Michigan State 89, Michigan 73
[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.
February 6th, 2016 at 7:49 PM ^
February 6th, 2016 at 8:06 PM ^
This team is TOAST....Goodbye NCAA
February 6th, 2016 at 8:28 PM ^
February 6th, 2016 at 9:11 PM ^
So, to all of the geniuses who know more than Beilein about basketball or who would/could hire someone better, tell me who could have the same success and run a clean program. Michigan has had sanctions in basketball so they would never risk it on a Coach Cal type. Izzo is in East Lansing.
Who could run a clean program and have the same success? I'm content with making periodical runs and making the tournament most of the time, but some of you think this shit is easy.
February 6th, 2016 at 9:15 PM ^
February 6th, 2016 at 9:26 PM ^
Ollie won't leave UConn. It's his alma mater, and the NBA is in his near future anyway even if Manuel and him know each other well. UConn is also a top 10 job in of itself.
Gregg Marshall, Chris Mack, Archie Miller, Tony Bennett. 4 rising stars right there.
Miller and Marshall (Miller especially since he's only 37!!!) would be my top 2 choices.
Then again, I might be over-valuing Michigan's worth in college basketball.
February 6th, 2016 at 9:28 PM ^
Michigan has a lot of offer as a basketball program. $$$$$, top notch facilities, Jumpman brand. We should be able to attract a guy like Miller and shouldn't have to settle for what John Beilein gives us.
February 6th, 2016 at 9:50 PM ^
Go watch Louisville and get a lapdance by a stripper with crabs.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:21 PM ^
Sounds good if you take out the crabs part.
February 6th, 2016 at 9:57 PM ^
Yeah, and you can name no one who would have done better or is a for sure thing. Marshall has already turned down other offers. The other coaches mentioned have not accomplished what Coach B has. Reminds me of the Biblical story of manna. People really don't get the situation Beilein inherited or the rarity of success in the same state as another future hall of fame coach. Also, while it has been ugly at times, Michigan is without its best player. All anyone wants to do is bitch and moan and the only solutions offered are vague.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:23 PM ^
I can name a lot of coaches who would've done better. Beilein isn't some miracle worker here for bringing the Michigan program from complete shit to mediocrity, sorry. Any decent coach could've done the same exact thing, especially given the upgrade in facilities.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^
Well then name a coach who isn't Izzo, Self, Coach K, Sean Miller, Roy Williams, Gregg Marshall, etc. I guess national runner up followed by an elite eight is mediocre since you want to type that out of Coach B's resume. You also have no contexgt to your argument, given that he turned around programs at powerhouses like Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia, none of which had any established successful infrastructure for basketball before he arrived. But go ahead: Name all the coaches, because while you have knowledge of all these coaches you haven't named one. Your entire argument has little substance and conveniently ignores facts counter to it.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:51 PM ^
So name all the coaches except for all the coaches? Why can't I name Sean Miller? He was at Xavier and would've been available to get in 2007. Why can't I name Gregg Marshall, who was at Winthrop in 2007 and surely would've been available? How about Lon Kruger, Jim Larranaga, Bob Huggins, Bruce Pearl, Mark Turgeon, Brad Stevens, Shaka Smart, etc. There are a lot of coaches that could've done the job Beilein did. What I find interesting is that you take 2 successful years out of 9 to make the argument that Beilein is some sort of miracle worker. Apparently you didn't learn about small sample sizes or anomalies. Beilein made the tournament twice at West Virginia, once at Richmond. So let's stop acting like he's winning a lot at places with inherent disadvantages or is some Harbaugh-like expert at building programs.
February 6th, 2016 at 11:04 PM ^
Well, despite the fact that a lot of coaches didn't have Coach B's resume at that time, or wouldn't come, or have ethical issues that would cause Michigan not to hire them, that's a pretty good list. Why don't we all name a bunch of hypotheticals? And feel free to discount small sample size and yet discount the complete randomness of the tourney or the fact that most programs don't lose their five best players over two seasons and still succeed at a high level or the fact that Michigan's best players have been hurt or the fact that Beilein has always recruited the way he does. We get it: You don't like Beilein. The bottom line is he's earned the benefit of the doubt to finish this year and get another. If he doesn't deliver in that time (Sweet 16 or higher, top 4 of conference next year), then I might be in your corner, but you literally bitch everytime Michigan hits a cold spell.
