In a stadium that has seen limited joy for Michigan, and almost none in the manner that Michigan has been dismantling teams this season, there was more of the same on Monday night. It took all forty minutes and a last second miss, but Michigan staved off the Northwestern charge and held on for a 62-60 win to start Big Ten play with two wins and a 9-0 record overall.
Game Story:
Michigan started off hot, highlighted by a pair of fouls on Jordan Poole on three-pointers, included one that went in. It was a 15-7 start for the Wolverines, and Ignas Brazdeikis made it 22-12 with a wide-open three. Surely Michigan fans were hoping for more of the same this season, but a few missed lay-ups throughout the early stretch meant what could have been a fourteen or sixteen point lead was just ten. Northwestern made it closer with a 7-0 run, but yet again Michigan built back to a ten-point lead, thanks to seven of the next nine from Brazdeikis. At the end of the half, though, Vic Law, one of two key Wildcats, drilled a top of the key three with time expiring to send the game into the half at just 36-30. Michigan opened the second half hot, though, running the lead to 45-30 in the first three minutes. That would be the biggest lead of the game. The wheels slipped off for Michigan, sloppy play, including two failed alley-oop passes, let Northwestern go on a 15-2 run to make the game much closed at 47-45. Michigan answered with two buckets, but it was Law again with two threes to give Northwestern their first lead at 52-51, then stretched to 54-51 thanks to an A.J. Turner mid-range two. Michigan's momentum seemed halted, but Brazdeikis drilling a wide-open three, and Eli Brooks giving Michigan their first bench points of the game gave Michigan the lead back. At 58-58, Jon Teske jammed the ball home, that was countered with a Ryan Taylor jumper off a screen, but Poole got the last laugh with a massive dunk down the lane. At 62-60, the end was nervy, but Taylor banked the three off the front rim and Michigan escaped.
What Happened:
First and foremost, the good. Which there was a good deal of. Ignas Brazdeikis shone again for Michigan. With 23 points and three threes, he made several clutch buckets when they were needed. His open three down three was a shot where if he does not hit that, Michigan may not have won this game. As just a freshman, he seemed to be the go-to guy on a night where the rest of the team was a combined two-for-fourteen from downtown. He drives the ball extremely well and plays tough defense on the inside and is learning to handle players around the perimeter as well. His development has already been fun to watch and it should only get better. Also, Jordan Poole opened and closed the game well for Michigan. While he made just one three, he was fouled on both his make and one other. His free throws were silky smooth and his dunk down the lane to win the game was absolutely filthy. His shot looks good, there's going to be nights where not everything is hitting, and this "down" game from deep is less nervy considering his performance against Purdue.
Now, though, the bad. Of which, there was also a good deal of. First and foremost, the bench performance. Michigan got a massively clutch three out of Eli Brooks, who actually closed out the game offensively at point guard, but that was it. Austin Davis played seven minutes and had a plus/minus of -15, Isaiah Livers was not much better with a -11. Livers' play has looked a bit off in the past two games. His ability to go under the radar and hit open threes has been sealed up by defenses now and that may hinder his effectiveness. Davis, meanwhile, is still too prone to fouling and simply did not have the skill set to check Dererk Pardon for Northwestern. John Beilein's auto-bench strategy when a player has two fouls in the first half really hurt Michigan when Jon Teske picked up an early foul along with Charles Matthews, forcing Livers and Davis into action. Teske needs to be spelled at the five in the games, that is for certain, but Davis has seen very limited minutes and, in his most important minutes of the season, he struggled mightily. This is a bit concerning for a Michigan team that would go just seven deep without Davis, and with Brandon Johns still seemingly not ready for in-game action.
