South Carolina limped into the game 4-4 on Saturday afternoon, but they certainly did not play like a .500 team. Michigan, though, was able to keep the offense hot and defense sharp enough to repel too much from the Gamecocks. Michigan pulled out the 89-78 victory at home, but what went down in the ball game?
Game Story:
Michigan's quick 11-6 start out the gates was preempted by a South Carolina run to immediately follow. That said, South Carolina's biggest lead of the game was just a three-point lead at 21-18. The game was back-and-forth following that, an Isaiah Livers three gave Michigan the lead back, South Carolina would counter. But, from the 7:25 mark of the first half, with the game tied 27-27, to the 2:13 mark, Michigan would go on a 13-2 run to stretch the lead to 40-29. USC would counter with seven straight points, but an Ignas Brazdeikis jumper with just fifteen seconds remaining gave Michigan the 42-36 halftime lead. Coming out of the gate, Michigan set the tone for the second half right away. Charles Matthews nailed a three, Jordan Poole hit one, then another, then got free for a big dunk to force a Frank Martin timeout with Michigan up 56-45. South Carolina continued to play tough, but it was well and truly the Jordan Poole show. His assist to Jon Teske to give Michigan a 79-63 lead with about six-and-a-half minutes left in the game was an exclamation point. Livers hit a pair of threes more to keep the game well and truly in Michigan's hands, and Brazdeikis hit a pair from the line (as he did with incredible regularity tonight) to give Michigan their ninth double digit win over the first ten games of the season.
What Happened:
The theme for the student section was a 'Poole Party' and that's exactly what Jordan gave them. Poole scored a career-high 26 points on eight-for-twelve shooting with four threes and four assists. His contribution was vital for the Wolverines who had a great game overall on the offensive end, but had the one player on the court who showed up more than anyone else. Long gone seem to be his struggles of the early season. His first five games were highlighted by a big night against George Washington, including five threes, but aside from that game he combined over the four others for a total of seventeen points with one-for-thirteen shooting from deep. The second half of this young season so far has seen Poole score in double figures every single game with three games of four threes or more. He's shooting over 60% over the last five games and scoring 15.7 points per game. He is quickly becoming the true scorer that Michigan fans had hoped from him at the start of the season. Poole was also helped by four other double-figure scorers, let's go through all of their games:
Ignas Brazdeikis: Iggy went just three-for-ten from the field with zero threes. Yet, still, he ended up second-highest scorer with eleven-for-twelve shooting from the free throw line. He looked up to the task from the stripe, even if his shooting for the day was off, and when he drives it seems like a license for the defense to vacate the premises or commit a foul. And when you foul, he can make you pay.
Jon Teske: Teske went six-for-nine from the field for fifteen points, to pair with a cool nine rebounds. His alley-oop finish got the Crisler crowd on its feet and he also had three blocks to continue to highlight his rim protection abilities. Michigan still needs someone to reliably spell him (more on that in a bit) but when he's able to play about thirty minutes as a big man, and hit reliable mid-range jumpers, that is huge for Michigan.
Charles Matthews: For the second straight game, Matthews could not get it going on the offensive end to the level he's shown he is capable of, but he made some big shots. A pair of threes and another turnaround mid-range two were the high points of a four-for-eight, twelve point afternoon. It is a step in the right direction for Matthews' form to continue to improve.
Isaiah Livers: The last three games saw Livers to struggle to get open and find shots. South Carolina was a return to form. Livers went four-for-seven from deep for twelve points. Some of his threes, like the two late ones, were huge in keeping Michigan in steady control of the game. He saw 25 minutes off the bench, his highest tally since Providence (28) and he was able to reward the trust, and spell Teske when he was in foul trouble, with a strong performance.
