hoops game recaps

Returning home after a humiliating road loss to Purdue, the Michigan Wolverines were unable to reverse the momentum of their season during today's meeting with Iowa. Michigan failed to slow down the dominant Iowa offense at any point during the game, while a once-equally-effective Wolverine attack went cold over the game's final quarter. The Hawkeyes hung 88 at Crisler on 53% shooting, firing at a sizzling 1.27 PPP clip, the fourth time this season Michigan has allowed an opponent to hit 1.15+ PPP on their home floor. Michigan is now 2-7 in conference play, last in the B1G. 

The first half was completely defense optional for both teams, as you'd expect for the worst defensive Michigan team in decades against an Iowa team that is perennially poor on defense. The teams combined for 86 points in the first half, both scoring at >1.20 PPP and maintaining a 55%+ eFG% clip. Both Michigan and Iowa ran their offenses, generated lots of open looks and penetration, and both hit those shots, unlike the first meeting between the teams in Iowa City, when the Hawkeyes bricked a number of those makable looks.  

It was a back-and-forth half for the first twelve or so minutes, trading makes while the score hovered around even before Michigan began to pull ahead. A 10-0 Wolverine run pushed the score from 27-26 Iowa to 36-27 Michigan, getting a fast-break layup and a corner three from Nimari Burnett before a flagrant foul by Ladji Dembele for bearhugging Tarris Reed Jr. created another three point Michigan possession. Iowa finally snapped out of their offensive funk but the two teams were alternating scores to maintain a solid Michigan advantage until a late Hawkeye surge narrowed the gap before halftime. After Michigan led 42-34 with 2:38 remaining, Iowa closed on an 8-2 run. Tony Perkins hit a jumper, Josh Dix got an easy layup after driving to the lane himself, and Dix eventually made a pair of free throws to make it a one possession game.  Michigan led 44-42 to the break. 

[Click the JUMP for more and the box score]

While Michigan fans awaited word from a judge both basketball and hockey were playing at home. Alex got the night off to see the icers take on Minnesota, so I've drawn the cagers against a YSU team about half as good as them. That means watching Dug McDaniel pick apart a defense, Olivier Nkamhoua run one, and Will Tschetter hit bucket after bucket after bucket.

We'll start with Dug, who broke down the Penguin defense from the start by finding his way into the lane. YSU was okay letting him get to the rim, and Dug used that to show off the shots he's been working on for such occasions. The floater featured, but the highlight was this cross-up.

There was another with a Zavier Simpson hook at the end.

[after THE JUMP: more basketball description]

By the end of the first half, Michigan had doubled up on the Penguins 46-23. Dug stuck around another 10 minutes into the 2nd half before sitting with 16 points on 14.5 shot equivalents and 4 assists to 2 turnovers.

Arguably more important than Dug's development has been the addition of Nkamhoua, particularly on the defensive end. The transfer captain put up a double-double, with 17 points and half of his 10 rebounds on the offensive end. Less noticed but no less important was his passing; Nkamhoua started drawing attention whenever he drove, and turned in four assists, spreading the ball to Reed, Terrance Williams, and freshman George Washington III. His defense was the most effective.

Pairing Nkamhoua with Tarris Reed at center, Michigan was able to switch on every YSU player with their main lineup, and spend a lot of time with Will Tschetter on the court without exposing his athletic deficiencies. Nkamhoua also dominated offensively, stretching the court as a four for most of the game to give the Wolverines a five-out look when Tschetter was at "center" and a forest of long arms when paired with Tarris Reed.

That meant enjoying all the benefits of the most incredible scoring streak in college sports. Tschetter followed up 8 points on 5 FG last game with a perfect 8/8 from the floor, including another four triples. The last was a heat check four feet behind the arc. There was also a runout dunk-that-almost-looked-like-he-couldn't set up on the run by a perfect Tray Jackson bounce pass. The low-ups, high-energy forward finished with 20 points on 8 shots and 1 personal foul in 18 minutes. He also took a charge while helping Michigan get to Kenpom time in the second half.

