Game 31: Michigan at Michigan State Preview

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Yes slowing down Winston is key, but I thought Michigan was too focused on him in the first meeting to the point that they allowed other MSU players to get easy baskets. You can’t forget that he’s a lethal passer, and I would be more focused on trying to limit his assists than his points. Michigan can win even if Winston scores 30. They can’t survive with McQuaid/Goins/Tillman going for 43(!) like they did in the first game.

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When I say stop Winston, I don’t necessarily mean his scoring. I mean frustrating him with ball screen defense so that he can’t create those easy baskets that you are talking about.

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If Michigan wins this game and somehow wins the big ten tourney, a number one seed should be Michigan’s. It probably won’t be but it should be.

The number of top 25 victories this year has been absurd.

I am still annoyed that Gonzaga was annointed a 1 seed for one winning one game in November and then playing chumps since.

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Spot on analysis!

Michigan will win this game.

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I second that.

This game is where JB should shine on preparation and adjustments. We’ve had almost a week to game plan. Let’s sic ā€˜em now and WIN.

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Will today’s presser be posted?

Sorry, we had a scheduling issue and weren’t able to make it. Here’s Beilein.

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I’d like to see 4-5 minutes a half from DeJulius and have him pick up Winston full court. Keep X fresh and put pressure on Winston.

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Ok, there you have it! JB, regrading Teske, ā€œstep back three’s, that’s our planā€!

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:rofl: There’s certainly been a more sarcastic side of Beilein these last few years.

Yeah. That was his way of saying he isn’t saying the plan lol.

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And have Winston torch DDJ for 8-10 minutes? We were outscored by 7 at Maryland when Simpson was on the bench. I’d hate to see the carnage against MSU. No thanks.

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I’ll just say that attributing team +/- to a single player and then drawing conclusions on that from a three minute sample is pretty dicey.

That said, while I think DeJulius is not as destructive as that cherry-picking suggests, I’m not clear on why there is a perception that he defends on a level to dog the league’s best player full-court.

To my eye our biggest problem - especially without Matthews who can sort of find his own shots - is that we cant really play offense without X.

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Can’t tell if you’re referencing me, but that’s not what I did at all. The fact that DDJ has barely played at all is a pretty good indicator that he’s not going to magically come in and harass Winston. In fact, why wouldn’t we expect the Big Ten POY to light up a seldom-used backup?

Agreed, no time to play around with player number 2. Z can play the whole game or take a break when CW is on the bench. We should have a few extra TV timeouts tonight. Every possession will be crucial to get the win…gotta make the three’s!