Purdue at Michigan Discussion Thread

Haha.

Good one.

Dick Vitale though.

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It was at the Garden. Jay Williams said it.

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Youā€™re correct on that! Jay also said last night that, ā€œright nowā€ Purdue is the best team in college hoops. He tends to say things based on what he just saw, and doesnā€™t necessarily have the guts to stick to it. With DJā€¦he was right :slight_smile:

Purdue hit two incredibly tough shots late in the game once we had taken the lead. Those were damn tough makes.

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As for last nightā€™s game, I thought they got the 2 controversial calls right, though it was crazy how much leeway they gave Teske when heā€™d battle with Haas that they did not extend to Moe. The 3rd foul they called on Moe was an absolute joke as well (as well as the screen they called against Teske in the 1st).

Iā€™m actually on board with @therealmirman that I thought we went too early, as Iā€™d personally prefer to have 2 outcomes from that possession: Win, or overtime (or a shot that results in a putback or a full-court prayer from Purdue). But I do admit that CM had good leverage, and Matthias made a great play (how he didnā€™t drill CM in the nose on that swipe is amazing/luckyā€¦seriously, watch the replay again and think of it in real-time speed).

I like the trajectory of this team, but regardless of what happens in EL, I still think there are some games out there that weā€™ll find ourselves in similar positions in the final 2 minutes, and I sure as heck hope that we figure out how to execute down the stretch by then.

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Do you think Jayā€™s statement was far off? I donā€™t think he was going out on a dangerous limb there. They are ranked top 5, it is early(ish) in the year, and their team is full of veterans.

And frankly they maligned Zac Irvin for much of his career here and Derrick Walton, too, last season until, BOOM, he went on that awesome tear and became one of the best college PGs in America. That kind of stuff happens here a lot, too much in my opinion. Charles Mathews has awesome talent, but he has a lot to work on and improve on in order to become NBA ready. I truly believe he will be here next year, and I believe, if candid, he would say the same. He also knows Coach B will help him in those areas where improvement is needed. Iā€™m in the camp of thinking Moe will be back, too, and the coaches will have to figure how to make room. Just my opinion.

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No I donā€™t think heā€™s far off at all! I think Purdue is the real deal, and is built in a lot of ways how I would build a team (legit big, legit defense, legit shooting at multiple positions, etc.). I havenā€™t watched enough of Nova (as an example) to say whether or not Purdue is betterā€¦but Nova has lost more recently, so its easy to say Purdue is playing the best right now.

*Edit - I do wonder, though, what Jay would have said after the game if Michigan had won.

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Okay. Wildest dreams might have been too strong, but there were plenty of games where DJ Wilson wasnā€™t all there, or was too passive. Whatever you want to call it. Thatā€™s my point. He had games that he looked like a pro (especially those games in NYC when everyone was watching), but so has Matthews. And when you have a 7-2 wingspan (like DJ) or a 40+ vert (like Charles) it only takes a few of those moments to turn potential into reality (and a paycheck).

Thatā€™s all I was saying.

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Here is some different discussion. How about Michā€™s issues down the stretch to run the offense and get a good scoring opportunity. The most glaring weakness to me for the team is who is the person that can go get a shot or make a play in crunch time. For all of the good things Zavier did his inability to create a shot for himself also keeps him from making a play for teammates during crunch time. The teams last three possession of the game were hideous at best. Matthews handle is still shaky in rushed situations

Untill JB becomes more comfortable with giving more crunch time to Poole and letting Livers handle more we will struggle with the very good teams like Purdue. At this point of the season I see Poole and Livers as the players with the best skill/athleticism combination on this team.

  1. Hit on this in the post about the offense last week. Is it time to worry about Michigan's offense? | UM Hoops.com

Michiganā€™s lack of ISO/playmaking is a bit troubling. But honestly, they had some really good PNR moments in that game, better than I expected attacking the switches and finding guys.

  1. I donā€™t see Livers as the answer in those situations yet. He hasnā€™t shown any of that ability (1 iso possession, 0 PNR possessions). Part of that is opportunity, but right now heā€™s great because he can space the floor, attack closeouts, crash the glass, etc. Donā€™t take that away because that is going to help whoever is doing the heavy iso/PNR lifting.

Poole has shown some spurts and has the potential to be that guy especially in the future, but ooohweee it is going to take a lot for JB to call his # in the final minutes of a 1 possession game IMO.

Muhammad was really on a roll and had improved his PNR/ISO numbers over the last couple of weeks, but obviously didnā€™t have the best game.

I was fine with Matthews possession late mostly because he has the best PNR numbers of the team, just didnā€™t make a play in that situation. Thought he probably could have kicked that ball to Moe on the pop too.

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I donā€™t use single elimination tournaments to evaluate a team because theyā€™re naturally unreliable in determining that. Purdue only beat us because they hit alot of shots from deep and then shut us down late. However, that was also the best game of defense weā€™ve played all season IMO, or at least one of the best.

I can agree with your assessment. For the most part with yesterdays game Purdue is playing seniors who know how to guard and help and we needed a player with some shake and bake ( boy that makes me sound old) to their game to create an advantage that did not materialize.

What makes you say that?

For me, simply, this was where our being an inexperienced squad just told the tale. Not everyone on the squad may be that young, but the team is still such a Rubikā€™s cube. . . All those seniors on Purdue just maybe operated more efficiently. Still, so much promise shown; I am less and less upset as the day wears on.

I did feel consternated that Matthews didnā€™t seem to have any awareness of the wide-open Moe at the top of the key. I think he had failed to pass in a similar situation earlier.

Our adjusted defensive effeciency fell about 8 spots so kenpomā€™s formula disagrees on that being our best game lol. They shot well, but most of those 21 three point attempts were fairly open.

Maybe this year (mostly because Poole may not even be on the floor because of positional, defensive, and comfort considerations), but itā€™s heading that way. JB said he was trying to get Poole back in the game late, noting that the moment wasnā€™t too big for him. Poole is what you want in that situation - he wants it and has the multiple tools.

Poole is already a better ball-handler than Matthews, can already shoot better off the dribble than MAAR and Simpson, etc. And for all the talk about hitting singles vs homeruns, heā€™s making better decisions than Matthews in particular lately. For instance, heā€™s gone 3 games and 31+ minutes without a TO. Heā€™s hit 12 FTs in a row (Iā€™m not sure if any even touched the rim) and is a 77% shooter on the year. His assist numbers are still low but heā€™s taking on more PnR and playmaking responsibilities and has looked the part.

Like I said, it may not happen this year because of defense and seniority/comfort level, but that definitely seems like the not so distant future.

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One note on our past conversation ā€“ Painter specifically noted that we got 6 points on two offensive rebounds of FTs. Also, heā€™s one of my favorite opposing coaches to watch in the post-game interview.

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Yeah, definitely think that Poole eventually has a playmaking role on this team down the line, wasnā€™t trying to say otherwise. Poole also has 4 assists all year and isnā€™t the first name on a scouting report.

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Yeah I noted the free throw misses in my recap. It is a nice trick I suppose, but Iā€™d also like to just make free throws.

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