Before the season I talked about how this team could be deeper than normal. Now, while murmurs of Brandon Johns potentially breaking into the line-up have been discussed, Michigan is far closer to a seven-man rotation than a nine-man. Austin Davis saw just four minutes against USC, and he struggles to make an impact against very good back-to-basket centers like Dererk Pardon or Chris Silva, his last two opponents. This was also the first game of the season where Eli Brooks saw fewer than twelve minutes, he only played six. This begs the question that if Michigan's rotation can, if necessary, go only one-man off the bench, how much depth does a team really need in college? It's an interesting question, games come in slower than the NBA and pace of play is also much slower. You're playing eight fewer minutes and yes, the games are physical, but they are not against NBA-tier athletes on a regular basis. Still, Teske playing nearly thirty minutes every game is just not sustainable. What if two players get in foul trouble? How heavily will John Beilein trust Davis? He showed faith against Northwestern in him, but teams seemed to go on runs with him in the game. Finding a steady back-up center, whether that's Davis finding his footing or Brandon Johns developing, has to be a key priority for the rest of non-conference season.
Talking a bit about South Carolina, the Gamecocks really brought it. Four players finished in double figures, Chris Silva's double-double leading the way as he had eighteen points and twelve rebounds. Maik Kotsar was like a bull at times getting to the rim, he finished seven-for-ten with sixteen points. Freshman Keyshawn Bryant looked stellar too, putting Matthews on a poster even in the late game as he went for thirteen points. Finally, A.J. Lawson put up a quiet ten as the Michigan defense did well to limit USC's top scorer. This was really the first game where the Michigan defense saw multiple scorers attack them from different angles. They were better than South Carolina on offense, but teams will need to have at least three players who can score in different ways on Michigan if they are to win. Of course, one man can get hot in a game and sink an entire team, but this Michigan team is built around containing players like that. With the two physical bigs, an athletic wing, and a good point guard (Lawson also had five assists), the Gamecocks did just that, challenging Michigan from four different positions, and Hassani Gravett came off the bench to hit three threes as well. Entering this game, I thought some of the match-ups indeed looked interesting for South Carolina, and they proved to be thought-provoking. This Michigan defense bent, but it did not break.
What's Next:
Finals! That's right, the Michigan players must "play school" next as finals season rolls around in Ann Arbor. Michigan will play next on December 15th, Saturday, at 2 PM against Western Michigan. That's a break in finals before all students head on break for the next set of games in December, and the first two in January.
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's quick 11-6 start out the gates was preempted by a South Carolina run to immediately follow. That said, South Carolina's biggest lead of the game was just a three-point lead at 21-18. The game was back-and-forth following that, an Isaiah Livers three gave Michigan the lead back, South Carolina would counter. But, from the 7:25 mark of the first half, with the game tied 27-27, to the 2:13 mark, Michigan would go on a 13-2 run to stretch the lead to 40-29. USC would counter with seven straight points, but an Ignas Brazdeikis jumper with just fifteen seconds remaining gave Michigan the 42-36 halftime lead. Coming out of the gate, Michigan set the tone for the second half right away. Charles Matthews nailed a three, Jordan Poole hit one, then another, then got free for a big dunk to force a Frank Martin timeout with Michigan up 56-45. South Carolina continued to play tough, but it was well and truly the Jordan Poole show. His assist to Jon Teske to give Michigan a 79-63 lead with about six-and-a-half minutes left in the game was an exclamation point. Livers hit a pair of threes more to keep the game well and truly in Michigan's hands, and Brazdeikis hit a pair from the line (as he did with incredible regularity tonight) to give Michigan their ninth double digit win over the first ten games of the season.
What Happened:
The theme for the student section was a 'Poole Party' and that's exactly what Jordan gave them. Poole scored a career-high 26 points on eight-for-twelve shooting with four threes and four assists. His contribution was vital for the Wolverines who had a great game overall on the offensive end, but had the one player on the court who showed up more than anyone else. Long gone seem to be his struggles of the early season. His first five games were highlighted by a big night against George Washington, including five threes, but aside from that game he combined over the four others for a total of seventeen points with one-for-thirteen shooting from deep. The second half of this young season so far has seen Poole score in double figures every single game with three games of four threes or more. He's shooting over 60% over the last five games and scoring 15.7 points per game. He is quickly becoming the true scorer that Michigan fans had hoped from him at the start of the season. Poole was also helped by four other double-figure scorers, let's go through all of their games:
Ignas Brazdeikis: Iggy went just three-for-ten from the field with zero threes. Yet, still, he ended up second-highest scorer with eleven-for-twelve shooting from the free throw line. He looked up to the task from the stripe, even if his shooting for the day was off, and when he drives it seems like a license for the defense to vacate the premises or commit a foul. And when you foul, he can make you pay.
