One thing to consider is that Brooks and Dorsey might not play as close to all-40 as we might think. Whether because of foul trouble or some other reason, he played only 31 minutes against RI and that seems common. Dorsey too isn’t a 40 minute a game guy and seems to play 34-35 minutes even in tight games. Maybe that will change if UM slows down the pace, but we may get a few minutes of a double big look and a few other minutes with at least one of those guys off the court.
And drawing a couple fouls on Brooks could be possible and huge.
Yeah, Irvin is probably the best bet, but I think DJ might be able to do okay if we can get our defense set. Brooks is a good 3-pt shooter but I’m not sure he wants to rise and fire over a 6’10 guy with a long wingspan, so DJ could play off just a little bit. Bell doesn’t shoot 3s so Mo can clog the lane somewhat. I know Brooks has a high assist % but he only has 2.7 assists a game. Ennis and Pritchard are good but not great 3 point shooters, so Walton and others could risk giving a little help. It’s not like guarding Phil Forte out to 28 feet. Brooks will obviously get his but in the halfcourt DJ may be able to make it tough when that’s the matchup. We may see him with some extra motivation to show some toughness too. Make Brooks shoot over DJ and/or make tough passes, maybe draw a charge along the way.
I look at it the other way around too. I haven’t read much on if Brooks can handle DJ down low. What do we think there?
I like going to that a little extra to start and see if DJ can get an early foul or two on Brooks. This whole game changes if Brooks gets in foul trouble.
It’d be nice to steal a foul or two trying to take a charge on him as well.
Has DJ successfully taken advantage of a size mismatch on the season so far? He’s been able to beat people with mobility, but as far as I remember he hasn’t really punished a smaller players.
No stats at all to answer, just going off memory as well, I think it’s a bit TBD to be honest. Probably the closest comparison is Miles Bridges, and he didn’t do too well against MSU this year.
I think the biggest thing is he may not punish Brooks physically, but he can face up and shoot over him. Brooks would have to honor that so you may get some drives to the basket fouls.
There were a couple of instances in the Louisville game when DJ to his man off the dribble and shot jump hooks in the lane which were unblockable. Also I think DJ will have opportunities on the offensive glass. Definitely have to make Brooks play some defense. I think he is a gambler on defense. Put Brooks in PNR and see if he can stay with Walt and let Walton make the right decision. The times I have seen Brooks he seems to make frustration fouls.
Great point. Kind of answering the other thread here, but I see this as a big Walton game. Putting Brooks in that PnR and having to guard him, Walton may be able to sell a few fouls.
Just watched the Oregon/Arizona conference championship game. Included a garbage 3 at the buzzer for Oregon as well as 4 huge missed free throws down the stretch for Arizona. Brooks is really really good. I think Irvin would matchup with him better than Wilson.
They have pretty decent full court pressure when they want to turn it up. I was surprised how they sagged off the three point line and gave Arizona a bunch of open shots.
This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about…I think the best chance we have is getting Brooks off the floor, and that may be by drawing charges, since he’s so good going downhill. I hope JB is all over this with the refs to let them know its something we do, so that they’re cognizant of it early.
Fully agree. I still think we’re ok with him on the floor but without him, forget it. Crazy circumstances would have to happen for them to pull out a W.
I have a feeling we do see at least a charge or two taken on him tomorrow. He gets a bit wild at tmes and we know the team takes their charges.
It just seems a team would be so unlikely to take the approach of sagging off the three point line and just letting M shoot a bunch of open shots.
An espn insider story stated M was 32 of 36 on uncontested shots in the tournament (88.9 percent), including 16 of 16 against Louisville. And 14 of 15 on open threes in the first two games of the tournament (93.3 percent.)
Certainly a case for continuing to take open shots!
A little bit of heavy money coming in on Oregon the last hour. Lines have dropped a .5 point to full point in that span. One book even had enough money come in to push Michigan to +1.
Our seniors just about willed us to a win that we didn’t deserve. Mo and MAAR played very badly, Duncan somehow ended up on Brooks most of the time even without switches, and DJ struck out on the big moments (missed boxouts and the dunk-turned-missed layup.
All very frustrating, mostly because I think we were the better team. But it was a hell of a privilege to even be in this position. Heck of a season, and I’m glad Walton and Zak solidified their legacies.