Michigan needed to bounce back after a blowout loss in Iowa City, and they certainly did so against Rutgers. Despite the RAC claiming some high-profile victims under Steve Pikiell, the Wolverines did not become the next to fall under the spell. With a Michigan State loss as well, and Purdue inactive till the weekend, Michigan are the current leaders alone at the top of the Big Ten.
Game Story:
After a cold start offensively against Iowa, Michigan did no such thing here back on the road. Michigan started the game five-for-five from the field with a pair of threes from Ignas Brazdeikis, one coming after a bullet of an off-hand baseline pass from Zavier Simpson, an and-one lay-up from Jon Teske, a full-court find from Simpson to Jordan Poole for a dunk, and a Charles Matthews drive-and-finish. The Wolverines built a 15-6 lead quickly and forced Rutgers to take a quick timeout. Things would not clear up for the Scarlet Knights. Poole knocked down a three, then Matthews scored the Wolverines next seven. His last two were from a fadeaway jumper that forced Steve Pikiell to take his second timeout with his side down 25-10. The dominance continued as Simpson hit a running hook shot with time expiring on the shot clock and a three of his own. Michigan could stretch the lead to seventeen, but immediately following the under four timeout, Rutgers had a run in them. Peter Kiss knocked down a three, Montez Mathis was found for a bucket after a rare Simpson turnover, then Geo Baker knocked down a deep three to trim the lead down to 38-29 and force John Beilein into a timeout. Michigan finished the half after that on a 5-2 run and would get to enter the half back under control and up 43-31.
Michigan scored via Teske from Simpson on their first possession of the half. It then took them three more minutes for another point. It took another full minute to get their next field goal. It took till 13:36 remaining in the game for someone not named Jon Teske to score a field goal for Michigan, when Poole knocked down a big three. That three made it 53-41, the closest it had gotten was 48-41. Eugene Omoruyi scored for Rutgers, but Brazdeikis then knocked down a pick-and-pop three from the top of the key to stretch the lead back to thirteen. Michigan was not pulling away, but even in a rough patch they were still in firm control of things. Another three-and-a-half minutes went by before a Brandon Johns tip-in gave Michigan their next field goal. In that time, Rutgers had only scored a pair of points themselves. Brazdeikis hit another pick-and-pop three, something common in the game, and while it was 66-58 with four minutes to play, a Poole two off the dribble stabilized things yet again. Michigan hit from the free throw line, Simpson went a big three-for-four down the stretch, and Isaiah Livers hit a three to cap things off for Michigan. Caleb McConnell hit a deep three to finish off the scoring as the buzzer sounded, but it was still a double-digit 77-65 victory on the road for Michigan over Rutgers.
What Happened:
It was really an essential response from Michigan on the offensive end, especially in the first ten minutes of the game, after a clunky outing against Iowa. As a whole, it was much closer to the games earlier this season in which Michigan dismantled an opponent than the close Big Ten games. Rutgers has been improving this season compared to others, and they looked solid against Michigan even, but the Wolverines' offense/defense combination was just too much. The Knights were led by a strong 21 point outing by Eugene Omoruyi, albeit, on seventeen shots, while star guard was locked up by Zavier Simpson and held to just one made field goal (a deep three that Jon Teske had to step out onto him for in transition) and eight points with a foul out. Rutgers made some tough twos, but this plays squarely into the hands of Michigan's defensive philosophy in which they can sacrifice those tough twos if the defense on them is solid. Only making five threes and beating Michigan is a tough task, and Rutgers simply could not pull it off.
On the Wolverines end, it was the Ignas Brazdeikis show for the most part. In a serious return to form, Brazdeikis went for 23 points and eight-for-fifteen shooting. This included a whopping five threes. The pick-and-pop action with he and Zavier Simpson was on fire and wide open on the top of the key for the most part. Speaking of the point guard, Simpson went four-for-seven for fourteen points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and, perhaps best of all, five-for-six from the free throw line. Despite four turnovers, Simpson continues to find teammates in the most impressive of fashions as surely his left-handed pass to find Brazdeikis for his second three will be on highlight reels of Simpson's junior season with the Wolverines. As a whole, though, this was a strong team effort for Michigan. Jordan Poole scored fifteen points while going three-for-six from three. Charles Matthews went three-for-eight from the field, but four-for-six from the line and his key seems to be shooting threes while in a rhythm, as he hit another like he did against Iowa. The positiveness of the offensive performance is the key thing to take away from what was a solid outing on both ends of the court.
This was a fairly straight-forward win, truth be told. The great performances from Brazdeikis, Simpson, and Poole made the game a fun bounce back for Michigan fans. Still, here are a handful of other observations I noted. Jon Teske struggled a bit on offense going three-for-ten and zero-for-three from three. Still, the center played tough defense in the post and was encouraged to shoot all throughout the game. The rough performance can be dealt with, but firmly maintaining confidence for the big man in what has been a season where he has proven to be vital to the team's success is also key. Michigan used just 22 minutes from players off its bench, twelve from Livers, five from Eli Brooks, and five from Brandon Johns. They were solid, if not unspectacular, minutes from Johns who is firmly the team's back-up center -- or four, as he and Livers can play at the same time and be in similar roles. Finally, a cumulative fourteen-for-seventeen from the free throw line is massive from the Wolverines who have struggled from the line this season.
What's Next:
The Wolverines will be looking to get revenge for one of their two losses this season as they welcome Wisconsin into Crisler Center on Saturday the 9th at noon. The Badgers currently sit fourth in the Big Ten standings at 8-3 and a win at Michigan can seriously implant them within the Big Ten title race while also garnering an impressive sweep of Michigan. The Wolverines will hope to defend their home court yet again this season.
