Final Four 2018: Michigan vs. Villanova Discussion Thread

I’m with your bridges is dope but Mathews was on self check. Lots of sloppy misses/ takes that we’re self inflicted.

Like I said, it’s not worth an argument.

Any transfer out or in next year?

Also I think we were frustrated because we came out to punk them and we’re then the refs started calling some meh fouls. Took the wind out of our sales.

I think Mo was exhausted after the first 5 mins. He was awesome to start the game but I think he played to exhaustion on Saturday and was fatigued today. He had a great Final 4 overall and I do think tonight was the last time he suits up for Michigan. Great fun watching him these past three years.

Outside shooting was just brutal in this tournament. 41-143 (28.7%) in the tournament. We had one lights out game and the rest was really bad.

Amazing run. We definitely maximized our season to the fullest. Nova was way better and it would have taken a monster performance to beat them. Wish it would have been a more competitive game but kudos to a truly great team in Villanova.

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Again , not blsming them one bit, we were over aggressive / over excited. That said , if you allow Brunson to drop a shoulder every play , you can’t call a fifty fifty body block call 20 feet from the hoop in a physical game. Especially when he throws it four rows deep.

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I’m gonna get all my negative “hot take” reactions out right now all at once.

Man, that game made me rethink how we’ll look with Teske as a starting center. That was absolutely brutal every time he got in. Looked like last year tbh. I’ll chalk it up to nerves because Purdue still happened, but his rebounding was bad.

I love Matthews and acknowledge that we don’t get to where we got without him, but his inability to develop into a ~35% outside shooter through 2 seasons just stagnates the offense so much. Same with Simpson, but he gets a lot less catch and shoot opportunities so it’s not as big of an issue. Also, some say Matthews is still getting backdoor cut on to this day…

What happened to Livers? He went from looking like a potential difference maker for like 5 games to just nothing. Shouldn’t the general motion of the offense give him at least some opportunities to get open looks at the rim in the half court offense? Since his return from the injury game he’s had only one game with more than one field goal.

Simpson got just plain beaten on straight line drives several times today. That was disappointing to see. He did well on Brunson (Side note: I’ve never seen a player who flops so much) but not great in the second half IMO.

And on a lighter note, I’m gonna miss MAAR and Duncan. What great representatives for the program.

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That three point shooting is such a crazy stat. We shot 27-119 (22.6%) in the non-Texas A&M NCAA Tournament games and still made the title game.

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Agree with everything in this post 1,000%. The question is how much of Matthews and Simpson’s problems can be improved upon. I’m hopeful it’s a lot of them.

Gonna miss Duncan and MAAR about 100 times more than I expected I would 2 years ago.

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The fact that we have a 5 person class incoming with 5 different positions and 5 shooters ranging from “good” to “awesome” makes me a little less worried. However, if Wagner leaves I don’t see us doing well with Teske, Matthews, and Z out there. Top notch defense, but I don’t know how Beilein’s offense would be successful with that little shooting.

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Regarding Brunson flopping: He really comes across as a player whose success is in large part based upon bullshit-play, which is going to get shutdown very quickly at the next level. Some might it call it “savy-play” but I just choose to call it bullshit-play mostly because I think he is significantly overrated as poy.

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His man helped off all game and his inability to hit a wide open jump shot is a problem for the team and even when he attacks the rim he gets contested often.

I have been lower on Teske than just about anyone. Nothing against him and he’s played great, but being on the other side of the small ball mismatch for so long I would not like to consistently be the team with the big guy that can be removed from the game so easily. Looking forward to the small ball lineups JB thinks up in the offseason.

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Now that you bring it up, the dissappeance of Livers is pretty crazy. At the beginning of the year he was a pleasant surprise, but since he got inserted into the starting lineup it was hard to tell he was even ever in the game. Funny in retrospect, that move seemed to have really helped Duncan, but hurt Livers just as much.

If Iggy and JP are the offensive forces I think they can be next season I think we’ll be okay. A lot will hinge on Moe coming back. I think we HAVE to have shooting from the 5 spot if we’re gonna continue to play Simpson and Matthews 35 minutes each. That or they have to get better at shooting from the outside. Certainly possible.

Z, JP, Matthews, Iggy, Moe is a top 5 team in the country to me both offensively and defensively with modest improvements from Z and CM. I know it’s unlikely they’ll both be back but one can dream.

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I’m 99% sure I saw Brandon Johns leaving the Alamo dome after game. Good to see him there.

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I think you’re selling him short. He’s got better than average feet for his size and at times has been the better option than Moe because of his defense.

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Teske can shoot. He hasn’t shown it a ton, but he’s got touch and range to 3.

Kinda makes you wonder if Livers was fully healthy. I thought he was poised for a break-out, but he was quiet ever since returning from the ankle.

He finishes extremely well a the rim imo. You can say the same for Mathews and livers. I think livers being an absolute non factor is much more detrimental on offense than z. I understand the point but for me it was clear z stepping up was a main factor in our successful season. I can’t think of a better on ball defender on the point in college and his vision , leadership and driving ability are all huge pluses. I guess I can’t see z as the one who bogs the offense down.