Also, though, is the performance of two key starters: Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson. Matthews had a key turnover on the second-to-last possession of the game and went just one-for-seven from the field. This included an iso call where he jacked up a contested three. He found no freedom in the half-court and was in foul trouble too, playing just 24 minutes. Simpson, on the other hand, played into Northwestern's momentum in their key 15-2 run and missed three threes that were all wide-open, all within the minute where Vic Law went and hit a pair at the other end. Simpson from two is lethal, but as a player who is likely going to see little-to-no attention from three now by opposing defenses what exactly do you say to Simpson as coach? Excluding the game against George Washington he has hit just one this entire season (four-for-seven vs. GW, one-for-fifteen otherwise). When the team's two captains are having rough games offensively, it is huge for the other players to pick up the slack, and it makes Brazdeikis that much more impressive for doing so.
Credit also needs to go to Northwestern. Dererk Pardon absolutely dominated down low. Teske's early foul made him more hesitant against Pardon who absolutely feasted for twenty points on nine-for-ten shooting, and a banked in three. The other main man, Vic Law, had nineteen points with four threes while playing 38 minutes despite picking up three fouls in the first half. Coach Chris Collins trusted his senior forward, though, and it took till late in the second half for him to pick up a fourth foul. It was a stark contrast from Beilein's auto-bench and it seemed to work in favor for the Wildcats on this evening. Unfortunately for the home team, they were carried by these two. Ryan Taylor went three-for-ten with nine points, Anthony Gaines shot just three times, A.J. Turner went two-for-seven with seven points. The game was well-coached, lots of curl screens got the ball in Law's hands and Pardon was frequently available to be dumped to down low. With his expansive arsenal of post moves, he capitalized. With all that said, though, it is going to be difficult to beat Michigan this season without two all-around scoring threats. Outside Law, and Pardon's miracle three, the Wildcats were a combined one-for-eight from three. That's worse than Michigan when excluding Brazdeikis. They played great team defense, but still, that could not breakdown Michigan on the other end.
What's Next:
Saturday, the eighth, at noon Michigan will welcome in South Carolina for the return leg of a home-and-home from two years ago. South Carolina is 4-3 with losses to Stony Brook and Wofford, along with Providence (though they beat George Washington). They square off with Wyoming in Wyoming on the evening of this post's writing. The hope is that this game, against a well-disciplined Frank Martin side, will go better than the game two years ago against an SC side that went to the Final Four.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
Game Story:
Michigan started off hot, highlighted by a pair of fouls on Jordan Poole on three-pointers, included one that went in. It was a 15-7 start for the Wolverines, and Ignas Brazdeikis made it 22-12 with a wide-open three. Surely Michigan fans were hoping for more of the same this season, but a few missed lay-ups throughout the early stretch meant what could have been a fourteen or sixteen point lead was just ten. Northwestern made it closer with a 7-0 run, but yet again Michigan built back to a ten-point lead, thanks to seven of the next nine from Brazdeikis. At the end of the half, though, Vic Law, one of two key Wildcats, drilled a top of the key three with time expiring to send the game into the half at just 36-30. Michigan opened the second half hot, though, running the lead to 45-30 in the first three minutes. That would be the biggest lead of the game. The wheels slipped off for Michigan, sloppy play, including two failed alley-oop passes, let Northwestern go on a 15-2 run to make the game much closed at 47-45. Michigan answered with two buckets, but it was Law again with two threes to give Northwestern their first lead at 52-51, then stretched to 54-51 thanks to an A.J. Turner mid-range two. Michigan's momentum seemed halted, but Brazdeikis drilling a wide-open three, and Eli Brooks giving Michigan their first bench points of the game gave Michigan the lead back. At 58-58, Jon Teske jammed the ball home, that was countered with a Ryan Taylor jumper off a screen, but Poole got the last laugh with a massive dunk down the lane. At 62-60, the end was nervy, but Taylor banked the three off the front rim and Michigan escaped.
