season, but somehow at the end of regulation both teams had 3 fouls to
give. It seems impossible that the
officiating was more even in Bloomington the weekend before than it was in
Madison. Also, I have had enough of Dan
Dakich announcing games that I want to watch.
If I had to hear him say how incredible the referee crew was one more
time, my tv might have had a remote thrown through it. The loss falls solely on Michigan’s
shoulders, but the guys in stripes did little to help. I don’t want to spend this entire post about
all of the bad calls, but I would like to give a few examples. Early in the 2nd half Nik Stauskas
drove baseline to have the ball bounce off of a Badger laying on the
floor. The ball bounced backwards out of
bounds, but was given to Wisconsin. It
takes some talent to dribble the ball off your own foot, and have it carom in
the opposite direction. Later in the
half, Stauskas pulled down a defensive rebound.
When he is looking for the outlet pass he is karate-chopped across both
forearms by Beregren, and the ball falls out of bounds. Not only did the baseline ref not call a foul
on the self-defense move, he awarded the ball back to the Badgers. Bo Ryan admitted that Wisconsin was trying to
foul on the Michigan’s last offensive possession in regulation, they are hacking
at Trey Burke and eventually hit Hardaway’s elbow during this shot
release. Somehow the ball went in
anyways, so it makes the shot even more impressive. Finally, McGary found himself on another
breakaway, after a steal, and Beregren hit him so hard it was audible on the broadcast. McGary missed the lay-up when he should have dunked
the ball, but he should have been on the line for a 3 point play. One thing is for sure, Michigan will not be
at such a disadvantage, from the officials, in the NCAA tournament.
Michigan struggled to execute on offense, which allowed the
Badgers to hang around the entire game. On the defensive end the Wolverines
surrendered too many open shot attempts with the shot clock dwindling. Coach Beilein often says you need to play 37
seconds of defense against Wisconsin, but on Saturday Michigan usually only
made it to 33. The two freshman starters
did not have a good game, which makes it 3 for 3 in big road games this
season. It looks like GRIII has hit a wall
and is playing on fumes lately. He might
be the player most affected with Morgan being injured. At this point, if a team takes away Michigan’s
transition game they have effectively removed Robinson as a weapon. It seems
unlikely to have the Wolverines start to run plays for GRIII at this point in
the season. Stauskas was on the wrong
side of a few bad calls on Saturday, but he did manage to put up 4 extremely
good three point attempts, only to make 1. He seems to be a completely different player
on the road. McGary continues to improve
with each game in a Michigan uniform. Against
Wisconsin, Mitch unveiled a 10-15 foot jump shot. If this becomes a weapon that the opponent is
forced to guard, it will open up the lane for Burke to get to the rim. Also, Hardaway continued to be locked in
during the Big Ten season. He is making
a legitimate push to be the final All-Big Ten player (Burke, Oladipo, Thomas,
Zeller).
Moving forward, it has become clear that Michigan is really
missing Jordan Morgan. You can argue
whether he is the best post defender, but the Wolverines have missed his
minutes. Having the usual starting
center would allow Coach Beilein to play Morgan and McGary together, which
would reduce Robinson’s minutes at the 4 position where he is a little
undersized. Morgan is the best pick and
roll defender, and is a powerful rebounder.
We really noticed his absence on Saturday. Morgan will likely be the x-factor against
the Spartans tomorrow night. If he is
able to play, I like the Wolverine’s chances of victory, but if he is sidelined
again then it could be another frustrating night.
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