On the heels of the strongest performance of the season in a victory over a top-5 Purdue team, Michigan is now number 26 to Kenpom and 30th per the NET ranking. 

Although the Penn State game can was a speedbump, the Wolverines have won 6 of their last 8 games, while having more consistent ups than downs for the first time all year. 

 

THREE UP

Defense, defense, defense. Michigan held the number one offense in the country to .94ppp on 44% from the field. Was some of that due to three-point luck? Yes, but Purdue also hit the jackpot with a few Trevion Williams jumphooks that hit back-heel before bouncing in. 

The possession above is undoubtedly one of Michigan's better defensive possessions of the year. Diabate and Houstan execute a perfect switch and Moussa top-locks Sasha to blow-up the first option. Purdue then runs a Williams/Hunter DHO as Jones gets lost initially so Dickinson has to rotate to deter an open lay-up. But look at DeVante re-engage to bump Eric Hunter before tagging Williams and forcing a deflection. That is a level of connectivity we haven't seen from this team. 

The individual defense was notable too. Two days after getting roasted repeatedly by Sam Sessoms of Penn State, freshman Kobe Bufkin was up to the challenge of defending a top-5 NBA pick in Jaden Ivey. In the clip below, he beats Ivey to the spot not once, but twice. That allows Moussa to rotate over and get a deflection.

 

Not to be outdone, DeVante Jones had his moments as well. On an island against Ivey, Jones bumps him off his driving spot near the FT line, which gives Dickinson the time to rotate over for a blocked shot. The Wolverines are then playing 5 vs 4 on offense, which leads to a triple for Eli.

Raise your hand if you had Kobe Bufkin and DeVante Jones getting stops on an island against a college version of Ja Morant. Effort and intensity mean a lot at the college level and Michigan had a level of connectivity that hasn't been there until last night. 

 

Class with Professor Howard. Seriously, Juwan Howard ran circles around a HOF level coach in Matt Painter. Early in the first half, Howard was going with Chest action with the addition of another ballscreen for Jones that lead to open looks as seen below.

Michigan had three viable options on each of the possessions clipped above. Diabate as the roll man against Gillis with the soft show in the first possession with the corner shooters lifting to negate help/stunts from Purdue guards. On the second possession Gillis makes the adjustment and sticks with Moussa, but now Trevion has to show which leaves Dickinson open on the roll + Houstan open on the wing. Pick your poison, Painter. 

 

Coach Howard has been going to Ghost screens (basically a fake screen) with more frequency of late to punish non-drop coverages against ballscreen action.

Johns dives at the same time Diabate sets a ghost screen to negate any help from a Purdue big on the roll by Moussa. The result is getting the ball to a great athlete on the move for an easy finish with only an undersized Purdue guard in the way. Bucket. 

 

By the time the late first half rolled around, the leading man for Michigan was toying with Painter. Dickinson and Houstan clear out as Diabate sets a ballscreen for Jones. Gillis blitzes the ballscreen as Trevion tags Moussa. What you see next is pure genius. Hunter sets a weakside flare screen for Caleb and Purdue clearly thinks this set is designed to get Houstan an open three..............only Dickinson pops up for an open catch + shoot triple. 

It's baffling that some folks legitimately think Juwan Howard is challenged in terms of offensive acumen. There's a large distinction between kids missing open shots and the coaching staff failing to generate open shots. Recognizing that distinction is critical to coaching evaluations. 

 

The schedule, home games in particular. Thursday marked the first game in which Michigan hosted a conference foe currently in the top-half of the B10 standings this season. In a parity-driven college basketball landscape without much high-end talent these days, the lack of home games against quality opponents has hindered the resume. 

The Wolverines have upcoming home games against Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan State and Rutgers. Win three of those four games while stealing one of the remaining three road contests, and the Wolverines are probably on the right side of the bubble. 

[AFTER THE JUMP, only two down!]

TWO DOWN

 

About that. Michigan won at Penn State, but it certainly wasn't the most gracious performance. The Wolverines shot an abysmal 31.5% from the field and 5/21 from beyond the arc. Michigan came out victorious for one reason, dominating the offensive glass. Reeling-in nearly 38% of their misses allowed Michigan to keep the shot attempt war even while drawing more FT attempts.

I'd rather win ugly if the alternative is a moral victory, but those kind of offensive funks simply cannot happen down the stretch if this team is going to go on a run. 

 

The Bench, still. Wolverine subs have scored a combined 22 points...........over the last three games in over 100 minutes of non-garbage time. I touched on this last week and it's still a huge issue. When Dickinson/Diabate are the only players on the team capable of collapsing the defense, it's a huge issue when one is in foul trouble and/or not playing well. We simply need more from the bench in terms of scoring.