Over the last 10 games, Michigan has played more like they were expected to in the preseason. They are 12th in the country in adjusted efficiency the last 10 games. Theyāve regressed quite a bit after the early season Villanova and UNC games so a day like this seemed inevitable. Still a very good team, but they have obvious weaknesses offensively that Iām not sure if there are quick fixes for.
Beilein made multiple rare blunders in the last minute of the game and killed any chance of a comeback. Everyone has off days and he had his today in the closing stretch.
Matthews has an offensive rating of 89 in conference play and heās using up 23% of possessions doing that. In addition, Brooks has an O Rating of 73 in conference and Iggy and Livers also have fallen off a lot. Iggy has an O rating of 106 and Livers has an O Rating of 99.
Itās kind of endearing ā¦ itās been so long that we lost a close game that Beilein forgot the rules.
Turnovers, shot selection and inspired play by Wisconsin did in the men in blue. Some turrible decisions with the ball and some hero ball shots really were painful to watch.
Xavier Simpson has an insatiable desire to win and compete. He was ready to rip Davisonās head off after the hard foul across Simpsonās forearms.
Probably would have been a win in everybody played with Simpsonās level of effort.
As Teske emerges in 2 man game with Simpson, Matthews and Brazdeikis role is diminishing imo. Iād like to see more ball movement out of that look but what the hell do I know.
I think they were going to that more today because Wisconsin couldnāt guard it. Even when Davis was in they weāre getting great looks. The reverse side was Charles and iggy looked terrible today and Wisconsin defended them well.
I felt we killed our selves for the most part but wisconsin and Gard deserves credit for doing their homework on their assignments and defended each player intelligently and effectively particularly on iggy and Charles.
Canāt win āem all, but damn this game really was winnable. I say it over and over, but Matthewsā bad habits are killers. He travels over and over, which is utterly ridiculous after two years. I feel Iggy has been reading his press clippings. He just needs to put his head down and keep working, cut down on all the āWe want Dukeā talk, get the job done. Brooks at times gives no value. Hesitant to shoot, weak ball handler, looks goofy, unathletic. I still donāt understand why Villanova and Michigan were hot on the trail to recruit him. Hopefully he is a late bloomer but he looks like a MAC-ish player. The ultimate positive from the game is the emergence of Teske becoming dominant in games on both offense and defense. This emergence will loom large in March. Still a very good team, a championship hopeful, just an off kilter day today.
Love this teamā¦17-0 run!! One loss, huge rebound! Iām all in!!!
Good teams lose. It happens. If you meet anyone who overreacts to this loss tell them to take a lap.
Yeah in my estimation like with NW,it will be a much different game when Wiscy comes to AA next month. It will be payback time.
I think the extra practice time over the summer gave them a temporary advantage and folks have caught up. Very good team, but not necessarily top 5 or 10.
Too many guys today were unwilling to attempt open threes. Livers, Brooks, and Matthews all passed up open looks.
Do you know who is at the tail end of the top 10? Who do you think is better than Michigan? This was an off game. Letās not overreact in the opposite direction. Theyāve beaten nearly every team on their schedule by double digitsā¦ like a top 10 team would do.
Iāll say the same thing I said in the game thread, to me, this loss proved just how good Michigan really is.
Iām not even trying to be a homer, I thought theyād lose today going in, and the way they lost gives me more optimism. Iggy and Matthews canāt play any worse and Poole was just ok. Yet, it was a one possession game at an arena they donāt play well in with a minute to go.
In other words, it takes an incredibly bad game on their part just to sneak by Michigan at home. Sounds good to me.
Throw in a coach who seemed to play for āa good lossā, especially with his late game coaching, and we really only had Simpson and Teske playing All-in it seems. Is it just me, or did Coach B seem to concede the game in pregame comments and almost welcome the loss in post-game? Still love Bellein and THIS team, and not a hater, just wanted to see poise at end of game.
EDIT: Great analysis (and quick turnaround, as always) from Dylan both pregame and post-game.
I didnāt hear his comments pre-game but he definitely knows what strings to pull. Iām sure heās excited to see how his team responds from here. (Personally, I think they lose at Assembly Hall but win at Iowa, winning the two home games in between.)
I really wish brooks would take his shots. Late in the second half he got the ball left wing/corner, wide open, and he passed it up. It was early in the shot clockā¦but shooters have to take that.
I canāt take you seriously if youāre going to suggest that Coach B is conceding a game or going for a good loss. Come on.
CM only took 5 shots and it looked like he wasnāt even looking to shoot a 3. Whatās up with that ?
The thing that most disappointed me in this game was the fact that it appeared we were unable to respond to the type of defense (packline?) Wisconsin was using.
Outside of our high screen and roll/pop game with X/Teske, I didnāt see much other movement happening. Beilein used to run multiple sets and off ball screen action to free up shooters but I didnāt see much of that, if any. Backdoor cuts? Nonexistent.
Itās the Kohl center and Iāve been watching Michigan basketball since Amaker took over and if thereās anything Iāve learned in that time itās that winning in Wisconsin only happens once a blue moon; even if you have superior talent.
All in all I donāt think this loss hurts much;
I just hope they learn and grow from it moving forward.
Also, I cant wait to see Happ graduate. That dudeās game is so hardcore YMCA 55years and over. I canāt help but shake my head everytime he backs down his defender to get into one of his slow motion below the rim post moves.
And the flopping of Davidson and Trice (runs in the Trice family obviously) sure makes me wish Teske would actually blast one of them on a blind-screen so they could actually have some forcible contact to account for the flailing.
Onward to Minnesota. Back on the winning track.
Iād just like to add that as a Michigan fan yesterdayās loss really sucked. However, as a masochist I had a pretty nice time.