I will say this - if anyone wondered if it was worth signing Simmons last offseason? It was worth it just for tonight. He saved our asses.
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Iāve been reading a lot of tweets and a lot of Michigan people seem to be down about our performance. Was the offense good? No. But we just help Montana to 47 points. Thatās ridiculous. The offense will find itselfā¦the defense will carry us. I have no fear of Houston.
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Defense now up to #3 (!!!) on kenpom.
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Survive and Advance.
Very happy for Simmons. He was the man in Ohio, putting up big numbers. It must have been a big adjustment but heās kept a great attitude and continued to work hard (even though at one point he was completely passed up by Z/Brooks). He came to Ann Arbor to play in the tournament and it was great to see him contribute in such a big way. Agree with previous post that his defense wasnāt the best but his points in the first half were huge for us, coming at a time when we couldnāt buy a bucket.
On to Houston!
SKnight
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I agree with all of this. Jaaron is an outstanding young man who has had a great attitude all year despite things not going the way he had hoped they would. Heās hung in there and hung in there, and heās been a positive teammate all year. He made a tremendous contribution last night and not just on the offensive end. Frankly, I thought his defense was fine. Montanaās guards, 14 and 0, were quick on quick and pretty darn good. Both Z and Jaaron did a very good job on them. Rorie and Oguine scored 30 points between them, sure, but they were a combined 11 of 28 (39%) and 3 of 10 from three. Iām so pleased for Jaaron. Keep it going young man. Nice job!
As for the game as a whole. UGLY, UGLY, UGLY. I think Montana makes you play that way. Terrible decision making on the fast break, very little offensive efficiency, but as we have said this year, they can win with defense, and they did last night. Someone said, āburn the tape.ā I think thatās probably a good idea although Iām pretty sure coach wonāt do that, not Coach B, the ultimate teacher. On to Houston. Letās hope we have a good scout. Iām pretty sure we do. Play with tenacity on āDā and with the kind of offensive efficiency of which we are capable! Go Blue!!!
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Hardaway was there right?
Interesting perspective from Montana coach:
āI canāt recall one possession where they took a bad shot,ā DeCuire offered about Michigan. āThere will be defensive breakdowns because the offense can manipulate things, but on the offensive end for them, I just canāt remember someone taking a questionable shot and allowing us to get some momentum or a low rebound.ā
Funny first paragraph. Thatās some good writing there in the Missoulian
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Yes sophomore THJ which was his worst year probably. But even freshman Trey Burke would absolutely be starting over X. He could have been a late first round pick had he left.
I am continually impressed with Livers ability to keep people in front of him. For someone his size and age he really does a great job of on the ball defense; doesnāt play on the ball defense like heās 230lbs or a true freshman. He doesnāt do much in games statistically, but that young man oozes with potential.
I give credit to Livers for Robinson being forced to step up his defensive game or get passed over. Nothing like healthy competition to bring out the best efforts, and Robinson certainly is engaged on defense like never before.
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Iāll give myself partial credit for this. The scoring was indeed a throwback, but it wasnāt from his confident ball handling but rather his baseline cuts and finishes at the basket.
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There a way to rewatch this game?
Hopefully, no.
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