Michigan 93, Nebraska 57
Michigan already knew their Big Ten Tournament fate heading into their game at Nebraska. The game still had stakes, however.
One more victory and the Wolverines could feel secure about their NCAA Tournament standing. They wrapped that up early in the second half, then turned their focus to history.
Derrick Walton got his name in the Michigan record book with 16 assists, breaking Gary Grant's mark of 14 through masterful orchestration of John Beilein's offense. Walton also led the team with 18 points and five steals. He turned the ball over only twice.
With his 209th win, Beilein tied with Johnny Orr atop the all-time wins list among Michigan coaches. The final buzzer also required an update to my favorite running stat of the season:
Each of these team's biggest losses this year was to Michigan
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) March 6, 2017
MSU—By 29
Indiana—By 30
Purdue—By 12
Marquette—By 18
SMU—By 22
Nebraska—By 36
Heading into tonight, Nebraska's worst loss of the season was by 17 points—at Kansas. Michigan doubled that margin and added a bucket for good measure.
They did so in much the same fashion by which they defeated the Huskers at Crisler. Walton played the role of distributor in the first half, working the pick-and-pop with Moe Wagner, who sunk all three of his three-point attempts in the opening stanza. Zak Irvin and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, the other primary beneficiaries of Walton's largesse, joined Wagner as double-digit scorers in the first half.
Unlike the game in Ann Arbor, Nebraska couldn't come close to keeping pace. Tai Webster and Glynn Watson combined for 50 points on 21-for-35 shooting in the first matchup; they had 13 points tonight, going 5-for-17 from the field. The invigorated, pesky Michigan defense forced 16 turnovers and locked down the perimeter, limiting the Huskers to a 2-for-15 performance from beyond the arc.
Walton began hunting his own shot in the second half, especially when Wagner had to sit after picking up two quick fouls. He scored 11 points in the half before Beilein called off the dogs. Michigan pushed the lead as high as 38 on an Ibi Watson fast break layup from Xavier Simpson; Sean Lonergan scored his third and fourth points of conference play on the previous possession.
The final numbers are astonishing. Michigan scored 1.43 points per possession while ceding only 0.88 by the Huskers. They went 20-for-27 on twos, 14-for-27 on threes, and 11-for-14 at the line. Of their 34 field goals, 20 were assisted. With the defense taking away any threat of the outside shot, Nebraska had no means to stay close.
Michigan faces Illinois at noon on Thursday in the 8/9 game of the conference tournament, a fitting start to a postseason run with a much brighter outlook since the Maverick Morgan Revenge Tour began in January. The squad that showed up tonight—and the one that administered to five other teams their worst beating of the season—can play with anybody in the country.
...but disagree. Now is the time to kick ass and take names.
As an aside, I am wondering if you are the real Robbie Moore?, as in the puck stopper from across the water from PH.
I know unlikely, but had to ask, you know, for a friend.
Just loved watching him play back in the day. That was when the team just moved into Yost. He was all of 5 foot 5 or so. But acrobatic as hell. Great times.
He was in Spanish IV with me at the MLB, we sat right next to each other most of the time, and we became pretty good class buddies. I got all sorts of stories about Sarnia, where he grew up, to Port Huron, and then back again.
Great college goalie, cat quick. Hell of a nice guy too, very down to earth, as many Canadians are IMO. Yost was really rockin back then for games, and it was a lot of fun. He played in NHL for a while IIRC, and had a decent career. I would guess the very last of goalies of that stature to play NHL. Now they are giants.
Hard to believe it was that many years ago. It is cliche I know, but it seems like yesterday.
BTW, I look at it like you do. I understand what the guy is saying also, but it is definitely time to start kicking ass and taking names.
We're goin' ALL THE WAY!!!
...the MLB. Just a concrete and brick box with no soul. And to have an 8am class there was awful.
Aside: Do you remember the Kresge store at State and North University? You could get an extra large coffee to go for 25 cents.
I do remember that store, but was only in there a few times, probably for a quick chocolate fix or a pen. I used to play a lot of pinball upstairs at a place across State. I seem to remember a lot of coffee in the Union basement, but I most likely got Kresge's too.
I wanted to become fluent in Spanish after taking Latin and French in HS. It never happened, as that is really not the expectation for college courses, at least back then. By the time Spanish IV rolled around, I had taken it as one of my two pass/fail courses, and was telling everyone there should be no language distribution requirement. I tried my best to get a C, but wouldn/t you know it, I got an A, which was better than I had done in I, II, and III when the grade counted. Typical.
