I’ll say this, there’s definitely a run of bad luck. The livers injury, ice cold shooting by um and some absurd shot making by psu and Illinois. If you just looked at the shots and didn’t know if they were going in or not, I would have guessed we would have beaten Illinois and psu by 15+.
Mathematically possible to still make the NCAA tournament, but highly highly not likely. One silver lining is that we all know Wagner is going to be a good player, but definitely needs to get stronger and more development. So it looks like he will be a three or four year player. Some people preseason were saying he was a 5 star player and could leave early for the big leagues.
Yeah, I can’t blame Juwan for his guys missing FT’s but totally agree about some very questionable late game decisions.
I definitely didn’t understand playing Davis & Teske down the stretch. That made no sense and then on top of that, we are going to Davis in the post against Cockburn in a late crucial possession.
Teske got a great look on the last possession but you have to be able to get a 2 for 1 in that situation when there’s 50 seconds left in the game to start the possession. I don’t know if Juwan is good after timeouts or not because he never calls them except to stop runs which is fine but he took 3 TO’s home with him.
You definitely see the value of having a one on one player like Ayo who can create his own shot. Michigan doesn’t have anyone like that on the roster.
Nice having Livers back until he wasn’t. Wish he would have gotten more looks from 3 while he was out there. They posted him a couple of times and not sure that’s ideal.
Wagner did some good things but man his 3 pt shooting has been a major disappointment. He’s 14/52 in Big 10 games.
Season is getting away from them in a hurry. We’ll see if they can turn it around. 12 games left in the conf which can be a good opportunity for some big wins or a lot more losses.
You are exactly right, having a player like Ayo who can create their own shot and makes impossible shots is the key to be in the top 3 in the Big Ten. Sometimes you only need one stud and role players at the other positions. UM does not have that.
Ugh… can’t decide what’s worse… the 3 point percentage or FT percentage. Probably free throws since UM only went 45% in the second half. If Wagner makes either of his two at the end the game sets up favorably for UM in the final minute.
I think Teske needs to end the three point attempts. He’s now at 26.5% for the year; lower than last year and at a higher volume. What are his synergy numbers at mid-range - I’d think close to 50%?
UM definitely not where they want to be, but it’s not like UM has been blown out of the building during this string of losses for the most part. If they can get some things cleaned up (which may be an understatement) they could still finish the season strong.
That last 3, airball nowhere close was pretty rough. Just doesn’t have it. I really had wished that Castleton would have been doing those by this time like Wagner did in his Sophomore year.
The most depressing free throw related loss since we missed the chance to hang a banner back in '13 against Indiana. The game against Nebraska will be a real test of grit. Rough patch, but they just have to take one game at a time.
Man I didn’t realize we had 3 remaining at that point. You HAVE to use one with 51 seconds left, just to get the situational basketball mindset instilled. That should be an automatic 2 possessions (2-for-1).
Proud of our guys’ fight, just a hodgepodge of errors and a phenomenal shot by Ayo.
I think they kinda tried to 2 for 1. But Teske’s post ups are very deliberate.
I am at a loss, just like most everyone here. We turn the ball over only 2 times, allow only 5 offensive rebounds, handle the Illinois size that killed us in Champaign very well, yet still lose. I generally don’t like the term “find a way to lose”, but man, that kind of fits today. It was similar to the way Nebraska lost at Rutgers today, with a 6 point lead and 2+ minutes to play, but failing to score at all down the stretch and falling to a tough clutch shot at the end. The guys will need to have huge mental toughness to bounce back from this one on Tuesday, as will Nebraska’s guys. It will be interesting to watch.
I wonder whether Teske’s wrist is worse than we know. He was flexing it before a FT attempt today, and it might explain why his 3-point shooting has been so wildly off lately.
I was thinking last week how I don’t want to judge this team until Livers is back and the schedule stabilizes. The schedule has stabilized, but of course, Livers isn’t really back, and we may not see him again for a bit. Maybe we’ll never be able to properly judge this team. I’m glad that the guys appear to have plenty of fight in them, and they play hard. That will bring some pleasure to watching them the rest of the way, even if the W-L results aren’t what we’d like.
Not saying Simpson played bad today because I don’t think he did but just thinking out loud is anyone else ready for a new regime at point guard? I love Simpson and he will be missed dearly but I’m anxious to have a point guard who can create their own shot not just at the rim but all over the floor. Having Simpson at point guard makes it hard for there to be other creators. Like I said, not bashing on Simpson as he is fantastic. Just want to see what we can do with a more balanced offense especially if we get someone like Christopher.
Frankly I put that late Davis miss on Wagner. I was yelling at the TV the moment he dumped it down to Davis. We had plenty of time to run a play.
I thought Davis was patient, made a great move to get himself a 3 foot jump hook, and missed it. No different than other players who missed either a 3 foot jump hook or free throws down the stretch.
I think everyone was hoping that Livers was going to be that player after seeing all the training he was doing in the off season. Of course he got hurt but even before that his ball skills had not advanced enough to be a difference maker where as he could either get to the rim or get a quality look at will.
Feel bad for Livers, I hope he takes the rest of the year off and completely heals. I thought he’d be gone for the NBA after this season, not likely now.
Yeah, unfortunately his offensive ceiling gets revealed when his teammates aren’t making shots.
I thought Simpson played pretty damn well yesterday. Michigan’s lack of other creators has more to do with the lack of other creators on the roster than anything to do with Simpson.
With the players currently on next year’s roster I think those problems would be emphasized not eliminated.
Yeah, Simpson did a much better job of picking his spots compared to the last Illinois game. Didn’t turn the ball over very much. Seemed to always hit a key layup to keep them in range.
I also thought X played very well yesterday. The frequency with which he gets to the basket is very impressive, considering teams don’t have to respect his jumper at all. No matter how this season finishes, he’ll be a great example of a college player that got the absolute most out of his abilities.