Michigan 102, Charlotte 47
Moe Wagner may be the #2 center. [File photo: Marc-Gregor Campredon]
Moe Wagner scored 19 points on 8/9 shooting. The German freshman hit all manner of up-and-under layups, fought through contact for and-ones, and even knocked down his only three-point attempt. His only miss came on, of all things, a botched dunk.
Yes, Michigan had a good night.
Eleven Wolverines tallied points against a hapless Charlotte squad, with Caris Levert, Zak Irvin, and Aubrey Dawkins joining Wagner in double figures. A day after Michigan couldn't find their range against UConn, they sniped 12/23 three-pointers, taking full advantage when the 49ers played a soft 2-3 zone.
By the time Mark Donnal found his way off the bench to score seven points, including a triple to get M to the century mark, Seth Davis was scolding viewers for still watching.
We'll learn much more from Michigan's consolation contest against Texas tomorrow (7 pm, AXS TV) than anything we saw tonight. The hope is Wagner's breakout is for real, Irvin continues to settle in, DJ Wilson's threes keep falling, and the Wolverines can come close to replicating this defensive performance against a team with a pulse.
November 26th, 2015 at 11:36 PM ^
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November 26th, 2015 at 11:36 PM ^
While Charlotte isn't very good, they did play a somewhat competitive game (83-70) with Syracuse last night. So to completely blow the doors off them was nice to see.
November 27th, 2015 at 9:46 AM ^
Charlotte looked like garbage. But what should a good team do to a garbage team? Something an awful lot like what we saw last night. They took care of business. It's not the same as beating MSU, but it's a lot better than joining Charlotte in looking lousy. I'll take it!
November 26th, 2015 at 11:38 PM ^
November 26th, 2015 at 11:46 PM ^
The channel sucks so hard there wasn't a single stream to be found!
November 26th, 2015 at 11:39 PM ^
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November 26th, 2015 at 11:40 PM ^
November 26th, 2015 at 11:47 PM ^
Tend to agree on Donnal, but at least Chatman looks like one of the best rebounders on the team.
November 26th, 2015 at 11:56 PM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 12:06 AM ^
Kam has a lot of potential. I mean he was the #25 ranked recruit in the country for a reason. It hasn't translated entirely to the college level, but he has great size and athleticism. I think he settles for jumpers when he can take it in for layups, but he has pretty good hops and speed for a bigger 4.
November 27th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 12:01 AM ^
Don't know why you're writing off Cam five games into his sophomore season. While his outside shot still isn't falling, the rest of his game seems improved. He pulled down eight boards tonight.
November 27th, 2015 at 12:15 AM ^
Great point here. As long as he can grab boards and play some good D he will see minutes.
It's awesome to see Mo get going but he didnt' register a single rebound- something he needs to improve on.
On a side note- Derrick Walton had 8 boards as well! That dude just knows how to get the rock in his hands.
November 27th, 2015 at 7:17 AM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 1:21 PM ^
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November 26th, 2015 at 11:50 PM ^
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November 26th, 2015 at 11:50 PM ^
AXS is Cuban's channel. I think it used to be HDNET before. Apparently, if we beat UCONN, the next two games would have been on ESPN, but oh well. Tomorrow should be a good matchup. Beilein took apart the HAVOC defense last time... let's do it again!
November 26th, 2015 at 11:57 PM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 12:16 AM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 7:01 AM ^
very well may have won the game if JB didnt disqualify Levert for over 8 minutes. Michigan led by 1 when he was pulled, and Michigan outscored Uconn with Levert in the 2nd half, Michigan was +3 for the game with Levert. It revealed that Michigan very well could have won the game if Levert was not taken out needlessly, and this despite Irvin and Robinson shooting 1-19 on 3's.
November 27th, 2015 at 12:13 AM ^
Banging my head against the wall. Damn this basic cable package.
November 27th, 2015 at 8:28 AM ^
I feel your pain.
November 27th, 2015 at 10:46 AM ^
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November 27th, 2015 at 12:33 AM ^
If Wagner can play like that against better competition, it's definitely going to shake up the rotation.
November 27th, 2015 at 1:05 AM ^
in game thread, its declared Mortiz Wagner isn't ready for this level of basketball and should never have burned his redshirt.
On page 4, he's the answer to all our prayers.
Well done Michigan fans, well done.
November 27th, 2015 at 1:12 AM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 2:44 AM ^
So why didnt anyone other than LeVert/Walton get rebounds if Kam was simply bigger? He had a great rebound rate last year too.
November 27th, 2015 at 1:35 AM ^
, , , Dunk!
November 27th, 2015 at 1:37 AM ^
After Xavier and UConn, things seemed grim at best but after this game things look much rosier, albeit against a very inferior opponent. Nonetheless tonight's game has given me some hope afterall.