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:
After a cold start offensively against Iowa, Michigan did no such thing here back on the road. Michigan started the game five-for-five from the field with a pair of threes from Ignas Brazdeikis, one coming after a bullet of an off-hand baseline pass from Zavier Simpson, an and-one lay-up from Jon Teske, a full-court find from Simpson to Jordan Poole for a dunk, and a Charles Matthews drive-and-finish. The Wolverines built a 15-6 lead quickly and forced Rutgers to take a quick timeout. Things would not clear up for the Scarlet Knights. Poole knocked down a three, then Matthews scored the Wolverines next seven. His last two were from a fadeaway jumper that forced Steve Pikiell to take his second timeout with his side down 25-10. The dominance continued as Simpson hit a running hook shot with time expiring on the shot clock and a three of his own. Michigan could stretch the lead to seventeen, but immediately following the under four timeout, Rutgers had a run in them. Peter Kiss knocked down a three, Montez Mathis was found for a bucket after a rare Simpson turnover, then Geo Baker knocked down a deep three to trim the lead down to 38-29 and force John Beilein into a timeout. Michigan finished the half after that on a 5-2 run and would get to enter the half back under control and up 43-31.
Michigan scored via Teske from Simpson on their first possession of the half. It then took them three more minutes for another point. It took another full minute to get their next field goal. It took till 13:36 remaining in the game for someone not named Jon Teske to score a field goal for Michigan, when Poole knocked down a big three. That three made it 53-41, the closest it had gotten was 48-41. Eugene Omoruyi scored for Rutgers, but Brazdeikis then knocked down a pick-and-pop three from the top of the key to stretch the lead back to thirteen. Michigan was not pulling away, but even in a rough patch they were still in firm control of things. Another three-and-a-half minutes went by before a Brandon Johns tip-in gave Michigan their next field goal. In that time, Rutgers had only scored a pair of points themselves. Brazdeikis hit another pick-and-pop three, something common in the game, and while it was 66-58 with four minutes to play, a Poole two off the dribble stabilized things yet again. Michigan hit from the free throw line, Simpson went a big three-for-four down the stretch, and Isaiah Livers hit a three to cap things off for Michigan. Caleb McConnell hit a deep three to finish off the scoring as the buzzer sounded, but it was still a double-digit 77-65 victory on the road for Michigan over Rutgers.
What Happened:
It was really an essential response from Michigan on the offensive end, especially in the first ten minutes of the game, after a clunky outing against Iowa. As a whole, it was much closer to the games earlier this season in which Michigan dismantled an opponent than the close Big Ten games. Rutgers has been improving this season compared to others, and they looked solid against Michigan even, but the Wolverines' offense/defense combination was just too much. The Knights were led by a strong 21 point outing by Eugene Omoruyi, albeit, on seventeen shots, while star guard was locked up by Zavier Simpson and held to just one made field goal (a deep three that Jon Teske had to step out onto him for in transition) and eight points with a foul out. Rutgers made some tough twos, but this plays squarely into the hands of Michigan's defensive philosophy in which they can sacrifice those tough twos if the defense on them is solid. Only making five threes and beating Michigan is a tough task, and Rutgers simply could not pull it off.
On the Wolverines end, it was the Ignas Brazdeikis show for the most part. In a serious return to form, Brazdeikis went for 23 points and eight-for-fifteen shooting. This included a whopping five threes. The pick-and-pop action with he and Zavier Simpson was on fire and wide open on the top of the key for the most part. Speaking of the point guard, Simpson went four-for-seven for fourteen points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and, perhaps best of all, five-for-six from the free throw line. Despite four turnovers, Simpson continues to find teammates in the most impressive of fashions as surely his left-handed pass to find Brazdeikis for his second three will be on highlight reels of Simpson's junior season with the Wolverines. As a whole, though, this was a strong team effort for Michigan. Jordan Poole scored fifteen points while going three-for-six from three. Charles Matthews went three-for-eight from the field, but four-for-six from the line and his key seems to be shooting threes while in a rhythm, as he hit another like he did against Iowa. The positiveness of the offensive performance is the key thing to take away from what was a solid outing on both ends of the court.
This was a fairly straight-forward win, truth be told. The great performances from Brazdeikis, Simpson, and Poole made the game a fun bounce back for Michigan fans. Still, here are a handful of other observations I noted. Jon Teske struggled a bit on offense going three-for-ten and zero-for-three from three. Still, the center played tough defense in the post and was encouraged to shoot all throughout the game. The rough performance can be dealt with, but firmly maintaining confidence for the big man in what has been a season where he has proven to be vital to the team's success is also key. Michigan used just 22 minutes from players off its bench, twelve from Livers, five from Eli Brooks, and five from Brandon Johns. They were solid, if not unspectacular, minutes from Johns who is firmly the team's back-up center -- or four, as he and Livers can play at the same time and be in similar roles. Finally, a cumulative fourteen-for-seventeen from the free throw line is massive from the Wolverines who have struggled from the line this season.
What's Next:
The Wolverines will be looking to get revenge for one of their two losses this season as they welcome Wisconsin into Crisler Center on Saturday the 9th at noon. The Badgers currently sit fourth in the Big Ten standings at 8-3 and a win at Michigan can seriously implant them within the Big Ten title race while also garnering an impressive sweep of Michigan. The Wolverines will hope to defend their home court yet again this season.
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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