Michigan 60, Rutgers 52
Rutgers hadn't lost on their home court all season. Isaiah Livers, nursing a twisted ankle, didn't even go through warmups. The Scarlet Knights pulled down 14 offensive rebounds to Michigan's four, committed one fewer turnover, and got up 16 more shots from the field. The Wolverines made only 6-of-23 three-point attempts. Livers's replacement, Brandon Johns, scored a single point and had more fouls (four) than rebounds (three).
Nonetheless, Michigan found a way to become the first team to win at the RAC since March 6th, 2019.
It took some searching. Not long after Rutgers climbed their way out of an early first-half deficit, Johns picked up his second foul, and Juwan Howard planted him on the bench in favor of Adrien Nunez. The offense went cold and the defense looked shaky as Michigan mostly went to a 2-3 zone. With a stepback three at the halftime buzzer, Geo Baker put the Scarlet Knights ahead, 31-28.
David DeJulius hit some big shots [Wilcomes]
When Johns fouled Akwasi Yeboah on RU's first possession of the second half, Colin Castleton went to the scorer's table in Nunez's stead. The decision to go big paid immediate dividends. Castleton drove through Shaq Carter for an and-one layup just after the Scarlet Knights had taken a nine-point lead, their biggest of the game. He sealed off his man to free David DeJulius for a baseline floater and hit two free throws after he rebounded a DeJulius miss, cutting the deficit to one on each play. He teamed up with Jon Teske and Franz Wagner to form a forest of arms on the back line of the zone, stymieing repeated efforts to get to the basket. Yeboah tried to take him off the dribble and lost the ball out of bounds.
DeJulius then hit a runner followed by a corner three off a beautiful setup from Zavier Simpson to give Michigan a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Castleton finished with five points, four rebounds, and a block while going +9 in ten minutes that turned the tide of the game.
Eli Brooks went 3-for-4 inside the arc [Wilcomes]
Simpson had another great performance, leading the team with 16 points on 13 shooting possessions and adding six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. He knocked down two early threes—he was the only Wolverine to make more than one triple—to get Rutgers to stop ducking under screens against him, then feasted the rest of the game by getting into the middle of the defense at will. He scored his 1,000th career point tonight, becoming the fourth player in school history to surpass 1,000 points and 500 assists; fittingly, it came on a hook shot over a center to beat the shot clock.
Whenever it looked like Rutgers might pull even, the Wolverines would come up with a stop and a bucket. Michigan looked to be cruising to the finish line up six with the ball heading into the under-four media timeout when Wagner carried the ball trying to break a full-court press. Yeboah airballed a contested corner three, however, and Johns hustled to help ensure Paul Mulcahey couldn't reel in a long rebound. After a ragged possession, Eli Brooks stepped into a pull-up three that caught Mulcahey leaning back and put the final dagger in Rutgers's home winning streak.
The win, Michigan's fourth straight, moves the Wolverines to 8-7 in the Big Ten. Barring a brutal collapse, they've solidified a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Not bad for a team that's rarely been at full strength while navigating the toughest conference in the country with a first-time head coach taking over someone else's roster.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
February 19th, 2020 at 10:10 PM ^
To me, this is the most impressive win of the year thus far. This team has absolutely no quit in them.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:29 PM ^
No quit, all grit.
February 20th, 2020 at 4:50 AM ^
Win the Game
February 20th, 2020 at 1:16 AM ^
On the surface an 8 point win at Rutgers without Livers is very impressive. But M got killed on the boards, turned it over more than the opponent and thus had a major shot deficit. They even shot terribly from distance which is usually the only way to make up for a stark shot disadvantage.
But they did take good shots and hit a high % of twos as is their MO. They played good hard defense.
But Rutgers shot horrrrrribly even for Rutgers standards. This one was pretty lucky in the way the Illinois game (and PSU...and Minnesota) was unlucky. So the pendulum swings.
Very high on these players and the talent on this team and I think the coaching staff is making excellent adjustments after a period of what seemed like some unwillingness to try different approaches. Juwan is doing a really, really good job.
Sky is the limit for this team, truly believe that.
February 20th, 2020 at 9:41 AM ^
I think two of your points have some correlation - getting out rebounded on the offensive glass and Rutgers shooting horrrrrribly. Rebounding is a science of which a few players (Rodman, Ben Wallace, etc.) have been able to perfect, though most players have a decent understanding. Rebounding, especially at higher levels of basketball, is far from random. Missed shots tend to end up in certain areas depending on where they are shot from. With a team like Rutgers and their horrible shooting, that's not always the case. Air balls, hitting the side of the back board, 23 foot heaves, etc. all cause more randomness when it comes to rebounding. There were several times last night when Michigan players were in great position to rebound a miss having boxed out their man only to see the ball clang off the front side of the rim in the opposite direction.