I was really glad to see Beilein go with the rotation he did tonight, Wagner and Wilson need to play a lot more and get crucial experience moving forward.
Wagner splashed some nifty moves around the basket, something we sorely need and Wilson showed some offensice abilities as well, both guys are raw but I think they could actually become something special.
The rest of the line up looks to shape up too, we need Zac, Walton, Spike and Robinson to play at their best or close to it to help Levert make us a solid ball club, I think that could actually happen now, we'll see.
With Dawkins and MAAR we look to have a nice 9 man rotation, just keep Doyle, Chatman and Donnal on the bench except for eating some minutes here and there or for garbage time.
November 27th, 2015 at 2:43 AM ^
Robinson is by far the worst defender on the team and he can only hit shots if they are wide open. Keep him out of the rotation.
November 27th, 2015 at 7:21 AM ^
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November 27th, 2015 at 8:27 AM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 8:33 AM ^
It is November. We are still a young team. It is a work in progress.
November 27th, 2015 at 8:51 AM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 9:48 AM ^
Yeah, we are.
You'll point to Walton, Spike, LeVert and Irvin and you're right... except three of those guys have been hurt.
Wilson, Wagner, Doyle are all extremely raw and we need at least one of them to play a large role. MAAR and Dawkins are still young as well.
November 27th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
I'll give Wilson a "youth" pass because he didn't play at all last season. He may look awkward at times, but at least he's giving effort out there.
And Wagner might be young but I don't think that will hinder him. I'm sure in his mind he remembers that his German teammates also called "young." He proved himself then and he's ready to prove himself now. He's hungry. He has skills and he will be great - this year.
But MAAR, Dawkins, and Doyle have to turn in their "youth" cards. Trey Burke, Caris Levert, and Nik Stauskas set the standard for the "leap" we now expect from our players between years 1 and 2. The "leap" does not take place in November when the season begins. The "leap" is a product of all the hard work put in during the offseason.
All we're getting from Dawkins is 1 or 2 highlights per game, just like last year. This from one of the most athletic players in the country. And Doyle? He's playing at exactly the same level he played at last year. MAAR? He will provide 1 or 2, maybe 3 drives to the basket per game, just like last year, but that's it. And I won't even mention Donnal.
I'm proud of the team for last night's victory, but please let's not go into Brady Hoke mode and use "youth" as a reason for our struggles. How about somebody just grab a freakin' rebound?
Go Blue!!!
November 27th, 2015 at 8:38 AM ^
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November 27th, 2015 at 8:53 AM ^
Not when our team outrebounded them by 14.
November 27th, 2015 at 9:04 AM ^
I don't care what his rebound rate is. Especially since Walton, Irvin, Doyle, Wilson, and Chatman will grab the boards for us.
Although, to be fair, he needs to grab some boards to become our German Pittsnogle.
November 27th, 2015 at 9:31 AM ^
Like the "announcers" said:
- Mo minutes = Mo buckets = wir gewinnen
November 27th, 2015 at 9:57 AM ^
Hopefully this performance by Wagner is a sign of things to come. I'll be the first to prematurely inflate expectations: He's got some Frank Kaminsky in him. Light on his feet and moves well for a big man. Once he gets comfortable in this offense, I think he'll do very well. No other big on this roster is gonna take guys off the dribble from up top like him.
Wilson shot well last night because he got good looks and had his feet set. Ditto for Robinson, who seemed to rush everything too much against UConn and settled down a lot more this time around. How much of that was the level of competition vs Robinson's own decision-making, we'll find out as the year progresses.
I think this team improves as Irvin and Albrecht get healthy. We're never going to be a great defensive team, and our rebounding is likely to vary by opponent. So we have to be efficient on offense, and those are two guys that are going to have to carry a big part of that load. We need Irvin's shooting and penetrating (he's improved as a passer, but is going to be more dangerous as his ability to drive returns,) and we need Spike's facilitating - No one on this team is better at creating easy scores for his teammates.
November 27th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^
I said 2 days ago that I would like to see more of Wagner and Wilson. Their efforts might not be pretty sometimes but you can tell they're giving it their all.
Wagner showed flashes of McGary. I'm tired of watching our big men to through the motions, standing at the elbow or top of the key, catching and passing the ball from one side to the other with no freakin' threat of scoring. Sheesh.
You can probably tell that I'm frustrated. I was spoiled by the McGary era, as shortlived as it was. McGary (and Wagner last night) showed us what a big man is supposed to look like in Beilein's system - not a conduit, but a participant and a freakin' threat to score. Thank you Mr. Wagner. My coffee tastes a little bit better this morning.
Go Blue!!!!
November 27th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
November 27th, 2015 at 12:58 PM ^
and can't find a way to include one that includes a slew of Michigan basketball games. May be the last straw that pushes me to Dish or DirectTV.
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