Another defensive star of the game was Nimari Burnett. Dug sat around the Under-8 timeout and the offense bogged down with Burnett on the ball. Those minutes were hardly unproductive, as YSU only managed to cut Michigan's lead by two against the suffocating defense of the athletic Bama/Texas Tech transfer. Burnett finished without a point, and while it's not actually true that the guys he was guarding did as well, it's spiritually true.

Of course those defensive efforts were helped by YSU playing the middle 20 minutes of the game without starting PG Bryson Langdon, who took an accidental shot to the head from Washington that drew blood. The ultimately 3-point play got the Penguins within 8 points before the first half's under 8 timeout; by the time he returned YSU had scored just five points in about 10 minutes of gameplay, and the rout was a fait accompli.

Burnett did have five assists while playing the two. Michigan's scorer might be trending in the direction of MSU/Northwestern folk who hand those out more liberally, as one of those assists was a shovel pass to Tschetter, who gave YSU's center a jab step then knocked in a three to cap a 13-0 Wolverines run at the end of the half. Tschetter then gave the Shooter McGavin fingers, presumably to us for ever doubting.

I know you hate this movie Brian. [Campredon]

Coming out of the half, the run stretched to 17. Soon after it ended, Nkamhoua blocked a drive from YSU's Brandon Rush, Williams threw the ball up to a streaking Dug McDaniel, and Dug found Nkamhoua on the other end for an alley-oop. A minute later, Williams drove the lane, went down with hard contact, and made one of two free throws to mark the winning point.

Dare I check the hockey game?

Box score:

With under two minutes left Hunter Dickinson took the pass on the block, saw yet another double coming, and passed it out to an open Kobe Bufkin, who swung it to a wide open Terrance Williams II. Had Michigan made 5/16 threes (31%) at that point, Williams was taking a dagger. Had they made 4/16 (25%), they'd have been leading. If Michigan was 3/16 (19%) on their open three-pointers in that moment it'd have been a two-point game.

Unfortunately, of the soon-to-be 17 open triple attempts by Michigan in the game's first 38 minutes, only two had found the bottom of the net.

Shot luck was the story of a sinfully ugly basketball game at Breslin, which was especially ugly in the first half. Michigan was at least getting their looks from the start. Dickinson's first two opportunities on the block became a pair of open elbows from overplayed moves towards the rim. Jett also took two open pull-up threes after kickouts unbalanced the defense. In both cases the first went in and the second did not. MSU came out trying to push the pace at the start of drives, which got them an open pull-up three by Tyson Walker. AJ Hoggard also found Mady Sissoko alone under the basket when Dickinson came up to flash off a screen, but Sissoko traveled. The teams went into the first break 5-3. It was a preview of things to come.

Out of the break, both of Michigan's freshmen had rude introductions to the Breslin Effect. Dug McDaniel airballed his first (and only) three-point attempt, then he and MSU's Tyson Walker picked up Class A technicals from referee Paul Szelc when they traded barbs after shot clock violation, which sent Tom Izzo into a screaming fit. The outburst seemed to have its intended effect. Jett Howard was tagged with his first foul away from the ball on MSU's next possession. Walker was lucky not to get his second for shoving McDaniel to the floor. Dug was not so lucky as he got himself into trouble trying to drive baseline on Walker and picked up a questionable charging call while trying to avoid going out of bounds. A similar thing happened to Jett Howard, who got tripped coming around a screen (no call), got up angry, and ran over a set Spartan for his own second foul. Michigan went into the under-8 timeout with both freshmen benched with two fouls and the score knotted at 12.

It's okay kid, everyone gets Szelced at least once in this league. [Campredon]

Without their last point guard, one of the best teams in the nation at avoiding turnovers suddenly began coughing up the ball. Joey Baker also missed three wide open triples, part of a 1/9 half for Michigan from outside the arc, none of them challenged. Michigan State used the opportunity to go on a 10-2 run, all of those points generated by Malik Hall off ball screens. With a minute left in the half the teams traded 1&1 opportunities off hand checks. Isaiah Barnes hit both of his then thunder-blocked Walker's drive with time running out.

The half could have ended there, but Jace Howard tried to check Hall away from the useless rebound opportunity that was rolling out of bounds. The foul was called, and Hall sank both free throws to give MSU a 27-18 lead going into the break.