The MLB gave me the creeps also. I was an Econ major, so had a lot of classes in Angel Hall, which has a lot more character.
And, of course, I ended up years later with a lot of clients from Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia who could only speak Spanish. The second language deal never worked out too well for me. Lol.
I don't think the BTT has that much influence on NCAA performance. The championship game is on Sunday and the earliest you can play in the NCAAs is on Thursday (and while I don't know this for a fact, I think the committee makes some effort to give the teams that played into the weekend the Friday NCAA games).
I would call it very solid play. Needed the game to take the pressure off. Now we can just play.
I would rather not lose to Illinois, that would kill momentum, and I do not believe we will lose to "our biggest rival". (Actually, this was a huge, heated rivalry as big as any we had in the Big Ten in the early to late 80's. Other than that, not so much. But Illinois had great teams back them. Their team that made the Final Four should have won it all IIRC.) That is really a must win.
They would be fortumate to beat Purdue twice in a row, but they definitely can if they play well. A loss there would not do much to them other than perhaps refocus them again, but I would prefer to be on a roll if if were me coaching or playing on the team. If they beat Purdue, anything could happen, and they could win it all if they continue to play well.
You mean the one that lost to Michigan in the '89 Final Four? While Illinois fans may agree with you, I think that'll be a fairly unpopular sentiment here. :-)
Glen was utterly unstoppable that tourney and willed us to the title. He still holds the record for points in a tourney, and I can't see that record being broken in this era of college hoops. I would not disagree though, that Illinois were the favorites. They curb stomped us in the last reg season game and beat soundly in the other game that season. They were clear favorites for the title and that was by far Illinois best chance to win it all until 2005, but we had the fire and want to attitude that propelled us to the title.
...Lou Henson era at Illinois?
If this team went on a run to win the BTT, they could elevate up to a 5/6 seed. The difference is huge, and could really help. Losing sooner in the BTT basically ensures that we have a 8/9 seed.
I would have preferred going 1-1 in the BTT, so as not to wear ourselves out playing 4 games in 4 days, but after choke jobs against Minnesota and NW, we might be looking at a very unfavorable tourney seed unless we win a couple.
Don't want to fall into that 5-12 trap. 6 will be the best road to go far in the tournament. As a high 6, they also might get a softer high seeded team. You also get a 1 seed as late as possible. I think this team can take most any 2 or 3 seed on a good night and would have a chance to make it to the elite 8.
I don't think a five-seed is realistic, even if Michigan goes on a tear and wins the Big Ten tournament. No committee that still uses the RPI is going to look at Michigan as a Top 20 team, especially considering the (lack of) quality of the wins they'd pick up in said tournament.
However, I would always prefer to move up the seed line. I'm not worried about this team running up against a plucky mid-major, which are usually the type of teams that win those 5/12 matchups. However, I'd rather face a 4 than a 3 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
That said -- I think a 6 is the likely ceiling for a Big Ten tournament champion Michigan team. They might be able to get a 7 with a trip to the semis, although since that semifinal game would be against Michigan State or Minnesota, I'd advise them to go ahead and win it anyway. :-)
With a lot of teams. Every team has moments that they can say, "Damn, if... if we would have done this... If we would have done that."
They also can almost lose to Rutgers. Damn. They got something...if only they can make something of it. Let's do this!
Rutgers played a lot of teams close. They even beat Illinois yesterday. Their basketball team may not be very good, but it's nowhere near the level of terribleness of their football team. The important thing is that we got the win there.
As noted in the other thread, Michigan has given NINE teams their worst loss of the year.
beatdown ever at home! Way to hit the stride at the right time of the year. 15-3 home, 3-8 on the road, and 2-0 for neutral sites. All neutral sites from here on out, although likely will be playing in someone else's home turf in the first couple rounds of the NCAA's (like fellow facing fellow Jumpman school in Greenville, NC in 2nd round on Lundardi's board). 3 road wins were against teams going a combined 16-38.
We thought that we'd be out of the tournament by mid-February, and fifty-fifty on whether we'd be looking for a new coach shortly.
Instead, we are looking at one of the best runs of our coach's career, with a team that is playing elite offense and decent defense. Subjectively, this team feels like it is in fact being coached to the limit of its ability - these guys are playing better than we might have expected overall.
I am excited to see how they do in the two tournaments.
<peeks head out from around a wall>
Teams with red-hot PGs can make deep NCAA tournament runs.
<ducks back out of sight>
For our game in the BTT against Illinois, we should wear our maize jerseys with the regular trim around the neck swapped out for plain white. Walton would probably go off for a triple double.
