MBB: Minnesota Notes and Perspectives
[Ed-Ace: I'm taking time off this weekend but this diary stands in quite well for a game recap and gives me an excuse to post MG's photos.]
[This and all other photos: Marc-Gregor Campredon]
I don't like to wade into the open threads during or after a game, and since there isn't a recap posted, I wanted to make a couple notes about the game today. It seemed like some folks were disappointed with today's game so I'm going to channel Ace and try to dish out some perspective.
A John Beilein basketball team just shot a horrific 8-32 from three, an unfathomable 12-28 FTs, watched an opposing freshman who came into the game shooting an abysmal 39/19 toss in circus shot after circus shot despite being defended pretty well....and still won. Huh? How did that happen?
1) Rebounding. M continues to be an elite, you heard that correctly, elite defensive rebounding team (11th in the country). Minnesota only rebounded 13% of their misses (5 OREBs) to our 26% (11 OREBs) which gave us five more shot equivalents, every one of them was needed the way we shot.
2) Defense. I thought we played pretty good defense the whole game, but Mason started the game hitting his (typically) ill-advised pull-ups from 17 feet and then Washington took over and hit everything (almsot literally as he started 9-10) he threw towards the basket despite Z being right there making it difficult most of the time. I was like, great, thanks Brian. You had to go write the entire preview about their awful 2 point shooting, and of course, they make them against us (and for the record it was just Mason and Washington that shot well, everyone else was mediocre to bad).
Beilein made a very smart move to go zone (which I almost always hate and which usually goes poorly) right around the time we were down 10 with about 10 min to go.
Zone was a perfect way to slow down a team that was going one-on-one exclusively and weren't threating to pass or hit threes. They did get a couple dunks/shots at the rim off drive and dishes which will happen against a zone, but we took away what had been working for them: Washington driving the lane.
3) Points in the paint. Thanks to Z, Matthews and MAAR driving the lane, we scored 40 points in the paint. I don't even what's going on anymore.
Yes, this is not your older brother's M team that wins or loses by the three. We win with defense and rebounding sometimes too! Extremely nice to be able to do that on an off day (and this day was realllllly off despite those threes being mostly great looks).
Individual shoutouts:
- Z got the appreciation thread and he was outstanding down the stretch with a couple layups and a pretty steal and pass ahead to Duncan on the break during the comeback. Then he took over in OT with two layups and a three. Despite shooting an awful 1-8 from three (and they were ugly like his freshman year) he was 6-6 (!!) from two (we won't talk about the 0-2 FTs).
- Charles Matthews deserves a lot of credit for having a good second half after a brutal first half in which he went 0-6 FGs. He went 4-5 in the second half and had all 13 of his points after the break.
- Mo Wagner had one of his steadier games as a Wolverine. He wasn't spectacular like he can be occasionally and he wasn't victimized down low like he also can be. He continues to be the anchor of our elite defensive rebounding, his only TO was a three second violation and his double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) was big.
- MAAR: Oh yeah, the guy that had 17 pts including the game winner which was reminiscent of the Maryland game except this time instead of getting tripped he spun to the bucket for the and1.
- The 4 combo. Livers was once again very solid while in the game with his usual uber-efficient shooting (5 pts on 3 shots), rebounding (2 OREBs, 3 DREBs in just 17 min) and defense (2 blocks). But Duncan played 28 min in this one because in a zone, we can hide him on the wing and don't have to worry nearly as much about him getting beat because there's a guy waiting in the middle of the zone. He was also efficient with 10 pts on 6 shots and 2 assists to 1 TO.
This is probably the time to point out that 1 TO of Robinson's was a travel to give Minn the ball back with M up 3 with 8 seconds to go after being intentionally fouled multiple times. This was the worst call/no-call of the season in a season filled with them. The ref was standing five feet away from this happening and despite knowing Minnesota was trying to foul, and despite them doing a good job of it, he did not call it. If we had lost, this call would have been the story of the game. Refs had to be relieved that we won.
Minnesota, of course, hit a three to tie it on a play on which we probably missed a switch, very similar to the Maryland three to take the lead. Luckily we were up three this time so it just meant OT, but that makes it all the more inexcusable to give up an open three when you should be a lot less concerned about giving up a two.
Perspective: we won a game in which we shot terribly, and in this one, it wasn't opponent induced, we were getting shots we wanted. It happens. That we got the W because of our defense and rebounding is very encouraging for the future when we'll almost always shoot better than this. There's been some grumbling about the team since the MSU game, but remember:
1) M covered the spread in each of our last three games: Rutgers, Purdue and Northwestern. Not sure if we fans just aren't used to winning with great defense and meh offense and that's what makes it seem like we aren't playing well, but despite expectations being high for us right now (on the form of point spreads), we still exceeded those expectations in our three previous games.
2) In our six games since MSU, we have been the 42nd best team in the country per Bart Torvik's rankings. So we've still played like a top 50 team despite clunkers at Nebraska and today's...whatever that was. To put that in perspective, teams that have played worse during that time: Kentucky, Rhode Island, Creighton, Clemson, Wich St. Gonzaga....those are all teams projected to be higher seeded than M. That's pretty good for this being a so-called "bad" stretch.
