Arizona 80, Michigan 53
In the face. (GIF via Vice Sports.)
For a reeling, young, undersized Michigan squad, Arizona represented one of the worst possible matchups.
It showed.
The Wolverines fell in a laugher, unable to deal with the Wildcats' imposing combination of size, skill, and athleticism. Michigan's inability to generate shots inside the arc or hit them from beyond it led to an early deficit that only grew as Kameron Chatman and then Zak Irvin found themselves in foul trouble.
At one point in the first half, John Beilein threw out a lineup of Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Caris LeVert, Aubrey Dawkins, Max Bielfeldt, and Mark Donnal; Beilein subsequently relented on his usually rigid foul policy and reinserted Irvin late in the half despite his two fouls.
The situation only got more dire in the second stanza, as M failed to score a point until the 14:55 mark; the Arizona faithful stood until that moment, displaying impressive adherence to tradition. The Wolverines remained unable to get into the paint, get out on the break, grab offensive rebounds, or defend the interior; adding to the blowout, Arizona got numerous second-chance buckets after failing to record an offensive rebound in the first half—not as much of a surprise as it may seem, as they only missed nine shots in that span.
The individual issues are barely worth noting; such is the nature of a bloodbath. Zak Irvin's shooting woes continued, and a mental lapse of some sort earned him a benching from Beilein mere moments into the second half. Caris LeVert, repeatedly denied even a sniff of the rim, couldn't carry the offense as he has in the past. The bigs were helpless against Arizona's impressive front line of Brandon Ashley, Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Kaleb Tarczewski.
Without context, this game may not be cause for sounding the alarm; after all, this was an extremely tough matchup—especially for a young Michigan front—against a very good team in the first true road game of the season. Coming off back-to-back upset losses at home, however, it's time to acknowledge the possibility that the Wolverines will have to claw their way into the NCAA tournament picture, even with Beilein on the bench. This team is better than it looked today, but it's also got a long way to go.
December 13th, 2014 at 8:09 PM ^
Hard to run the pick and roll when your bigs can't set a pick that actually disrupts the guy guarding the ball.
December 15th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
Ricky Doyle has shown some flashes of being a strong finisher around the rim, but does not command the attention of the defense allowing an easy hedge on Levert/Irvin. That being said, our current conundrum of not having strong, capable bigs will only be perpetuated if the staff does not make a conscious effort to involve the position more on offense. Why would a capable post scorer and interior presence want to come play in this offense? Big Mitch was able to carve out a substantial roll due to his unique playmaking ability allowing him to create his own offense, but the prototypical big will not get enough touches. We need to start to posting up for posting up's sake or more posts like this will continue to be posted.
December 13th, 2014 at 8:05 PM ^
The day here in Tucson dawned ominous -- dark clouds, then heavy rains.
It's clear now ... just as there'll be better days for Michigan's BBall team as the season progresses.
December 14th, 2014 at 5:35 AM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 8:07 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 8:08 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^
I'm sorry but none of those guys by themselves would be able to make up for our inept bigmen, lack of experience, lack of size lack of rim protection, lack of ability to finish at the rim and lack of ballhandlers.
December 13th, 2014 at 11:17 PM ^
December 15th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
Not as consistently as the guys you pointed out, but the swag, that dawg, the eye of the tiger is not lacking on this team. Hopefully this will come out to the forefront in B1G play and the team will come into its own. Unfortunately, the ceiling may be limited due to the lack of depth, experience and athleticism at the 4 and 5.
December 13th, 2014 at 8:08 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 8:19 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^
Its been subpar since 2013. Banked an open scholarship in the deepest Michigan class since 2007 then followed that up with a class that included 4 unranked prospects. Took a D3 guy in 2015 and told Jalen Coleman to look elsewhere.
December 13th, 2014 at 8:33 PM ^
Yes, we are. It's not very good lately.