While I won't argue that Rutgers is not a good offensive rebounding team, their style of play and shot selection on the offensive end certainly skew the data.
February 20th, 2020 at 11:49 AM ^
I once played hoops at the YMCA in Birmingham with Rodman when he was a rookie with the Pistons.
If ever there was a player who wanted the ballot Ron the rebound, it was Rodman. His effort was exceptional and was the model.
February 20th, 2020 at 1:26 PM ^
Rutgers did shoot horribly but a decent amount of that was from Michigan playing great D and forcing them to take bad shots, a lot of times late in the clock.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:10 PM ^
So, Michigan is the one in Gonzaga's 26-1. They are the one in Rutgers' 17-1 home record and they are still one game out of third place in the B10. That's crazy considering how this year has gone. I think we're way past worrying about the bubble.
February 20th, 2020 at 12:52 AM ^
Does anyone know if the tourney they won meant anything of importance the last few years.
February 20th, 2020 at 5:29 AM ^
Yes, the previous 2 champs of the Battle 4 Atlantis went on to win the NCAA tourney. Virginia last year and Villanova the year before.
February 20th, 2020 at 8:02 AM ^
Thanks Captain
February 20th, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
I'm willing to give him a pass on this one
February 20th, 2020 at 8:25 AM ^
Agreed. The bubble talk is such nonsense. If we lost every game going forward we would still make the tournament, as our body of work hasw merited it, and I don't get why Ace even mentions it.
February 20th, 2020 at 8:29 AM ^
Well out of bubble talk. I am saying if we can win 5 of our last few games we get a B1G bye, win the B1G tourney and we look at a 4 seed easily. Heck, one B1G tourney win and a win at Maryland and we are not below a 5 seed.
Let's hope Livers' ankle gets healed. Purdue is no cake walk.
February 20th, 2020 at 9:23 AM ^
It’s not going to happen but that’s not true. If we lost our last 5 and then went out in first round of the B10 tourney, we aren’t getting in at 17-15.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:11 PM ^
Impressive five trillion from Nuñez.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:16 PM ^
He had a really nice tip-out OR straight to Simpson—guess I don’t know who should get credit there.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
And the only negative player in plus/minus with a -5
February 20th, 2020 at 12:31 AM ^
Yah I was annoyed when he came in - I was hoping Bajema had jumped him recently. He came in threw up a fairly gross shot on an open look and looked lost out there otherwise. On a 2-on-1 fast break with Simpson he essentially took himself out of the play by running to 3 point territory and letting Simpson fend for himself to take a tough, contested shot. Even the announcer was like "what is he doing?"
February 20th, 2020 at 7:56 AM ^
I generally agree with less Nunez, but I can see where Juwan is coming form playing him. Having a dead-on 3 point shooter would be such a lift for this team. Nunez clearly has not shown this in games, but he has it in him based on high school and presumably practice. Similar to Castleton's out of nowhere performance, I am ok with giving him a few minutes to see if he can turn it around. If it doesn't happen, sit him back down. Against Rutgers where defense isn't that hard and points are at a premium, I was ok with it.
I completely agree that Bajema deserves the same shot.
February 20th, 2020 at 9:16 AM ^
Nunez has had plenty of opportunities to show that he can be a good 3-pt shooter in games. It has not materialized and he is a decided negative in every regard.
Also, Rutgers might be a poor shooting team but they still run good action and get open shots. Saying that "defense isn't hard" against them is just plain untrue. DDJ was a monster on Baker in the second half and allowed Michigan to scratch and claw their way to a sustainable lead.
February 20th, 2020 at 9:53 AM ^
And the coach decided to give him another shot in this game. Maybe he had a great week of practice and Bajema did not. Maybe he was told to put it together and here's your shot. Who knows. Easy to armchair coach after the fact.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:31 AM ^
Nunez is from Brooklyn, and likely had family/friends in the stands. For some people, that atmosphere can lift their games. It didn’t for him, but for that (and other reasons listed) it was worth a try.
February 20th, 2020 at 8:31 AM ^
I will never understand why he plays. He is easily the worst player to commit under JB.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:12 PM ^
We can have subs?
February 19th, 2020 at 11:34 PM ^
Tubby’s Famous with extra sauce for me!
February 20th, 2020 at 12:24 AM ^
We had subs, it was crazy.
February 20th, 2020 at 8:09 AM ^
The Torpedo at Pizza Bob's, with extra hot sauce. Mmmmm!
February 20th, 2020 at 11:52 AM ^
Pizza steak and cheese with extra Tubbys sahz
February 20th, 2020 at 8:10 AM ^
Wait, I thought subs moved to Cleveland?
I saw JH once getting pick up with the family at Frita Batidos (cool story huh, bro), so in honor of that....
We had Frita's and it was crazy!!!
