Michigan at Texas Discussion

BIG WIN!!! And yes…JB still owns Shaka…

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:slight_smile: Big win for the tournament resume.

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Jones is huge for that team but no doubt about it, HUGE win!

Won’t be talked about but I thought Beilein was excellent at his TO timing tonight. Called each one perfectly.

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MAAR had as many rebounds as Bamba.

MAAR and Matthews both individually had more offensive rebounds than Bamba and Osetkowski combined.

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Hats off to Mr. Beilein for a masterly coaching clinic tonight.

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Defense up to 33 on kenpom… Their offense was brutally bad, but I think we have an actual strength there this year. We’re also 3rd in the Big Ten overall on there.

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Your hopes came true. I don’t think I’ve seen an offensive rating of 16 from a starter before.

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A few thoughts on the win:

-Great rebounding. Allowing MAAR and Matthews to attack the offensive boards while getting others back was big, excellent overall effort by everyone on the defensive boards.

-Those too especially but others too did a good job not getting too discouraged by blocks and still taking it inside.

-The defense really is improved. I mean, Texas did look awful at times and I just have never been impressed with any of Shaka’s offenses, but we’re getting hands up, making shots difficult, even when they get in the lane.

-We’ve been spoiled by such dependable guard play. Only 10 TOs but two huge, dumb ones down the stretch by MAAR and Simpson. Still a pretty good effort by those guys.

-Duncan quietly had a nice game offensively. Got it going with 5 points early, hit the freebies in the second half to keep as afloat.

-We’re still close to being a lot better. For instance, that pass from Simpson to Teske late should’ve been an easy dunk but was just too far in front – those guys don’t have the chemistry yet. It’ll come.

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I though Livers was an unsung hero tonight. Gave a strong effort on defense and on the glass — against a team with some legit size/strength. If he can consistently bring that energy & defense off the bench, it changes the team’s potential in conference play.

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Good defensive game plan and it was well executed. Texas looked pretty good earlier in the year against Duke and Gonzaga but they were really bad offensively tonight. They obviously missed Jones but their guards are terrible. Shooting matters a whole lot and they have none right now.

After Moe went out, we basically went into a stall on offense. We used the clock which was good but also took a bunch of desperation attempts.

Fun to see Bamba for the first time. His length is tremendous but he’s really raw offensively. I’m sure in time he will develop more game but right now, he’s all about defense. I’m sure he will go top 5 in the draft but he’s a project. Although in fairness, he’s stuck with a crappy collection of guards to get him the ball.

Good and much needed win. Assuming we take care of the next 3, the non-conf schedule met expectations. Could have been better but these last two wins really were big.

Still worried we just aren’t a very good shooting team. Can we make up for it by being a pretty good defensive team. Not your typical Beilein team where they are elite offensively and poor defensively. They may be more balanced between the two but won’t have an elite offense to rely on.

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The shooting is really a product of the 2 Seniors slumping thus far.

Robinson’s first 2 seasons he shot 46% from the field, 44% from 3. This year he’s at 38% and 32%.

Last 2 season’s MAAR shot 46% from the field and 37% from 3. This year he’s at 39% and 34%.

If Robinson and MAAR improve to their averages from the past 2 seasons, with Wagner/Matthews shooting they way they are, the offense should be fine.

It doesn’t feel like Wagner and Matthews have really hit their stride, but they’re still combining to shoot 54.8% from the field on 21.5 shot attempts per game. Once Wagner & Matthews take theirs (and as long as they are this efficient, why not), there just aren’t that many more shots to go around.

Add in the limited use efficiencies of Simpson & Teske…and I guess I’m just not that concerned about the team’s ability to score. Again, provided the two Seniors improve back to their previous averages.

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@umhoops mentioned it in the recap, but Teske’s screen setting stood out to me as a major plus, especially with Bamba setting picks on air at the other end.

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He’s handicapped by being severely lacking in talent.

I hope all the JB haters watched the game last night. JB put a coaching clinic on Shaka. Great road win for the guys and the 3 young freshman.

Get the next 3 games and be 12-3 heading back into conference. I think most would have taken that record a few months ago.

For all the JB can’t schedule, I think our RPI is hovering in the low 30’s?? Why the negativity toward the schedule? Please let me know what I am missing.

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I think a lot of the doubters were finally won over–or silenced–last year. And now they’re playing D; even Matt D may be happier. With all the moving parts, Beilein could have been forgiven if this team struggled well into B1G play; in many ways I think they’re ahead of schedule.

Yeah, Livers was active. On defense he’s pretty good when switched on to smaller, quick guards –
stays between them and the basket and gets his hands up – and his rotations seem to be getting better. He just gets pushed around by bigger guys. He’ll get stronger and more used to holding his own.

On offense, everything still feels a bit quick. Even his open 3s feel rushed. When he gets a step into the lane he doesn’t have a counter and takes harder shots than necessary. He’s also more affected than some others (like Poole) by the offense being choppy because he’s not quite the one-on-one player. Hard to know when or what will slow things down. It would definitely be nice to get him some minutes over the next three games and see his comfort level increase.

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