December 13th, 2014 at 8:38 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 8:09 PM ^
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December 13th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^
December 14th, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 8:28 PM ^
Their expectations for this year. We'll be very lucky to make the NCAA tournament. This team is so weak on the inside, unless we fix the outside shooting woes, wins will be hard to come by. Long term, Beilein needs to recruit bigger and better front court players. Doyle will be fine eventually. Donnal needs to get much, much more aggressive. Wilson is a year away at least. Sigh. The last two years have been special but it's back to reality for awhile.
December 13th, 2014 at 8:47 PM ^
It looks like Beilein can only do so much to compensate for the team's lack of size. Michigan has been thin on bigs for the past few years. You can't replace Horford, Morgan and McGary with Young & Younger and make up for it with coaching & perimeter play.
I think everyone had their expectations skewed by Beilein coaching M to a B1G championship the year after going to the NCAA finals, thinking he could coach his way out of hell. Fact of the matter is, this is a terribly depleted team that isn't reloading so much as rebuilding. It's better than it is right now, but only because it has potential.
December 14th, 2014 at 4:21 AM ^
"Michigan has been thin on bigs for the past few years."
i guess you didn't watch mcgary, morgan and horford...
December 14th, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^
Thin =/= nonexistent. The frontcourt depth went from thin to basically nonexistent.
The word "depth", do you know what it means?
December 13th, 2014 at 10:36 PM ^
Front court bigs who have skills and great athleticism out of the gate are hard to come by, hence the high demand for them. But to your points you're spot on. Beilein just has not been getting even true "projects" at the 4 and 5. Blake McLimans? Donnal? This just isn't good enough. There are plenty of athletic, raw big men that will come to Michigan. I see them all the time at other schools. Time to recruit them John. We need rebounding. We need junkyard dogs. Not at every position, just one.
December 14th, 2014 at 4:25 AM ^
i don't think anyone expected donnal, doyal, and wilson getting big time minutes this year. those guys will all be good done the road. this year, not so much
December 15th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
Will we start integrating post play into the offense and become a viable destination for talented big men? Or will recruit talented big men allowing us to run through the post? Time to modify the offense a tick or continue to rely on outside shooting/NBA level isolation players.
December 13th, 2014 at 9:03 PM ^
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December 13th, 2014 at 10:51 PM ^
Have you seen Wisconsin? Maryland? Ohio State? Iowa? Even Minnesota? How about Illinois? They all have big, athletic, skilled front court players. We won't beat any of them. Can't see it happening. Not unless Michigan has a lights-out shooting night. We will not be making the tourney this year and that's fine. It should hopefuly light a fire into this coaching staff to get better frontcourt players. It will mean Levert, Walton and probably everyone else will return, so we'll be more experienced.
Overall, next season is shaping up to be a good one. Sucks to say it, but it's true. This ain't the year. Lost too much. Beilein didn't recruit well enough to fill holes in the frontcourt. He also didn't bring in raw talent to develop in past classes like he should have. Donnal was always a "4" in this sytem. Definitely not a "5".
December 13th, 2014 at 10:58 PM ^
I hear a lot of people saying that next year will be the one. How so?
LeVert is currently a top-14 pick if he were to leave for the NBA draft. Of course this is assuming he continues to play well and doesn't suffer any injuries. Have you seen our recruiting class for next year? We have ZERO commits. I hate to say it but we're not going to improve enough to fill the gap left by LeVert especially if we don't have any recruits.
Am I missing something about next year shaping up to be a good season? Please enlighten me.
December 14th, 2014 at 3:49 PM ^
Wilson will be an additional big that we don't have right now and everyone else is a year older and more experienced.
December 13th, 2014 at 9:44 PM ^
Glad to see you back writing, man!