[Hit THE JUMP for more photos and the box score.]
February 4th, 2018 at 2:02 PM ^
I would love to know the context in which you ran 5 miles and shot FTs after being out of shape, but I feel like you are just making up a point to argue, so whatever. You are an amazingly average foul shooter with no practice.
As for your second point, I get how math works. I get that 12/28 is a bad percentage from the foul line. Do you realize this same team also shot 15/21 against LSU (72%), 19/24 against Illinois (80%), 28/35 against MSU (80%), or even 9/14 against NW (64%) the last game? Over their last 6 games before Minnesota, they've shot 70% from the line, a shade above their season average.
Nobody is arguing they didn't shoot badly yesterday. But your point is that they need to "learn" how to shoot foul shots, when that isn't true and isn't supported by your evidence. Instead, they had a bad day at the stripe. They aren't a particularly great FT shooting team. But it's not that they don't get how to do it or that it is so simple anyone could do it better.
February 4th, 2018 at 8:15 PM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^
players????? I was just giving a random benchmark for average guys getting off the couch to shoot free throws.
The visual of me playing a D1 court gave me a nice little chuckle... pretty sure that getting bumped by a 6'10" 230 pound PF would knock me off the court for like 6 months.
bronxblue is one of my favorite posters so I'll take this as a laugh.
February 4th, 2018 at 2:06 PM ^
I was on the phone, so I may have been responding to another comment with yours. My comment doesn't make a lot of sense with what you said. Yeah, I didn't think you were equating yourself to a D1 player.
February 4th, 2018 at 3:54 PM ^
February 5th, 2018 at 11:34 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 10:24 AM ^
than in games. I'd bet a lot that's true for every poor FT shooter in college/pros.
February 4th, 2018 at 9:46 AM ^
Free throws are pretty darn easy. Same distance, same size hoop, no defense. They're the same no matter the level of competition.
February 4th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
If Matthews got his FT% up to MAAR's level then yes, absolutely people would notice, especially given how many FTs he shoots. For guys like Matthews and Simpson, who make a living getting to the rim, making FTs should be a big part of their game. To have 2 of our 3 best drivers be near 50% from the line is killer. And really, they are pretty easy. Or at least they should be for guys like Matthews and Simpson who are serviceable to good shooters from other areas of the court.
We're one of the worst FT shooting teams in the country, and at some point that will catch up to us. It very nearly cost us an extremely damaging loss yesterday, against even a slightly better team we won't be so lucky.
February 4th, 2018 at 11:34 AM ^
The FT shooting will knock this team out, ultimately. I think Charles Matthews missed six straight at one point. And not to knock Matthews entirely, because he is a very valuable part of this team, despite his free throw shooting and poor finishing. He's active, a good defender and rebounder, and he consistently breaks down the defense with his drives to the basket, even if those often end in frustrating misses at the rim. Charles is a guy who definitely needs at least one more year of college ball, and we will be lucky to have him.
February 4th, 2018 at 11:36 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^
By what metrics is Matthews an efficient offensvie weapon? We do better offensively with him off the court and his O rating is below average in conference.
February 4th, 2018 at 2:18 PM ^
I said he was reasonably efficient overall, and has been an offensive weapon. He's struggled a bit offensively in conference, but he still gets to the line at a decent clip, is a solid rebounder for his spot, has a solid assist rate given his high usage rate. And he's the team's most complete and efficient flexible defender, which along with MAAR and Simpson has helped to make this team one of the better defenses in the country. So my larger point is that while his FT shooting is sub-par, people give focusing on that and not, for example, the fact he led the team in rebounds and assists yesterday as well.
February 4th, 2018 at 6:04 PM ^
So, let me get this straight, your argument is that "free throws matter?" Brilliant my dear Watson.
I never saw the statement that they were "so easy", but it is unacceptable, IMO, for a DI collegiate basketball player to miss 6 in a row, or for a team to shoot 12 of 28.
It's probably hard for you to make 12 of 28, but that is beside the point.
February 5th, 2018 at 12:42 AM ^
I hear this word a lot. Unacceptable to whom? What is the penalty for unacceptable performance? Keep in mind that NCAA rules limit the amount of practice time that Michigan is allowed to use, so "make them practice until they can hit free throws better" necessarily means less time spent on other things. Furthemore, on the radio broadcast, Matt Shepard said that Charles Matthews had made 90/100 FTs in practice the day before.
At this point, I think it's a mental issue, not a physical issue. Coach Beilein said something postgame about self-meditation exercises; I think they may actually need a sports psychologist, if they don't already have one on staff.
One thing I can promise is that telling these kids that their performance is "unacceptable," to whomever, is extremely unlikely to result in better performance.
February 5th, 2018 at 5:21 AM ^
You don't have to say anthing other than "have a seat." That usually motivates performance better than all else.