February 20th, 2020 at 8:19 AM ^
February 20th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
i think you meant to say "slugs"
February 19th, 2020 at 10:13 PM ^
I said before this team would live or die based on Livers coming back. Now it seems they’re a tourney team without Livers - and with him they can make a legit run. The only question now is getting off the 8/9 line and get a decent seed where they’re not playing a top team in game 2. Go blue.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:29 PM ^
I think they were never in danger of being on 8/9 line because of their strong records against Q1 and a bunch of high end wins like Gonzaga, Creighton and a few of the B1G teams. I think they were always has been a 6/7 seed but they could climb up into 3/4 if they continue their strong play
February 19th, 2020 at 10:52 PM ^
Never in danger of being 8/9, eh. If you lurked around here a few weeks ago you would have thought they wouldn’t even have made the NIT...
February 19th, 2020 at 11:23 PM ^
The alarmists in this fanbase were already trashing Howard a few weeks back.
6.7.0February 20th, 2020 at 8:20 AM ^
Alarmists aren’t in the fan base around here, alarmists are the fanbase
February 20th, 2020 at 6:20 AM ^
all true - i would only say that i'm not worried about seeding with this team. there's literally nobody in the country that i look at and think "we don't want any of THAT."
livers caveats apply, of course.
February 20th, 2020 at 7:40 AM ^
This is the on-target take. The seedings in the tournament this year will be the most inconsequential ever. I would be pleased to see Michigan get "stuck" as an 8 or 9. Win your 8 vs 9 game then take out the #1 and waltz your way to final four. But this team will need Livers to make an "ultimate" run.
February 20th, 2020 at 8:28 AM ^
We will be a 4 to 6 seed. Wait for it.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:28 PM ^
Great win over the Scarlet Chuckers at the RAC.
Juwan's a freakin' genius.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:30 PM ^
Man, had the refs not screwed Michigan against Ohio State, they'd be on a nice 7-game winning streak right now and would be tied for 3rd in the B1G, only 3 games behind Maryland for first. Even so, a double bye in the BTT is still within reach. Finish strong and they might just get it, which would be absolutely remarkable.
February 19th, 2020 at 11:43 PM ^
This wouldn't be the first incredible run basketball has had after losing a frustrating game to OSU
Some people thought Beilein was dead in the water after our home loss to them in 2017. Michigan's record for the remainder of his tenure? 75-18 with two big ten tournament titles and a second Final Four
Maybe that clusterfuck loss to OSU is just what Juwan needed to get his legacy started. Definitely seems headed that way...
February 20th, 2020 at 1:37 AM ^
Been saying it for weeks, but this season continues to be remarkably similar to the 16-17' season:
1. Both teams had modest expectations coming into the season (unranked) despite veteran rosters.
2. Both teams started four upperclassmen (led by senior PGs), none of whom had much NBA buzz. And the fifth starter for each team was a Wagner (until Duncan supplanted Moe late)!
3. Both teams dominated early season tournaments to shoot into the ranking and get dark horse final four talk.
4. Both teams had mid-season swoons thanks in large part to rotten luck (complete with home losses to OSU) that had the fan base looking towards next year and questioning the respective coaches.
5. Both teams made masterful adjustments (the 16-17 team began clicking defensively under Donlon's limit threes approach and moved DJ to center, this years team is mixing up defenses more, digging at the post, making smart adjustments like putting Eli on Cash, etc), started playing harder, and most importantly had luck revert to normal.
6. Both made/are making runs to get off the bubble and fight for good seeding. Look at the Torvik game score trends and they're both pretty much a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ emoji which is fitting cuz I don't what the bball gods did to both teams in the middle of the season (although this years swoon was more easily explained by Livers being hurt).
Hopefully they keep it up like that team. If they do, they'll get a better seed than 7 because the new NET system is vastly superior to RPI. And then hopefully they get deeper than the sweet 16.
February 20th, 2020 at 11:59 AM ^
eerily similar to the Lincoln/Kennedy parallels
February 19th, 2020 at 10:43 PM ^
Castleton gets my star of the game.
February 19th, 2020 at 10:48 PM ^
I told him to be ready. If you’re ready then you don’t have to get ready.
- coach
February 20th, 2020 at 12:12 AM ^
Hopefully this was the game where he gets his confidence and turns the corner like Johns had a few weeks ago
February 20th, 2020 at 1:42 AM ^
The difference is that there won't be minutes for Castleton after Livers comes back so not as important of a piece as Johns with the emergence of Davis a nice backup C.
February 20th, 2020 at 9:26 AM ^
Castleton still needs to be ready because if Davis is getting abused on defense his offensive prowess is negated. Could just be a blip, as this was the first game in a while where he was a net negative (I know +/- says otherwise). Either way, Colin needs to be ready if Juwan calls his number again!
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