We have won six of our last eight.
The two losses . . . ? Overtime on a ref screw job, and a Hail Mary that would have made Roger Staubach proud. That's close.
This team is on fire right now.
Walton and Wagner look like different players out there. They are starting to look like a Burke - McGary combination.
Hello tourney time.
Kudos to Nebraska fans for setting a record for stupidest whining about a foul call ever. When MAAR got tackled in the air by a trailing defender, very few situations call for an immediate and obvious flagrant more than that one, which came as a huge surprise to the booing Husker faithful. Taking that crown away from Tobacco Road is a major undertaking.
...they were down 22, and when they did a little 6-0 mini-run to close to 16 they were up on their feet and making noise, for a mediocre-to-bad team and program with almost no hoops history. respect for that.
Yeah, I was quite surprised by their turnout late on a cold Sunday night for a losing team. They were enthusiastic and stuck with it into the 2nd half.
That's way more than I would do.
They deserve better. Maybe they can take it out on Penn State and then Michigan State in the BTT.
I'll be pulling for them in both games for sure. A Nebraska win would spell NIT for MSU.
Where are you?
maryland-eastern shore by 49!
from Irvin on offense. Last night he seemed to find a shot. If he gains his shot back at all with the way the rest of the players are playing, we might not have even seen the peak of this teams potential.
I love the way MAAR and Walton attack the rim. No fear and high confidence, it really creates havoc on opposing defenses.
Wagner is getting more aggressive too. It's what is opening up all out threes. Those were some wide open looks at threes last night.
Wagner has a tendency to pick up silly fouls when he's been on the floor for extended periods. JB has probably seen it enough to chart that he's more likely to commit dumb fouls when he's at all fatigued (being physical tired saps your ability to focus mentally), so keeping him fresh helps mitigate his fouling issues.
That said, you are absolutely correct there is a massive dropoff (especially on defense) when Donnal comes in for Mo. The BTT and NCAA Tournament is going to ride heavily on Wagner staying out of foul trouble and on the floor.
Self downvote for attempting to reply to an earlier comment and failing epically.
I gave you your point back :)
Truly a great display was put on last night, but its also a reminder of how frustrating the season has been. If the team played with some semblance of consistency, they very well could've won another Big Ten title this year. But they've won 6 of the last 8, and should be coming into the tournament with some good momentum.
What I'm really hoping for at this point is if they can win at least two games in the BTT. If they play at the level they've been playing at for most of the last month, they can beat anyone in this conference, and beat them handily. And making it to the conference semis may be just enough to get the team out of that dreaded 8/9 matchup.
I really do not want to have to worry about Kansas or Villanova waiting on the other side.
If we win two, we'll win three maybe four. There is a big drop off after Purdue.
I would love to see analysis of the progression of Beilein's teams, and their development over the course of a season. IIRC, the year we made it to the finals with McGary and Burke, McGary didn't really develop until the last third of the schedule. For comparison, Indiana won big early this year in the non-conference schedule, but that was it. I much prefer what has happened under Beilein this year, where the team has really developed over the course of the year.
The clear exception is when Michigan has a team made up of upper-classmen who get what Beilein is doing, and understand their positions and place on the floor. When that happens, Michigan is much stronger right out of the gate. For this reason, I am extremely excited about next year, already. We have the following players who already get the system and won't be deer in the headlights:
- G Rahkman
- G Simpson
- G Matthews (not on floor this year, but should already know Beilein's schemes)
- F Wagner
- F Wilson
- F Duncan Robinson
In addition, we have the following guys who should be well seasoned.
- C Teske
- F Davis
Right there, you already have an 8 man rotation which is typical for Beilein. But that's not all!!
Incoming Freshmen:
- G Poole, 4 star out of WI.
- G Brookes
- F Livers, 4 star out of Kzoo
With the 8 man rotation, there is less pressure on the Freshmen. But who knows. Potentially, one of them could step in and really contribute, similar to Simpson this year.
Lastly, while unlikely to come to Michigan, you have 5 star big man Bamba out of NY. Maybe with a long run through the tourney, it might be enough to turn his head and for him to come to Michigan instead of KY or Duke. Matthews could certainly talk to him in comparing and contrasting Kentucky and Michigan.
The future looks very bright next year. I'm thankful for both this season, and the year to come.
just looking at him out there, he is playing like he knows he is the best on the court....dangerous type of person in the tourney. I have this team going deep and beating a 1 (not named Carolina...dont like that matchup)
But get a couple wins in B1G tourney..maybe get a 7 seed? But whatevert, liking this team a lot.
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