I guess I just have become content with things that won't change under Coach B. This doesn't mean I'm not frustrated by these things, they just aren't worth wasting time over:
Coach B emphasizes a low turnover, three point shot or layup preferred offense.
Coach B wants defense not to foul and the result at times is a defense that plays tentative and soft.
Coach B over compensates in protecting his players from fouling out by deploying auto bench.
Coach B does not seem to emphasize rebounding.
Many people have complained about the above, and that doesn't delegitimize those complaints, it's just that those things will never change so I don't waste breath on them. If we're talking results, this year has been frustrating in the amount of times U of M has lost convincingly. I'm not saying this doesn't go back to the coach, I'm saying I'm going to let the year play out and let Coach B be judged by something other than a small sample many fans get emotionally caught up with. The End
February 6th, 2016 at 11:13 PM ^
You don't know which of those coaches were available or would've taken the job. And it's not like Beilein had some incredible resume that made him a slam dunk hire. But if you want to believe that Beilein can turn things around, that's your prerogative. Me, I've seen enough to know that we will never reach the heights we reached in 2012-2014 again. As others have mentioned, 4 conference championships in 24 years, 4 times making it to the second weekend of the tourney, 1 Final Four. His record speaks for itself, and there is nothing to suggest that he's a championship caliber coach.
February 6th, 2016 at 11:24 PM ^
Again, he's coached at programs that didn't have basketball history or in Michigan's case was coming off sanctions. When he was at WVU the Big East was the best conference in the country. He won the B1G twice when it was the toughest in the country. He was a national runner up. So saying he doesn't have a championship pedigree is bullshit. Also, in a sport where one player makes a huge difference he has had injuries to his best players two years running. You have no clue how things will play out going forward. I don't blame you for thinking Beilein has peaked since it's easy to think that way when the program is in a valley, but with more development and one recruit panning out in a big way this team isn't that far from a run. As far as consistent success, Michigan is just a program that is going to be affected more by early NBA entry than other programs who have deeper roots or dirtier recruiting. Your whole argument is based on hunches or statements that lack context.
February 6th, 2016 at 11:32 PM ^
That's what great coaches do. They build championship caliber programs at places that don't have a history of success. We all thought Beilein had achieved that a few years ago, but with the performance of the team over the past 2 seasons and the failures on the recruiting trail, it's appearing as though that isn't the case. And I don't buy the injury excuse, every team deals with them. Hell, 2 years ago MSU went extended periods without Appling, Payne, and Dawson (as Izzo loved to remind us). They still went 12-6 in a competitive conference, got a 4 seed in the tourney and put themselves in a position to make an Elite 8 run. That's the difference between a championship program and Michigan. Championship programs build depth through recruiting and development; Michigan does not have that currently and hasn't had for the past couple of years.
February 6th, 2016 at 11:47 PM ^
As far as coaches "who would have done better," hypotheticals are stupid but let's do it:
Gregg Marshall: At the time of Coach B's hire he was hired at Wichita the same year and his name wasn't out there. Did have .700 winning percentage at Winthrop but got no further than the second round in the tourney at that point and his first two years at Wichita were worse than Beilein's first two at Michigan in a conference much tougher than the Big South. Doubtful that his name would have been on Michigan's list, let alone assuming he would've done better. This is, however, a reasonable suggestion.
Lon Kruger: This is laughable. In 43 years the guy has one Final Four appearance that happened 22 years ago. Two sweet sixteens and an elite eight and, oh yeah, one conference championship that he shared. GTFO
Jim Larranaga: Please. A Final Four years ago, a sweet sixteen and five conference championships.......in 31 years. Something tells me you'd be bitching about his "championship pedigree too.
Bob Huggins would never be allowed to come to Michigan and his success is underwhelming in comparison to the talent he's paid....err......recruited to play for him.
Same for Bruce Pearl who is not even near Beilein let alone Huggins who he's just as shady as.
Mark Turgeon?!: Really reaching now. Beilein just beat him and he has one conference title and one sweet sixteen in 19 years.
Brad Stevens: Had no name recognition when Beilein was hired because he took over an already successful program the same year Beilein was hired. There's no way U of M would have known to hire him, so bullshit on this one even though his record is phenomenal.
Same case for Shaka Smart: First job at VCU was after Beilein was hired. You think Beilein has peaked but you want Shaka? Bullshit on this one.
