While it may have been nice to dream about, the Michigan Wolverines were surely bound to suffer a loss at some point. That date happens to be January 19th, 2019, when the maize and blue fell victim yet again to the Kohl Center. The Badgers, despite a short-handed student section as the students are still on break, held down the home court advantage and their side's performance allowed those in attendance to storm the court.
Game Story:
This was well-and-truly a back-and-forth affair from the first moment. Michigan started off with a quick pair of Jordan Poole buckets, but things almost immediately leveled out. Austin Davis played some key early minutes against Ethan Happ when Jon Teske picked up a quick first foul. Davis was found twice for close to the bucket scores and gave Michigan an 11-9 early lead. That said, a Kobe King three was next to follow. The Badgers stretched their lead out to 16-11, but then it was Michigan's turn to respond, this time with an 8-0 run to make it 19-16. Again, though, with four minutes left in the first half, it was another crucial three as Aleem Ford made it 21-19 to the home team. Down 25-21, though, Michigan ended the first half on a 6-0 run with Jordan Poole getting the and-one lay-up and Zavier Simpson hitting the first three for Michigan giving the Wolverines a 27-25 advantage at the half.
The second half was more of the same with back-and-forth action to start, but Michigan took a five-point lead thanks to a Teske three. Poole found his range from deep as well to make it 37-33, his only three points of the half as it would turn out, and for a time it seemed that Michigan would have a counter to any punch that the home team could throw. Then, again, it was Ford with a key three, but once again it was Simpson wide open for a lay-up on a nice find from Poole to make it 41-40 at the eleven minute mark. Isaiah Livers was found off a steal for an emphatic one-handed jam, but what could have been the start of a bit of an energetic run turned out to be one of the last real bits of hope and joy for the Wolverines. It took Michigan nearly four full minutes to score from the field again, off a Charles Matthews mid-range jumper, and in-between that time the Badgers went on a 10-1 run, the only point coming from a Matthews free throw. There was sloppy play in that stretch, and throughout the game, and it all accumulated. Teske and Livers both hit threes to put the game within three at separate points, but an Ignas Brazdeikis intentional foul on Happ effectively saw a three-point trip for Wisconsin and Michigan simply could not get back into the game. Brad Davison hit a pair of free throws and the game was over with a final score of 64-54.
What Happened:
What the game really boiled down to was two things: sloppy play, and players not turning up to play. Michigan committed sixteen turnovers, tied for the most this season (vs. South Carolina) and many came at key points. One of the biggest was Jon Teske's long outlet pass off a defensive rebound getting saved by some great hustle from Brad Davison. The Wolverines were up 44-43, they could have taken the sting out of the game a bit pre-emptively. Instead, the turnover led to the Ethan Happ bucket that gave the Badgers a lead they would never relinquish. Four players had three turnovers, Teske's lone one was key, but to a man the Michigan team did not hold on to the ball securely and against Wisconsin on the road that is simply asking to be given a loss.
The other main problem for Michigan was the disappearance of two players, Ignas Brazdeikis and Charles Matthews, that have been so important for them this season. Brazdeikis was held scoreless for the first time this season and he only took five shots. The driving opportunities were not there and Wisconsin is so good at not fouling that they would not be able to let him do damage from the charity stripe. Matthews, also, only had five shots, and even had a solid eight points, but these were not nearly enough especially when, as a senior leader, there is a game occurring that desperately needs someone to take charge. Additionally, while Jordan Poole was massive in the first half off the dribble creating shots and scoring thirteen points, really keeping Michigan in the game, the Wisconsin defense really clamped down on him. Poole hit a single three and went one-for-five in the second half. Some of those shots were forced, but it is a credit to the Wisconsin defense for keeping everyone covered and necessitating those shots from Poole.
Talking about Wisconsin a bit, this was a one-man effort. Happ was dominant in the low post outside of a brief spell where the big man looked absolutely gassed right around the moment where Michigan took a 41-40 lead. Happ scored 26 points on 12-for-22 shooting with ten rebounds and seven assists. The problem with Wisconsin is that even though everyone knows Happ's dominance, we also saw their ability to hit threes and force the perimeter defenders to stay out on their men. Zavier Simpson played incredibly well, which I will cover more, and he held D'Mitrik Trice to just six points on two-for-ten shooting with zero threes. Kobe King and Aleem Ford, on the other hand, came off the bench to hit a pair of threes each and throw a wrench into the Michigan plans. When guys you might have helped off of are hitting, you need to respect those shooters, and that gave Happ the freedom he needed to do work in the low post and damage Michigan.
For Michigan, it was all about fifteen points from Teske, including two threes. He did admirably against Happ and protected the rim to the tune of four blocks. He drew a tough match-up but he showed off serious improvement from his freshman year until now against the skilled center. Credit must also go to Austin Davis for providing massively important minutes early in the game to keep Teske rested and off the court while he nursed an early foul. Finally, Simpson was good as ever on defense and contributed eleven points and six assists on an afternoon where the team only had eleven assists as a whole. His offensive game is improving and even though he went just five-for-twelve from the field (and missed both his free throws) he is quickly becoming the key man on Michigan both on defense and in the ball-screen offense. Things are not all doom-and-gloom in regards to the loss, Michigan has the sort of character to rebound off of this.
What's Next:
Where to go from here? Well, Michigan's five-for-twelve shooting from the line and sixteen turnovers are massive trouble signs, but teams have bad games. Michigan has a fairly short turnaround (when compared to the near-week off) when they return home to take on Minnesota. Minnesota was rocked at Illinois 95-68 but look to right that wrong at home against Penn State (at 8:30 PM on Saturday, the date of writing this). Michigan will not get that number one next to their name on Monday, but they still have plenty of season to look forward to.