Jon Teske: Teske went six-for-nine from the field for fifteen points, to pair with a cool nine rebounds. His alley-oop finish got the Crisler crowd on its feet and he also had three blocks to continue to highlight his rim protection abilities. Michigan still needs someone to reliably spell him (more on that in a bit) but when he's able to play about thirty minutes as a big man, and hit reliable mid-range jumpers, that is huge for Michigan.
Charles Matthews: For the second straight game, Matthews could not get it going on the offensive end to the level he's shown he is capable of, but he made some big shots. A pair of threes and another turnaround mid-range two were the high points of a four-for-eight, twelve point afternoon. It is a step in the right direction for Matthews' form to continue to improve.
Isaiah Livers: The last three games saw Livers to struggle to get open and find shots. South Carolina was a return to form. Livers went four-for-seven from deep for twelve points. Some of his threes, like the two late ones, were huge in keeping Michigan in steady control of the game. He saw 25 minutes off the bench, his highest tally since Providence (28) and he was able to reward the trust, and spell Teske when he was in foul trouble, with a strong performance.
Before the season I talked about how this team could be deeper than normal. Now, while murmurs of Brandon Johns potentially breaking into the line-up have been discussed, Michigan is far closer to a seven-man rotation than a nine-man. Austin Davis saw just four minutes against USC, and he struggles to make an impact against very good back-to-basket centers like Dererk Pardon or Chris Silva, his last two opponents. This was also the first game of the season where Eli Brooks saw fewer than twelve minutes, he only played six. This begs the question that if Michigan's rotation can, if necessary, go only one-man off the bench, how much depth does a team really need in college? It's an interesting question, games come in slower than the NBA and pace of play is also much slower. You're playing eight fewer minutes and yes, the games are physical, but they are not against NBA-tier athletes on a regular basis. Still, Teske playing nearly thirty minutes every game is just not sustainable. What if two players get in foul trouble? How heavily will John Beilein trust Davis? He showed faith against Northwestern in him, but teams seemed to go on runs with him in the game. Finding a steady back-up center, whether that's Davis finding his footing or Brandon Johns developing, has to be a key priority for the rest of non-conference season.
Talking a bit about South Carolina, the Gamecocks really brought it. Four players finished in double figures, Chris Silva's double-double leading the way as he had eighteen points and twelve rebounds. Maik Kotsar was like a bull at times getting to the rim, he finished seven-for-ten with sixteen points. Freshman Keyshawn Bryant looked stellar too, putting Matthews on a poster even in the late game as he went for thirteen points. Finally, A.J. Lawson put up a quiet ten as the Michigan defense did well to limit USC's top scorer. This was really the first game where the Michigan defense saw multiple scorers attack them from different angles. They were better than South Carolina on offense, but teams will need to have at least three players who can score in different ways on Michigan if they are to win. Of course, one man can get hot in a game and sink an entire team, but this Michigan team is built around containing players like that. With the two physical bigs, an athletic wing, and a good point guard (Lawson also had five assists), the Gamecocks did just that, challenging Michigan from four different positions, and Hassani Gravett came off the bench to hit three threes as well. Entering this game, I thought some of the match-ups indeed looked interesting for South Carolina, and they proved to be thought-provoking. This Michigan defense bent, but it did not break.
What's Next:
Finals! That's right, the Michigan players must "play school" next as finals season rolls around in Ann Arbor. Michigan will play next on December 15th, Saturday, at 2 PM against Western Michigan. That's a break in finals before all students head on break for the next set of games in December, and the first two in January.
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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