So you get one unlikely out of all the candidates you named, some of which have similar to worse resumes than the current head man. I sure hope you don't head up the next coaching search since you seem to be allergic to facts.
February 6th, 2016 at 11:57 PM ^
You asked me for coaches who could've done the same job. Yeah, I factored in their performances from 2007 til now to determine who could've done the same job as Beilein. I probably would be bitching about a lot of these coaches if they were leading Michigan, but that's not what you asked. And again, you're acting like Beilein was a slam dunk hire. He had minimal success at West Virginia and essentially nothing of note before that. Beilein's resume wasn't a whole lot more impressive than any of these other guys when he was hired. So yeah, keep spewing your apologist opinions and passing them off as facts.
February 7th, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^
Except I went line by line and proved the coaches you named either weren't available at the time because they were unknown, would never be asked to come to UM because of shadiness, or simply had worse resumes. You completely failed in what you claimed was easy. No one is saying getting blown out by top teams is acceptable. What is needed is a reasonable assessment which you aren't giving. If it seems like I'm an apologist it's because I'm including the pieces of the puzzle that you conveniently leave out or dismiss:
Michigan lost 5 of its best players to the NBA. It is simply false to claim that most programs lose players early or that many early, because they don't. Find all the programs eho have lost that many and it better be more than half of division 1.
On top of losing that many players, his top players have been hurt two years in a row. Who knows how big of a difference this would make, but you brought up Izzo's team that only succeeded when they got HEALTHY. You must've forgotten all his bitching about "weird guys."
Quite simply it is hard to sustain success in college basketball anywhere, let alone when you have Tom Izzo in your backyard. You have utterly failed to find a coach with better success outside of bluebloods other than Gregg Marshall who has turned down bigger job offers on a yearly basis.
With all that said, I've been saying that if Michigan stays mediocre it is time to take a hard look at moving on in the next year and what's left of this season, but you at least have to let Coach B get through a year with his core players healthy before you ax him and if that happens whoever takes over better succeed in a hurry.
February 7th, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^
Will you stop with the early entry argument? That's what great programs do, they get great players who win in college and then go to the NBA. They replace those players through recruiting. Beilein has failed to do that, so it's on him but it's definitely not an excuse for him. Losing 5 players over 2 years as early departures isn't anything new or unique to Michigan so stop acting like it is and using it as an excuse.
And you're ignoring what I said about Izzo. They succeeded in the regular season despite those injuries that allowed them to get a 4 seed in the tournament and then make an Elite 8 run when healthy. Michigan is obviously failing in the regular season and, given the fact that we actually have to play real teams in the coming weeks as opposed to the dregs of the conference that we mostly played in the first half of the conference schedule, very well may not even make the tournament.
You, on the other hand, haven't proven why Beilein is some sort of miracle worker and why he's the only guy that could've taken a once highly successful program that had fallen on hard times and improved them to the point of mediocrity. You probably don't remember this, but Michigan was a nationally prominent basketball program up until the late 90s and 2000s. So again, please show me why Beilein accomplished what no one else could have by taking a historically successful basketball program with a huge brand name and turning it into a mediocre program that makes the tournament a little more than half the time. Or just keep your head up Beilein's ass for all I care.
February 7th, 2016 at 12:00 AM ^
People have inherited worse situations than Beilein and done just as well. You seem to forget that Amaker did most of the heavy lifting when it came to stablizing the program. Look, I like Beilein, but let's not make him out to be some sort of once in a lifetime miracle worker.
February 7th, 2016 at 12:15 AM ^
He's Jesus. Maybe the team would play better if he stopped turning all the water into wine.
February 7th, 2016 at 5:34 AM ^
These are the eerily same arguments and defenses people make for Beilein as they did for Hoke. Some statistically outlier seasons that stick in people's minds, then when most of the seasons don't turn out that way, it's always some excuse, "blah blah blah is hurt" etc etc. "But look at 2011!" Or in this case 2013.
February 7th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^
Who inherited a worse situation and did better? I'm just curious who these people are. It honestly seems so easy to turn basketball programs around.
February 6th, 2016 at 9:54 PM ^
There is no evidence from any of those other coaches that suggests they are better than Beilein.
February 7th, 2016 at 6:39 AM ^
February 6th, 2016 at 10:03 PM ^
A HC has to be able to recruit and sign top shelf talent.