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:
This was well-and-truly a back-and-forth affair from the first moment. Michigan started off with a quick pair of Jordan Poole buckets, but things almost immediately leveled out. Austin Davis played some key early minutes against Ethan Happ when Jon Teske picked up a quick first foul. Davis was found twice for close to the bucket scores and gave Michigan an 11-9 early lead. That said, a Kobe King three was next to follow. The Badgers stretched their lead out to 16-11, but then it was Michigan's turn to respond, this time with an 8-0 run to make it 19-16. Again, though, with four minutes left in the first half, it was another crucial three as Aleem Ford made it 21-19 to the home team. Down 25-21, though, Michigan ended the first half on a 6-0 run with Jordan Poole getting the and-one lay-up and Zavier Simpson hitting the first three for Michigan giving the Wolverines a 27-25 advantage at the half.
The second half was more of the same with back-and-forth action to start, but Michigan took a five-point lead thanks to a Teske three. Poole found his range from deep as well to make it 37-33, his only three points of the half as it would turn out, and for a time it seemed that Michigan would have a counter to any punch that the home team could throw. Then, again, it was Ford with a key three, but once again it was Simpson wide open for a lay-up on a nice find from Poole to make it 41-40 at the eleven minute mark. Isaiah Livers was found off a steal for an emphatic one-handed jam, but what could have been the start of a bit of an energetic run turned out to be one of the last real bits of hope and joy for the Wolverines. It took Michigan nearly four full minutes to score from the field again, off a Charles Matthews mid-range jumper, and in-between that time the Badgers went on a 10-1 run, the only point coming from a Matthews free throw. There was sloppy play in that stretch, and throughout the game, and it all accumulated. Teske and Livers both hit threes to put the game within three at separate points, but an Ignas Brazdeikis intentional foul on Happ effectively saw a three-point trip for Wisconsin and Michigan simply could not get back into the game. Brad Davison hit a pair of free throws and the game was over with a final score of 64-54.
What Happened:
What the game really boiled down to was two things: sloppy play, and players not turning up to play. Michigan committed sixteen turnovers, tied for the most this season (vs. South Carolina) and many came at key points. One of the biggest was Jon Teske's long outlet pass off a defensive rebound getting saved by some great hustle from Brad Davison. The Wolverines were up 44-43, they could have taken the sting out of the game a bit pre-emptively. Instead, the turnover led to the Ethan Happ bucket that gave the Badgers a lead they would never relinquish. Four players had three turnovers, Teske's lone one was key, but to a man the Michigan team did not hold on to the ball securely and against Wisconsin on the road that is simply asking to be given a loss.
The other main problem for Michigan was the disappearance of two players, Ignas Brazdeikis and Charles Matthews, that have been so important for them this season. Brazdeikis was held scoreless for the first time this season and he only took five shots. The driving opportunities were not there and Wisconsin is so good at not fouling that they would not be able to let him do damage from the charity stripe. Matthews, also, only had five shots, and even had a solid eight points, but these were not nearly enough especially when, as a senior leader, there is a game occurring that desperately needs someone to take charge. Additionally, while Jordan Poole was massive in the first half off the dribble creating shots and scoring thirteen points, really keeping Michigan in the game, the Wisconsin defense really clamped down on him. Poole hit a single three and went one-for-five in the second half. Some of those shots were forced, but it is a credit to the Wisconsin defense for keeping everyone covered and necessitating those shots from Poole.
Talking about Wisconsin a bit, this was a one-man effort. Happ was dominant in the low post outside of a brief spell where the big man looked absolutely gassed right around the moment where Michigan took a 41-40 lead. Happ scored 26 points on 12-for-22 shooting with ten rebounds and seven assists. The problem with Wisconsin is that even though everyone knows Happ's dominance, we also saw their ability to hit threes and force the perimeter defenders to stay out on their men. Zavier Simpson played incredibly well, which I will cover more, and he held D'Mitrik Trice to just six points on two-for-ten shooting with zero threes. Kobe King and Aleem Ford, on the other hand, came off the bench to hit a pair of threes each and throw a wrench into the Michigan plans. When guys you might have helped off of are hitting, you need to respect those shooters, and that gave Happ the freedom he needed to do work in the low post and damage Michigan.
For Michigan, it was all about fifteen points from Teske, including two threes. He did admirably against Happ and protected the rim to the tune of four blocks. He drew a tough match-up but he showed off serious improvement from his freshman year until now against the skilled center. Credit must also go to Austin Davis for providing massively important minutes early in the game to keep Teske rested and off the court while he nursed an early foul. Finally, Simpson was good as ever on defense and contributed eleven points and six assists on an afternoon where the team only had eleven assists as a whole. His offensive game is improving and even though he went just five-for-twelve from the field (and missed both his free throws) he is quickly becoming the key man on Michigan both on defense and in the ball-screen offense. Things are not all doom-and-gloom in regards to the loss, Michigan has the sort of character to rebound off of this.
What's Next:
Where to go from here? Well, Michigan's five-for-twelve shooting from the line and sixteen turnovers are massive trouble signs, but teams have bad games. Michigan has a fairly short turnaround (when compared to the near-week off) when they return home to take on Minnesota. Minnesota was rocked at Illinois 95-68 but look to right that wrong at home against Penn State (at 8:30 PM on Saturday, the date of writing this). Michigan will not get that number one next to their name on Monday, but they still have plenty of season to look forward to.
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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