December 13th, 2014 at 10:10 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 10:23 PM ^
Beilein's system is both amazing at times and enraging at times. It is amazing because it spreads the floor, forces you to defend 30-40 feet at all times, and can really give shooters open looks when it is hitting on all cylinders. But it is enraging because it seems like they rarely bring the ball into the post on O (outside the base pick and roll), and it seems like Coach B has an allergic reaction to playing two legit 4s and 5s (two bigs) at the same time. Even for 10 minutes. I remember when Michigan was ranked #1 overall (for all of one week) in the magical 2012-2013 year. We could've had McGary, Horford, Morgan, on the floor at the same time (again, for just 10 minutes) and we never used it. Never.
This three game skid is understandable, but no less embarassing. Michigan will most likely not make the tourney this year and that should force Beilein to step up his recruiting game. It is time to make moves and get real athletes at the "5" in his system. Like someone said before: we need a legit 6'10 banger at this position, always. Or at the very least, a Jordan Morgan type. That guy was amazing and is sorely missed. In this system, DJ is going to be a good "4" because he's tall and rangy, but he's 1-2 years away and that's why they want to redshirt him.
Beilein is going to get his pass on this year because he nearly took U-M basketball to the mountaintop in 2013. But, what's happening right now is still embarassing and makes us look like a fail school that can't do anything right in the two main sports. There is too much talent coming out of Michigan / Ohio / Indiana and Chicago for this to be the norm of Michigan's recruiting classes. We must do better in the future.
December 13th, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^
Am I just looking for issues, or does the heavy use of Spike create problems for the offense? When he is on the floor, it seems like 2 of the 5 guys on the floor aren't useful in the offense. He and whichever center is out there don't seem to fit with what the rest of the team is capable of.
I love the kid, but 28 minutes a game seems to be a stretch for him. With that many minutes, he isn't really providing a "spark", and his limited size and athleticisim make him a bit of a liability, especially on defense. They might be talking about him having a lower body injury, but over the last three games, almost every time the camera is tight on him you see him looking at his right hand.
I would be intrigued by a line-up of Walton, LeVert, Dawkins, Irvin, Chatman at this point. The centers are all so offensively limited (with and without the ball in their hands) that it doesn't seem like it could hurt. That group gets your 5 most athletic guys out there, so why not give it a shot?
December 13th, 2014 at 10:32 PM ^
...of a Saturday that I can be truly proud of as a UM fan once again.
December 13th, 2014 at 10:54 PM ^
Do we panic now, or do we panic later?
December 13th, 2014 at 10:54 PM ^
...after this year. He is currently a lottery pick on every single mock draft I've seen so far. If he stays a lottery pick contender by the end of the year he will leave for the NBA considering he is already a Junior and will not likely risk injury from an extra year.
Furthermore we have 0 (ZERO) commits from the class of 2015 (according to ESPN that is). So basically next year we will be left with this same team plus some improvement, minus LeVert.
Thing's are not looking to bright :(
December 14th, 2014 at 2:21 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 11:30 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 11:44 PM ^
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December 14th, 2014 at 12:01 AM ^
This Saturday, Arizona.
Last Saturday, NJIT.
The Saturday before that, Ohio State.
The Saturday before that, Maryland.
You have to go all the way back to our second bye week to find a good Saturday.
December 14th, 2014 at 1:08 AM ^
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December 14th, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^
I sin on Saturdays.
December 14th, 2014 at 12:39 AM ^
December 14th, 2014 at 12:53 AM ^
But I don't think we have the talent inside to make the NCAA tournament. May be next season we will be improved enough?
December 14th, 2014 at 1:07 AM ^
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December 14th, 2014 at 1:09 AM ^
if you go through every position, we just don't have the same talent that we had last year.
walton has of yet not made the sophomore jump. levert is not as good as stauskas. irvin is not as good as levert was last year. the bigs aren't as good as jmo/horford. chatman isn't as good as gr3. our rotating sixth man isn't as good as irvin was last year in that role.
December 14th, 2014 at 2:53 AM ^
December 14th, 2014 at 10:26 AM ^
December 14th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
December 14th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
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