Beilein does not do this. He doesn't go toe-to-toe against Calipari, Pitino, Matta, Crean and others. You have to be able to get into stressful recruiting battles and fight for some of these top kids.
McGary was the only top shelf kid he got. Burke was a kid nobody offered, not even Ohio State so he got lucky with how Burke turned out. But you can't count on being lucky like that.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:12 PM ^
Except he does go toe to toe with these guys, and in a lot of cases is in on a kid earlier than these guys and those guys still get the recruit. Thad Matta? Are you serious? Funny all the bitching about 3 star recruiting but when he develops a three star Trey Burke he gets no credit. Some of you negative Nancys need to at least let the season play out before jumping off a ledge.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:19 PM ^
I don't understand the hate Thad Matta gets on here. Have you ever looked at his resume?
In his 11 years at OSU, he has 5 conference titles, 4 conference tourney titles, 2 Final Fours, an Elite Eight and 2 Sweet 16s.
That's better than Beilein and only second to Izzo. Matta is only 48 years old.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:28 PM ^
Matta's success is mostly behind him and recently his program has taken a downward turn, but he was extremely successful in his first few years. His style of basketball is pretty ugly, but his team's do play hard nosed. I think Beilein has his number, given last year's team beat them and they should win this year.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^
After seeing Beilein's teams' manhood get snatched over the past couple of seasons, I think we would welcome some ugly hard nosed grit on the squad.
But you are right, OSU is going through a similar post-NBA draft void. If we get smacked around at OSU this year, we're not making the dance.
February 6th, 2016 at 10:44 PM ^
I completely agree. Why can't people have constructed short term critique without trying to make broad assumptions without knowing what they're talking about. Talk to me when Beilein doesn't succeed with everyone relatively healthy over the next couple years. Gotta love people trying to whitewash Coach B's most successful years.....
February 7th, 2016 at 12:31 AM ^
"Matta's success is mostly behind him and recently his program has taken a downward turn". This sounds awfully familiar.
February 7th, 2016 at 12:25 AM ^
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February 7th, 2016 at 8:46 AM ^
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February 7th, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^
February 7th, 2016 at 3:33 PM ^
of course not
February 7th, 2016 at 12:22 AM ^
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February 7th, 2016 at 1:18 AM ^
February 7th, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^
...in that we have better talent than MSU but still got throttled as usual.
February 7th, 2016 at 1:42 AM ^
February 7th, 2016 at 2:47 AM ^
several so/so years between a few good years. Beilein is not the greatest recruiter but he occasionally lands an exceptional player or two who can transform the team into a top 10 level team before they leave for the NBA. We need better forwards and centers. Lack of big men have hurt us the last two seasons. In 5 years I could see Beilein retiring, may be after one of his good seasons but until then I only see a .500 B1G team the next 2 or 3 seasons that may get into the tournament as a low seed.
February 7th, 2016 at 7:47 AM ^
February 7th, 2016 at 12:13 PM ^
JB isn't getting fired after this season. Short of him resigning (a long shot) we can expect him to be around for probably two more seasons. We can argue the merits of him staying or leaving but one thing we know is the MBB program is a mess. Is he the coach to fix it when he is the cause of the mess? Only his most ardent supporters would say yes.
This much I know. If an in state arch rival is laughing at my team while destroying us I would not be praising them in a post game press conference and never showing a hint of anger as to the performance of my team. Witnessing that told me all I needed to know about JB.
February 7th, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^
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February 7th, 2016 at 9:06 AM ^
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February 7th, 2016 at 10:00 AM ^
February 7th, 2016 at 11:19 AM ^
but I believe. Would like to see changes to line-up. Obviously their not good right now. Hopefully these two home game blowouts will light a fire under their butts and the team can get back to winning game's. Season is a ride of ups and downs for all team's. Hoping for more ups the rest of season for the Maize and Blue.
February 7th, 2016 at 1:02 PM ^
Great comment on here about the MSU team laughing at us...then our coach goes in to the presser raving about their talent, which is accurate, though John, why aren't you recruiting talent. Oh wait, you are, just none of them come to UofM, for some reason. One thing this coach is really good at is chewing gum in a press conference, now there was some real talent. He finally got me to completely become embarrassed to be a UofM basketball fan, something I never thought could happen. I will be back when this gum chewing wussie gets his walking orders.
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