Game 27: Michigan at Minnesota Recap

Very impressive win. Minnesota came out with great energy and effort but were no match for a locked in Michigan team on the road. Score doesn’t reflect it but this game was a blowout.
20 assists on 25 made buckets. That is phenomenal. I did a double take when I saw that. I guess that is possible when you make shots. I’m trying to recall the 5 baskets that weren’t assisted. I think all 7 of Teske’s baskets were assisted.

All season this game looked like a giant trap to me. I guess someone on the team noticed, too, because they were ready.

They played good D and they sunk threes and by the time they had hit cruise control the game was out of reach. I wasn’t thrilled by how the lead bled down late but I’m pretty confident that things wouldn’t have been so casual if the lead were at all surmountable.

Good way to lead into the game Sunday.

Always nice to see a victory, but especially nice to see 3’s falling again, including Poole getting back on track. Simpson also hit two FTs late - something that may be even more important against the Spartans. Was a bit surprised to see Teske/Matthews/Simpson/Poole played 36/37/37/38 minutes given the sizable lead we had a majority of the game until the closing minutes.

I think this game is a perfect illustration of how limited your team is if you can’t shoot the 3. Each team made 25 shots from the field, Minnesota rebounded better than Michigan, and turned it over less than Michigan. The difference, of course, is that Michigan made 13 3’s, while the Gophers made only 1. Having strong, dominant post players is great, but if you can’t complement the good things you do with a couple of guys who can knock down 3’s, it’s so difficult to win in today’s game.

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I’m a bit concerned about those minutes adding up. Not much in the way of easy games down the stretch to rest guys, either. I was kinda secretly happy that Z got autobenched over the weekend to get some real rest, given that it didn’t cost us the game.

The league will obviously not miss X this year as all-defensive team voting happens, but if Charles isn’t on it as well, it’s a travesty. (Teske too, Burt at least there are other excellent defensive centers on his level).

Reaves and McQuaid will probably get spots. Michigan’s problem is how many players can be from one defense? Obviously U-M has the best defense, but politics get in the way.

Maybe it can be a payback for us not getting a first team all conference player (honestly don’t see who I’d put there).

Michigan’s first two buckets of the game were Teske post-ups off switches. Giving the masses what they’re clamoring for! Also one good way to punish switches.

Those damn Gophers screwed up KenPom Time last night!

If I have to watch Eli Brooks pass up an open 3 one more time, I might seriously lose my mind. He had a great look at a corner 3 then gave it up to a covered X who had little time on the shot clock and the possession ended in a bad shot (I believe we got the offensive rebound). You can’t play scared in Big Ten basketball and stay on the floor. Castleton and Dejulius may make freshmen mistakes but they aren’t hesitant when they are out there. Castleton’s move down low was really nice, just didn’t get the finish (thought he was fouled). I would like to see Dejulius get all of Brook’s minutes moving forward.

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The question there is if Dejulius has even played at all at the 2. We don’t know since we’re not at practice, but my guess is that Beilein has had him focused on only playing the 1 since even that is tough for some freshman to grasp. Thus Brooks is probably solidified as the backup 2.

If DDJ can’t play the backup 2 minutes, I’d just push Iggy down to the 2 and let Livers get a few more minutes at the 4.

I like Brooks. I believe in Brooks. I wish Brooks believed in himself as much as I believe in him. At this point he needs to prove to me that he will shoot when he is open. If he refuses to shoot when he is open then he should not play.

The corner 3 he passed up was the best look anybody could ever expect to get and he did not shoot. Unacceptable. I don’t care if he misses that shot 5 times in a row. He just needs to shoot it.

Everybody wants you to shoot. Shooting is fun. Have some fun. Let it fly!

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It looked to me that this may have been something they have worked on. We have seen how they struggle feeding the post and this looked to be more of a focus. For a team that struggles to shoot at times, I like making this a bit more of a focus to get easy baskets and open things up from inside out.

Agree 100% with this. I wish there was a way to get Livers more time anyways so that he can get and stay in a rhythm. Moving Iggy to the 2 would be the next best alternative. He would struggle to guard that position in the ACC, but don’t think there are many star 2 men in the big ten he would have trouble with (Langford probably being one of the few).

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Totally agree…the scouting report has to say…”not a threat to shoot”! He hurts the team by not shooting…you gotta believe!!

The irony for me is that the stars are kind of aligned in Brooks favor too: Our defense is awesome so you we don’t need to be great offensively… We have only 2 good shooters on this team. We have several ok shooters. We have several not so good shooters. The conditions are perfect for Brooks to step up and carve out a role for himself even if he can just shoot ok. He just needs to shoot.

I feel worried for him. He is going to regret not taking his shots for the rest of his life.

Just let it fly and have fun. This is your time!

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I’m with you. I honestly believe he could be an X factor. I wish he believed. He can get open off the dribble and off the ball very well. He hit a pull up from the elbow against i think Maryland or Rutgers and I just was thinking , “You can do that all day, just look for your shot.” He had missed the same shot many times this year and then he never goes back to it and it’s frustraring.

Ive seen him get a great look from the same spot over and over and because he’s nervous he’s just off by a bit. It’s clear he can create that pull up at will versus most defenders. He needs to come in with the mentality of a scorer/ creator and realize his strength is the rest of the teams weakness. If he comes in for 10-15 a game looking to lead the second unit he could thrive, I’m convinced of that.

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