Game 14: Penn State at Michigan Recap

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Are ± stats tracked anywhere? I wonder what U of M player would lead in that category? A look at the 7 man rotation could be interesting.

I need more Simpson sky hooks. When Ricky Green was PG at M, everybody knew Green was going to his right but nobody could stop him because of his speed and quicks. Simpson has some of that in him. When push comes to shove he can go right and get a shot.

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Nowhere I know that is easily in aggregate. Sample size can get a bit wonky especially with non-conference games though.

The box score is from last year. Already corrected. Thanks Dylan

Yeah, sorry. Should be fixed now.

I do worry about Teske falling off a bit. He started the year playing at a really high level but much like the team, I don’t think his overall play has been as good lately. Feels like the drop off in 2 pt defense recently is a lot of Teske getting scored on in the post one on one and maybe not contesting shots as well as he did to start the season.

He’s playing a lot more minutes than I thought he was capable of as a big man. I don’t know that he can reasonably be expected to play close to 30 mins a game over the course of the conference season and do so at a high level.

I swear every game the announcers talk about Beilein telling them what a good shooter Teske is. Love seeing him knock down a 3 tonight but I’m not sure what basis there is to say he’s even a decent shooter. Even if you discount his 3 pt shooting being too small of a sample size, his FT shooting has never been good in his 2+ years here. He’s a 56% career FT shooter and that’s usually a pretty good indicator of shooting acumen.

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Did Livers not play tonight?

Correct. He apparently had back spasms.

My thinking with Teske is that with little backup plan, he is limited in how aggressive he can be defending in the post because they need him on the floor and out of foul trouble. # of minutes logged could very well be a factor like you said as well

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Ehhh. I agree with you on the minutes but I found his offense more concerning than his defense in this game. I think specifically you can point to his missed dunk as tired legs. I think during this recent stretch of games we have definitely had some opponents that we played poor 2 point defense against (South Carolina being one), but I did not feel that was the case today. There was a stretch in the second half today where PSU scored 4 straight buckets (3 by Watkins and one by stevens) and Teske played outstanding defense on all of them. On the post plays by Watkins, Teske did not give an inch and stayed vertical through the entire play and then on a flare screen stevens hit a curling jumper from about the ft line and Teske was all over it. Stevens adjusted the arc on his shot and still canned it. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other team. After all the old saying is still true at times “that was good defense and even better offense”.

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It seems like a lot of the shots have been low percentage, but we’re at a point where the only decent post scoring centers we’ve faced (NW, USC, PSU) have gone off against Teske. Bad luck on a small sample size or a concern against teams like MSU and Maryland? I lean towards the former.

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I agree. The eye test shows Teske is still forcing his man into tough shots, not giving up much ground, walling-up well. Pardon’s and Watkin’s high % was so frustrating, even though we all know they’re inefficient shots. Just seems like Teske rarely gets beat to the basket, and we have to hope teams start missing contested baby hooks, because Teske’s one clear limitation is that he isn’t going to turn into a frequent swatter.

I will admit that I am feeling less confident about the Ward v Teske matchup, though. I’m not saying I think Ward will dominate, but it sure seemed like Teske might be able to totally shut him down, in November.

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Make Ward go right.

Austin Davis seemed to play more in control this game. Took his time and made the extra pass to Iggy. Moved quickly on defense but without flailing.

Definitely played well in the first half… his time was cut short in the second half because the wheels fell off pretty quickly.

I think he’s a solid shooter. Again I think it’s nerves with him. When he’s missing he’s right on, just deep usually. Thinking too much or playing too quick I think. This season or maybe next (hopefully not) he’ll settle in and become more consistent. He also has the ability to hit the mid range face up consistently imo.

Austin had a great defensive sequence in the first half where he challenged a drive, then a shot, without fouling. That showed great progress, and I’ll admit that I was surprised he didn’t foul. So nice to see players grow, even if it’s just in baby steps.

Make Ward guard Livers

Shoutout to Eli for the nice steal and dunk! I believe this is the first time he has dunked in an official game, no?

As far as I know, Z has never dunked in a game, right? I am waiting for this, it will bring down the house.

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