Michigan State 89, Michigan 73 Comment Count

Ace



[Eric Upchurch/MGoBlog]

That felt all too familiar.

For the second straight game, Michigan got run off their home court in a contest far uglier than even the lopsided final score would indicate. Within ten seconds of the opening tipoff, MSU guard Bryn Forbes drilled a three-pointer. He'd sink seven more before taking a seat; taking an early seat due to the blowout was the only thing preventing him from tying and likely breaking the Crisler single-game record of nine made three-pointers.

With Denzel Valentine and Eron Harris chipping in, State sunk ten of their 14 first-half 3PA; Michigan couldn't stick with shooters whether in man or zone, allowing MSU to pick them apart with impressive passing. The Wolverines simply had no answer on the other end, making 4/16 first-half 3PA—3/6 for Derrick Walton, 1/10 for everyone else—and tallying only four assists to MSU's 11 in the opening stanza.

Matters didn't improve in the second half. Apparently tired of lighting Michigan up from the outside, MSU's first four second-half buckets came in the paint, including a demoralizing steal-and-slam by Matt Costello, who also embarrassed Mark Donnal with a subsequent spin move and reverse dunk on a post-up. The Spartans lead ballooned to as many as 30 points with 2:48 to play, at which point they were on pace for the best single-game eFG% mark of any team in the country this season; only a solid showing by Michigan's garbage-time unit made the score look half-respectable, and a series of missed shots by benchwarmers brought MSU's eFG% down to a mere 78.0%.

For the second straight game, Michigan displayed little ability to get anything going towards the basket, and they couldn't free up shooters as a result; Duncan Robinson finished with two points and missed all three of his attempts from beyond the arc. Zak Irvin did his best to keep Michigan within reach, scoring 19 on 16 shots, but he didn't get close to enough help from the supporting cast on either end. Aubrey Dawkins chipped in 14 points, but 12 of those came in the second half after the game was well in hand.

Michigan gets a badly needed chance to regroup Wednesday at Minnesota, which is still winless in the Big Ten, and they'll need to figure out what's wrong in a hurry; a rough final seven-game stretch starts next Saturday when the Wolverines host Purdue.

Comments

Stu Daco

February 6th, 2016 at 4:42 PM ^

It's always stupid to evaluate a coach based solely on what his current team looks like.  You have to look at the past and the future.  

The past:  Beilein has won 4 conference titles in 24 years as a D1 head coach.  He's been to one Final Four, two Elite Eights, and has missed the tournament 63% (!) of the time.  He has a .627 career winning percentage and has coached just three all-americans.

The future:  Next year's teams will be projected to improve little, adding just one ESPN100 player along with Teske and two three-stars.  The following year, the team loses its two best players in Walton and Irvin.  Projected starters for 2017-2018 will be Mark Donnal, Duncan Robinson, Xavier Simpson, Aubrey Dawkins, and who knows.

I look at these facts, and I see more mediocrity than should be tolerated by Michigan Basketball.  

Voltron Blue

February 6th, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^

It's also stupid to evaluate a coach with as much tenure as Beilein has at Michigan by anything that happened prior to his arrival at Michigan. And what Beilein has achieved at Michigan is better than Michigan's had in 20 years.

Gulo Gulo Luscus

February 6th, 2016 at 5:36 PM ^

I'm on board with a 2-3 year replacement timeline and wouldn't blame the new AD for looking to move sooner, but that's simply not true.  If we are looking at the past 20 years Beilein's teams have been by no means "what they were" before him.  Not by achievement and not by integrity.

If the 20 year timeline goes back 20 from when JB arrived (starting in 1987), then it's sorta true.  But you'd be ignoring the fact that the program got cratered and the first 2 guys who got a chance to fix it don't hold a candle to our current head coach.

Brian Ellerbe 1997–2001 62*–60*

25–59
.508*

.298
26*–38*

10–38
.406*

.208
1998 Big Ten Tournament Championship*[55]
Tommy Amaker 2001–07 109–83 .568 43–53 .448 2004 National Invitation Tournament Championship[26]
John Beilein 2007–Present 183–116 .612 85–69 .552 2 Big Ten Conference Championships (2012, 2014), 2013 Final Four

 

BursleyBaitsBus

February 6th, 2016 at 9:53 PM ^

You realize you're trying to rationalize an Ivy League school outrecruiting a premier B10 school in basketball right? 

If it was Harvard outrecruiting us in rowing or some shit then okay fine. But this is basketball. 

Hell even Seth Towns picked Harvard over Michigan. 

Jesus man. 

jsquigg

February 6th, 2016 at 10:19 PM ^

Amaker out recruiting Beilein according to the rankings?  Who gives a shit.  Go root for Harvard then.  Tommy Amaker with zero tourney appearances at U of M and who is killing it in the Ivy League.  Good for him, he hasn't and never will out perform Beilein.  You're such a troll, not to mention wrong about your statement.  UM has the 25th class.  Harvard is 27 which is fucking incredible for an Ivy school.  Just fuck off with your outlier arguments.

SpaceDad

February 7th, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^

is that Amaker is not a very good coach. He has done a great job at Harvard, and it would be great to see him and the nice class he has assembled make it to an Elite Eight. But unfortunately it won't happen. I'm not sure why this is embarrassing for Michigan. Not many Division I schools can claim verbal commitments from three 4-star athletes. It sounds like you're just trying to stir up a false controversy because Amaker used to coach in Ann Arbor.