Out of the half, Michigan State started getting junk to fall. Howard called timeout after MSU got a quick 5 points off a Hoggard pop three and a Joey Hauser open jumper off a screen. The plan out of the timeout was to get the ball to Dickinson down low, but whenever Dickinson passed out of a double the ensuing three would clang. That was if it was even attempted, as first Williams, then McDaniel, Bufkin and even Baker passed up open looks to drive into worse ones.

Dickinson also got switched onto Walker and taken to the basket. Walker's shot hit every molecule of the rim before rolling in, and MSU's lead stretched 13 at the Under 16 timeout.

This didn't go in either. [Campredon]

It was also one of the last good looks the Spartans had all half, as Michigan's inspired defense kept them in a game their atrocious shooting should have precluded them from competing in. Once again Michigan had a good play coming out of a break, with Dickinson finding Jett for the Wolverines' second made three of the night. Tarris Reed entered after that, and quickly drew four fouls on MSU bigs, three of those on the floor while driving on Sissoko. Jett found a lane through multiple defenders to cut the lead to ten, but Hoggard, who finished 6/10 from the floor and 1/1 on 3PAs, pulled up for an answer. Michigan couldn't score on a pair of possessions extended by fouls and rebounds, and Hoggard picked up a weird bounce that his center Carson Cooper had bobbled away and put in another long two to push the Spartans' lead to 42-28.

But for the shooting (other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?), the next 10 minutes were some of Michigan's most inspired of the season. Drives through traffic by Kobe Bufkin and Will Tschetter(!) chopped the lead to ten on either side of an underhanded prayer between three defenders that fell for Walker. Then Cooper, on the court for Sissoko, found himself between a driving Hunter Dickinson and the basket, and flopped, drawing a technical. Dickinson scored, and after a TV timeout Bufkin made the technical free throw. Sissoko returned, quickly committed his 4th foul on offense, and Dickinson canned a 15-footer off a pick and roll to cut MSU's lead to 7 with six minutes remaining.

Bufkin remains the season's most encouraging development. [Campredon]

Luck ran both ways for a few minutes. Tyson Walker took a stepback three that clanged short but then popped up and rolled in, and Kobe Bufkin's quick answering attempt rimmed out. But Tschetter dove for the rebound amidst several Spartan defenders, and clearly touched it last, but the officials awarded Michigan possession. MSU then left Tschetter open off a pick and roll, but his triple attempt missed as well.

Baskets at the rim by Dickinson and Bufkin trimmed the deficit to six and Izzo called timeout. Michigan got yet another stop, and Jett was fouled while driving, hitting both sides of a one-and-one. Four points.

MSU would answer, however, and Cooper fouled Dickinson on the other end. Dickinson made 1/2 to put it at 49-44 MSU.

One trip later, Dug McDaniel found Hunter Dickinson low, who drew a double, and found and open Bufkin who swung it to a more open Williams. If a Michigan jumper was ever going to go in, it had to be this one. It wasn't close.

Michigan State rebounded Williams's rushed attempt, and made all of their free throws in clock time, including two front ends in the bonus. Michigan finished 3/20 from the arc and 7/39 (18%) total on field goals away from the rim. Dickinson (a pick and roll three) and Bufkin (an uncontested dunk) scored late to keep the pressure on. Dickinson's final attempt found only air, Joey Baker fruitlessly fought for the rebound on the baseline, and Michigan State celebrated a 57-53 victory.

Except the officials wouldn't let them leave. After a lengthy review, they assessed Baker a foul and awarded MSU two superfluous free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining. Gamblers holding MSU-4.5 must have blown their gaskets as Jaden Akins made two free throws to push the final margin out to six.

Whatever you ascribe to shots falling, that was the game. Walker got a pair to prevent Michigan's big run from tying the score. Michigan got the more open looks and shot 19/55 from the floor. MSU's Joey Hauser (3/13) got a few good looks he missed as well. Normally troubled shooter AJ Hoggard couldn't miss on his pullups, and that was enough to overcome an encouragingly wide distance in play. That is, other than the actual making of shots, Mrs. Lincoln. You kinda have to make your shots.

[A box score and more photos after THE JUMP]