Just like the MGoBlog recap, this is not going to be full of warm and fuzzy feelings with me trying to find the lessons this Michigan team can learn. Any lessons should have been learned by now, and I think it is safe to say that what we are seeing on the floor is actually what this team is. Forget the 30 point drubbings to open up the B1G season against Northwestern and Iowa, that team is not coming back. Forget the team that made winning the Preseason NIT look easy, those superb rebounding efforts aren't coming back. What we have seen the past 6 weeks is what this Wolverine team is. They have too many glaring holes to fix before the tournament to be a realistic Final Four team. I know the Michigan program is on the up and up, and hopefully the days of waiting nervously for Selection Sunday are in our rear-view mirror, but it is frustrating to have seen this team's potential as a clear top 3 team to what is now being put on the floor.
Yesterday's game was just a perfect showing of most of Michigan's problems. When Wisconsin showed their amazing offensive prowess in the first half by shooting 17% from the field, making 5 field goals, and scoring 17 points, Michigan managed to have just a 3 point lead. The killer instinct still has not grown from the beginning of the year when they let Pittsburgh have a chance at tying the game in the Preseason NIT semifinals. The Wolverines failed to convert any of their 4 FREE throw attempts, and missed all 5 3 pointers. If Michigan had just played an average first half, the game might have been out of reach by halftime. Instead, Wisconsin went on to score 51 second half points. Let me say that again, the Badgers who don't even average 65 points per game scored 51 in one half. If Michigan is making their jump shots, they can, and will, beat any single team in the entire country, but when there is a lid on the hoop and the team needs some post presence they can lose to anyone.
I continue to harp on how brutally bad the defense can be. Don't be fooled, Wisconsin's first half struggles had little to do with Michigan's porous defense. The Badgers went 2-13 in the first half, and then came out and hit 6 of 9 chances in the second. The most unexplainable part is that Michigan couldn't even get a hand up in the face of most of those 9 shots. In addition to terrible perimeter defense, Wisconsin continually whittled down the shot clock and converted with layups inside of 5 seconds. Since Jordan Morgan came back from injury, I think the majority of the defensive problems have been on the perimeter, but yesterday Michigan couldn't guard the ball handler, the weak-side shooters, or the post. This resulted in a terrible offensive team putting on a clinic in the second half. Wisconsin was scoring at a .51ppp at halftime, but because of their number of easy looks in the second that number grew to 1.00ppp.
Offensively Michigan becomes too predictable for long stretches. I understand that Wisconsin is the best defensive team in the conference, but Michigan has some of the most athletic scorers. Yet, for most of the 2nd half, the Wolverines looked to Trey Burke to facilitate and score. Nik Stauskas stopped attacking the rim, Glenn Robinson worked on his disappearing act, and Tim Hardaway was limited to an ankle injury. On top of that, the Michigan bigs responded to one of their best games against Penn State to being completely useless in the second half. Jordan Morgan couldn't catch the ball, and when he did it was taken from him. McGary couldn't bring the same spark as the day before, and Horford went back to looking average at best.
Looking ahead, maybe Michigan has just been a victim of bad match ups in the nation's top conference. I think the B1G season has just exposed the Wolverine's weaknesses. They are a soft team that settles for jump shots too often because the post lacks offensive ability. They still do have one of the best back courts in the country, and the National Player of the Year in my mind, so depending on how the brackets play out, the Wolverines can make a decent run in the tournament. The problem is we have seen what this team can be when clicking, and anything less than a National Championship Game appearance might be a disappointment. At this point I will pleasantly surprised with a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
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