What Happened:
First and foremost, the good. Which there was a good deal of. Ignas Brazdeikis shone again for Michigan. With 23 points and three threes, he made several clutch buckets when they were needed. His open three down three was a shot where if he does not hit that, Michigan may not have won this game. As just a freshman, he seemed to be the go-to guy on a night where the rest of the team was a combined two-for-fourteen from downtown. He drives the ball extremely well and plays tough defense on the inside and is learning to handle players around the perimeter as well. His development has already been fun to watch and it should only get better. Also, Jordan Poole opened and closed the game well for Michigan. While he made just one three, he was fouled on both his make and one other. His free throws were silky smooth and his dunk down the lane to win the game was absolutely filthy. His shot looks good, there's going to be nights where not everything is hitting, and this "down" game from deep is less nervy considering his performance against Purdue.
Now, though, the bad. Of which, there was also a good deal of. First and foremost, the bench performance. Michigan got a massively clutch three out of Eli Brooks, who actually closed out the game offensively at point guard, but that was it. Austin Davis played seven minutes and had a plus/minus of -15, Isaiah Livers was not much better with a -11. Livers' play has looked a bit off in the past two games. His ability to go under the radar and hit open threes has been sealed up by defenses now and that may hinder his effectiveness. Davis, meanwhile, is still too prone to fouling and simply did not have the skill set to check Dererk Pardon for Northwestern. John Beilein's auto-bench strategy when a player has two fouls in the first half really hurt Michigan when Jon Teske picked up an early foul along with Charles Matthews, forcing Livers and Davis into action. Teske needs to be spelled at the five in the games, that is for certain, but Davis has seen very limited minutes and, in his most important minutes of the season, he struggled mightily. This is a bit concerning for a Michigan team that would go just seven deep without Davis, and with Brandon Johns still seemingly not ready for in-game action.
Also, though, is the performance of two key starters: Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson. Matthews had a key turnover on the second-to-last possession of the game and went just one-for-seven from the field. This included an iso call where he jacked up a contested three. He found no freedom in the half-court and was in foul trouble too, playing just 24 minutes. Simpson, on the other hand, played into Northwestern's momentum in their key 15-2 run and missed three threes that were all wide-open, all within the minute where Vic Law went and hit a pair at the other end. Simpson from two is lethal, but as a player who is likely going to see little-to-no attention from three now by opposing defenses what exactly do you say to Simpson as coach? Excluding the game against George Washington he has hit just one this entire season (four-for-seven vs. GW, one-for-fifteen otherwise). When the team's two captains are having rough games offensively, it is huge for the other players to pick up the slack, and it makes Brazdeikis that much more impressive for doing so.
Credit also needs to go to Northwestern. Dererk Pardon absolutely dominated down low. Teske's early foul made him more hesitant against Pardon who absolutely feasted for twenty points on nine-for-ten shooting, and a banked in three. The other main man, Vic Law, had nineteen points with four threes while playing 38 minutes despite picking up three fouls in the first half. Coach Chris Collins trusted his senior forward, though, and it took till late in the second half for him to pick up a fourth foul. It was a stark contrast from Beilein's auto-bench and it seemed to work in favor for the Wildcats on this evening. Unfortunately for the home team, they were carried by these two. Ryan Taylor went three-for-ten with nine points, Anthony Gaines shot just three times, A.J. Turner went two-for-seven with seven points. The game was well-coached, lots of curl screens got the ball in Law's hands and Pardon was frequently available to be dumped to down low. With his expansive arsenal of post moves, he capitalized. With all that said, though, it is going to be difficult to beat Michigan this season without two all-around scoring threats. Outside Law, and Pardon's miracle three, the Wildcats were a combined one-for-eight from three. That's worse than Michigan when excluding Brazdeikis. They played great team defense, but still, that could not breakdown Michigan on the other end.
What's Next:
Saturday, the eighth, at noon Michigan will welcome in South Carolina for the return leg of a home-and-home from two years ago. South Carolina is 4-3 with losses to Stony Brook and Wofford, along with Providence (though they beat George Washington). They square off with Wyoming in Wyoming on the evening of this post's writing. The hope is that this game, against a well-disciplined Frank Martin side, will go better than the game two years ago against an SC side that went to the Final Four.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
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