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C. Thomas Howell offers a blood curdling victory yawp after fending off the Russkies in the good "Red Dawn" (1984). Fast forward to 30 years later, and darn it if things don't change.
Hey there, SoP. Instead of squinting in the comments, you get my tempo-free take in sweet sweet 14 point serif. And they told me that my Comm Studies degree would never amount to anything. (I showed you, Mom!) Alright, enough of my yappin', onto the take.
My source for the stats, the NBCSports.com Box Score.
Pace: I counted 64.6 Possessions for UM, while our 'Cats had 67.8. Let's split the difference for 66.2, or roughly 66 possessions.
Points Per Possession:
Michigan: 1.42
'Cats: 1.0
Four Factors
Effective FG:
Michigan: 71.1%
'Cats: 47.5%
Turnover %:
Michigan: 18.1%
'Cats: 18.1%
Offensive Rebounding %:
Michigan: 40%
'Cats: 24.4%
Free Throw Attempts/Field Goal Attempts:
Michigan: 33.3%
'Cats: 28.9%
Takes on the Tempo-Free:
- To quote my esteemed colleague, Loretta8: "WELP." There are elite offenses, as in Michigan came into the game with the 3rd best eFG in the nation with 57.7, and then there is the Voltron-esque 71.1 that the maize-and-blue dropped on us. That number was boosted by an insane 59.1% from 3pt. 59.1%, people. Meanwhile, our boys didn't hit at all - 47.1% would rank you at 253rd in the country (or as kenpom likes to call it, the United Colors of Brown-WisconsinGreenBay-Marist.)
- 18.1% is awfully good, and that was still worse than Michigan's season average of 15.1%. So, yay, I guess?
- We experienced the dreaded double-whammy - not only did Michigan not miss much (they shot 59.4% FG), but when they did miss they got a huge chunk back. This was probably due to the fact we could board out of our zone, and the fact that we're abysmal in blocking out.
- Since we lived on the perimeter chucking threes, nor did we have good rebounding position all night due to our zone, we were not drawing any fouls. Add to that the fact that Michigan just doesn't send anyone to the line, which means we lost this battle as well. We were also a horrific 47.1% from the FT line tonight. In regards to this: If you threw Niko Cerina, Kale Abrahamson, and Alex Olah into a big bag and hit it with a stick, whoever hit probably deserved it. That's my long way of saying those guys combined for 7-15 from the stripe. Oof.
Other burning questions
What does life after Drew Crawford (and Reggie Hearn) look like?
Ladies and gentlemen, here is your wing play:
- Kale Abe: 28 m, 11 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 steals
- Tre Demps: 24 m, 10 points, 2 boards, 1 assists, 2 TO
- JM3: 11 m, 4 points, 1 block, 1 steal
- Alex Marcotullio: 28 m, 5 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO
In short, not enough production -- Marco, Kale Abe and Demps combined eFG was 42.3. However, I liked that both Chips and Tre aren't scared out there. Chips has a really quick shot, and Tre can break down his guy. We've got something to work with there, in terms of offense.
How'd we do at the 5?
Olah/Turner/AJOU!: 41 m, 16 pts, 5 boards, 6 assists, 6 TO.
Points were ok, except that they're inflated by cameo triple by Chier Ajou. Needed more boards, and needed to take care of the ball better. It's not like Michigan harrassed us on D, the 5 was just sloppy.
Savvy Veteran Watch, a.k.a. "So, Sobo and Swop?"
Sobo: 34 m, 7 pts, 5 assists, 1 TO.
Swop: 30 m, 11 pts, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 TO.
Swop: 30 m, 11 pts, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 TO.
The above are satisfactory "role-player" performances. However, we need front-line starter production from both.
Back-cuts
- This is the best Michigan team I've seen in a long time. Trey Burke is phenomenal - just preternatural calm and poise. That being said, man did Hardaway, Jr have a game! 21 pts on 6/8 shooting , with 4/5 from distance. Then there's Nik Stauskas, the uber-chucker. Watching that offense work was like watching Gran Turismo being fired up for the first time on my ol' PlayStation 20 years ago - the frame rate was so smooth! As long as Burke is healthy, these guys can't lose.
- Was it just three years ago when a baby-faced Drew Crawford suburban jump-shot into our hearts with a 20 point game for a rare win at Crisler Arena? I recall how Coach Beilein was flustered at how he had NBA talent like Manny Harris, DeShaun Sims and Darius Morris and they couldn't play together like the motley crew of Shurna-Juice-Nash-Crawford-Mirkovic. At the time, there were some that wondered if Coach B would last - such a crazy thought now, as his team is poised to go very far.
- In the post-game presser, Sobo (and Carmody) was most disappointed by the defensive effort and execution. As much as we struggled on offense, that side of the ball is what will determine our fate in conference. Hopefully with Hearn back and with the kids getting more minutes, we can shore it up. Up next, #9 Minnesota. Eek.