Stringer Bell

February 7th, 2016 at 1:40 PM ^

I'm not trying to stir up false controversy.  I don't necessariliy want Amaker back and I think he's happy at Harvard (where he happens to be doing really well by the way, making the tournament 4 times there to Beilein's 5 at Michigan).  I think people shit on him unfairly because he had the sanctions to deal with here and that obviously hindered his ability to succeed here.  But either way, this is about the fact that Harvard basketball has a brighter future than Michigan.  The Michigan program has become stagnant and a change is needed.

I Like Burgers

February 6th, 2016 at 5:51 PM ^

This is true, and that's why I through the "roughly" in there.  Sure, they are much better than the hot garbage of Ellerbe, or lukewarm garbage of Amaker, but they are currently playing somewhere between lukewarm garbage and mid tier Big Ten program.  Which I don't think anyone is happy with.

Which goes to my last point.  Michigan bball -- much like Michigan football -- needs to decide what it wants to be.  The football program clearly views itself as a perennial top 10 program and went out and made the changes to get back to that point.

I have no idea what the basketball program wants to be or how they view themselves.  None at all.  Hackett is smart and likely knows what it really takes ($$$$) to win in basketball.  Manuel is coming from UConn and definitely knows what it takes.  So as those two transition in/out it'll be interesting to see what happens with the basketball program.

Michigan fans have been a little squeamish at some of the things Harbaugh is having to do to compete for real in CFB.  To really compete in CBB, it'll have to get a whole lot more shady.  Just need to decide if that's worth it. 

Voltron Blue

February 6th, 2016 at 6:48 PM ^

I hope he does.  And if it's not Beilein, I hope he's right.  Though I think it's only fair to note that Calhoun was a cheater and Ollie was already on staff.  I hope Warde deserves credit in there that will foretell good things about what will be done at Michigan, but I don't think it's a slam dunk.

I Like Burgers

February 6th, 2016 at 6:56 PM ^

Then if that's the case, the fan base should be content with being a fringe top 25 team and quit freaking out when top programs that are OK with "doing what it takes" curb stomp them.

And just to be clear, our new AD comes from a school known for "doing what it takes" to win in basketball.  So like I said, we're at a crossroads.

Gulo Gulo Luscus

February 7th, 2016 at 2:08 PM ^

I took issue with your original comment but I couldn't agree more with this one.  I said the same damn thing about the Swenson stuff, too.  Michigan fans have to pick between "doing it right" and "doing what it takes" in both sports.  "Doing what it takes" is a spectrum and I don't want to go full greyshirt in football or connect with another Ed Martin, but I had no problem with the Swenson situation and wouldn't mind us transitioning to a program that goes hard after potential one-and-dones.

UMxWolverines

February 7th, 2016 at 4:37 PM ^

Well they sure as shit didn't have any problem with Ed Martin hanging around the basketball program well before and after the Fab Five when we were winning a national title and recruiting the best players in the nation. And I'm sure you didn't either, but you like to sound high and mighty with your faux outrage that ''omg guys get paid in college sports''. 

jsquigg

February 6th, 2016 at 9:03 PM ^

That's absolute bullshit.  How quick people forget the tournament free streak throughout the Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker era.  Is this team great?  Far from it.

I'm not saying Caris would've made a difference, but it's unfair to judge Coach B with the injuries the last two years and five players leaving early for the league.

Coach B does not recruit dirty, and if you haven't seen improvement from last year to this year you either don't know basketball or are being selectively blind.  U of M is 17-7 with one quality wins, and while they've been beaten soundly, they don't have a bad loss.  This team was never going to win the B1G.  They will make the tournament which is better than they were for "roughly 20 years." (And if they don't feel free to neg bang me).

I get that people expect the best because "This is Michigan," and losing to State always sucks, but honestly some of you have fucking amnesia.  Not two years ago we were a buzzer beater from a second straight final four.  If you think this is the same as the Amaker years you're a fucking idiot.  College basketball is one of the hardest sports to sustain success and that's without Izzo in your backyard.

There is no reason to fire Beilein yet and there likely won't ever be, and I hope the next coach doesn't remind us how good the Beilein years were.

jsquigg

February 6th, 2016 at 10:04 PM ^

It's because when you don't recruit using certain methods, since your program has been put on major sanctions once already, it affects your program more than others, not to mention two straight years of the team's best players being injured.  You are such a fair weather fan.  Michigan goes on a winning streak and you're nowhere to be found.  Michigan loses to teams who are top 15 without their best player and post after post on why Beilein needs to go.  GTFOH

Stringer Bell

February 6th, 2016 at 10:19 PM ^

I was there to give props after the Maryland win.  Sorry I wasn't celebrating all those other wins over the dregs of the Big Ten.  And it's not just losing to top 15 teams, it's getting blown out and not even looking competitive.  The team looked listless out there, and that's unacceptable especially on your home court against an in-state rival.  I'm sorry that you can't see that Beilein's overall career, and tenure at Michigan, is only slightly above average, and that Michigan should not be in this position in year 9 of the Beilein era, 3 years removed from playing in the national championship game.

jsquigg

February 6th, 2016 at 10:40 PM ^

A national runner up and an elite eight are not slightly above average.  Conveniently leaving out the fact that our best player(s) have been playing hurt or out injured two straight seasons is a bullshit argument.  I've seen teams lose to teams they are supposed to beat, so the fact that this team has yet to lose to a bad team is a bright spot.

jsquigg

February 6th, 2016 at 10:07 PM ^

Name one other program besides Kentucky that sent five players to the NBA in two years and also suffered injury to their best player two years in a row after that.  Perspective:  It'd be nice for you debbie downer losers to have it after one tough stretch.  Man, I wish we had gotten Pitino so our basketball program could be on the death penalty right now......  SMH