February 4th, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
But we would. 92%. Mark it down. /s
Seriously though, of all the "arm chair quarterback" comments that can be made in sports, coming off the couch to hit free throws is probably among the easiest and most likely to be backed up. My beer gut and dad bod can still hit 75%-80% of FT's at pickup ball and I'm nowhere near being in the shape these guys are which is why it's frustrating to watch these guys struggle so hard. Granted the peanut gallery doesn't fly around dunking and playing tough defense for 2 hours either, but still. They're free throws. They're no harder in the NBA than college, or college than HS.
If you regularly shoot less than 60% its time to bust out the granny shot.
February 4th, 2018 at 10:39 AM ^
Free throws, unless you have insanely big hands like Shaq or George McGinnis (the guys from Philly and old timers will remember) are about 90% mental - not physical. The common theme amoung great FT shooters is the ability to focus on the mechanics of the shot and not all the other emotions running through your body when you step up to the line.
It's why you frequently see great FT shooters miss a second shot when they miss the first. They're thinking about what the hell just went wrong and not the second shot.
People forget these are VERY young men playing the game and mental focus in times of stress is pretty easy to lose for a guy 18-21 years old in any situation.
February 5th, 2018 at 5:15 AM ^
One intelligent comment in the sea of idiocy that is the rest of them above except for the guy who got negged to death.
Your comment is very true, and something that a DI player should eventually come to terms with.
February 4th, 2018 at 11:36 AM ^
But it's not a pickup game, it's a college basketball game with hundreds of thousands of people following. You probably aren't physically exerting yourself as hard in your pickup games as these guys are either.
According to Beilein, these guys can shoot free throws in practice situations. But they're missing them in games. That's most likely a mental issue.
A fairer criticism is to point out yesterday (42.9%) was a poor performance by this team's current standards (64.2% on the season). If we'd simply shot our season average the game would have been a lot more comfortable.
February 4th, 2018 at 3:07 PM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 10:06 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 10:10 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 11:53 PM ^
Try a therapist Larry.
February 4th, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
it's beyond pathetic for college basketball players who spend so much time practicing the sport to shoot free throws that badly. An occasional lapse might be understandable. But a couple of these players, Simpson and Matthews, are consistently horrible. It's a lack of discipline or work ethic. It's even more inexcusable for pro players to be that bad - Shaq and Dwight Howard come to mind.
I haven't shot a basketball in about a year but I can guarantee that I would not miss 6 free throws in a row today... without taking a single practice shot.
February 4th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 11:01 AM ^
Thank you.
February 4th, 2018 at 11:00 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
it's just unacceptable to be critical of an athlete on a sports blog, lol. And I'm sure their coaches are never critical of their discipline or work ethic either.
February 4th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 2:22 PM ^
it's beyond pathetic for college basketball players who spend so much time practicing the sport to shoot free throws that badly. An occasional lapse might be understandable. But a couple of these players, Simpson and Matthews, are consistently horrible. It's a lack of discipline or work ethic.
Yep, seems totally like valid criticism of a player's performance and not a personal attack. Also, coaches can be critical of a player all they want because they see them all the time, see their actual effort, and have intimate knowledge of them as people and their lives. You are a guy on the internet challenging someone's heart and discipline because a ball didn't go into a hoop at the rate you'd like. But yep, it's totally the rest of us being too critical of the truth bombs you are throwing.
February 5th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
you think 12-28 from the free throw line is better than I described? I would bet Beilein used similar or harsher words. These players are adults not little children. They can handle this type of criticism. If they can't, they need to grow up. If I were in their shoes, I would describe my performance using the same words. And yes, for this type of problem, I would bet that they need to put more work or discipline into it. That's not a personal attack. Sometimes, the people on this board are.... beyond pathetic, more pathetic than 12-28 from the free throw line. The players are lucky they have coaches that don't baby them.
And it's perfectly ok to be critical of a player's performance on a sports blog. That's why were here... to state opinions.
February 4th, 2018 at 1:47 PM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 7:35 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 7:35 AM ^
Matthews had a tough first half but came back strong. 19-6 is solid record, but SD Mick and others here are right, team needs to improve at the free throw line for a good tourney run.
February 4th, 2018 at 7:42 AM ^
We were at home against a bad team, a team that just lost handily three days earlier at home to a bad Iowa team.
We indeed are a Poor FT shooting team and it’s going to kill us. It’s mind boggling that MN didn’t foul Simpson on a couple of those drives to the basket. Him shooting FTs is a turnover.
Why does it look like we relax on defense after we score?
We have Beilein and they have little Richard. That should be a sizable advantage.
Is it a league rule we have to fall behind? Asking for a friend.
Hope we turn around the slow starts and I think other good things will follow.
February 4th, 2018 at 8:15 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 9:05 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 7:43 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 7:44 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 7:53 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 9:09 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 8:08 AM ^
....a reasonable summary.
February 4th, 2018 at 9:22 AM ^
February 4th, 2018 at 8:33 AM ^
is frequently inexplicable. Always smart to quickly move past weird losses and enjoy wins regardless of how poorly we looked.
February 4th, 2018 at 8:36 AM ^
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