Id be shocked if hes not back next week
March 10th, 2019 at 12:44 AM ^
Matthews is kind of a double-edged sword.
He improves our defense when he's on the court but he can be a blackhole on offense when he's struggling. Since we're a defensive oriented team (and have been for the past 2 seasons, it's better to enhance our defensive strength and just wing it on offense).
We're kind of a blackhole on offense without him too.
Might as well get some elite defense out of it for our trouble.
Cant switch off of Winston unless its Matthews. Watching brooks, livers, teske etc. trying to guard him was frustrating.
The problem there is State will just re-screen until they get the matchup they’re looking for (Teske, Livers, etc.). Can’t control who they choose to screen with.
Cassius Winston 2 ... UM 0
Guy killed us both games. We had answer.
2-0? Don’t want to count games before this year
But tonight and last game? Cassius ruled our ass. tip your hat to him - All American. We don't have a guy that good.
Here's to hoping that he's a one and done. We have no answers for him. Z played him decently in the first half but I was just waiting for Winston to get his, and he did.
Uh...Winston is a junior. What are you talking about?
March 10th, 2019 at 12:44 AM ^
Sorry, I thought he was a freshman. My bad. How about this...one good year and done.
He has been good all three years.
He’s a junior who is going to play in Europe when he graduates.
He's already a junior..
He’s a junior who is going to play in Europe when he graduates.
One and done? He's a junior. And will definitely be a senior.
The B1G player of the year is going to NBA.
He’s not an NBA player. He is an ok shooter and that’s it as far as transferable nba skills. He is a well below average ball handler, he’s a horrible defender, has zero athleticism, won’t be able to drive or finish in the league. Imagine him trying to guard Ish smith or trying to score on him/anyone that switches on him. There’s no way. Unless he extends his range like 8 feet, he won’t be able to get his shot off at his size and lack of elevation. He’s a g league reserve at best. I still think a team will try him out, but he won’t stick
Uhh he’s a junior with no nba future
March 11th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
He's named after a great Heavyweight Boxing Champion and England's most famous Prime Minister...he was not bred for the NBA.
He is destined for other things after being a very good basketball player.
March 10th, 2019 at 12:18 AM ^
Obviously you count them, but this wasn't his team last year. This year he's their guy and we can't stop him for the life of us. So frustrating. I'm used to getting torched by random bench players (Louisville white guy, Nova white guy, Kipper Nichols occasionally, Isaiah Washington that one time) but we have always been smart enough to shut down the other team's best player and not let him beat us alone. Not Winston. We need Matthews on him badly, but Z
We haven’t rebounded offensively all season. The only player on the court that even tries for an offensive rebound is the 5. Everyone else runs back to the other end of the court after the shot goes off, and that is on every offensive possession. It must be by design, but I really don’t understand why.
That has always been JB's offense. Nothing new.
Correct. Of course, it's part of the overall strategy of having a team full of dudes shooting 3's over 40%.
Maybe we should crash the boards a little more this postseason.
March 10th, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^
It's not about shooting 3s or 3-point percentage. It's about limiting transition points for the other team. Pretty basic basketball concept.
March 10th, 2019 at 12:08 PM ^
Exactly. The players get back and get set, so they can play defense.
I would wager that it's both, though I agree it's mostly about limiting transition defense (or at least that's how it started.) Not that it is some new concept (because it isn't, but) this has basically been the norm in basketball (at least in the NBA) since The Heatles. You punt offensive rebounds for transition defense. The LeBron era Miami Heat could not have cared less about offensive boards because they knew if all things were equal, they were going to score on you more without offensive rebounds than you were going to score on them, so why not cut their losses on misses and get back on D to keep the scales tipped in their favor?
However, since the rise of quality outside shooters and the knowledge that deep three's are more valuable on a per-point basis than most regular field goal attempts, it makes more sense to get good looks from behind the arc and punt offensive rebounds for transition defense than it does to pound it inside or have a majority of guys fight for possession after a miss.
Look no further than the Golden State Warriors for proof of success. Have good shooters + get back on D = success in modern basketball.
The boys blew 4 different 10 point leads.
March 10th, 2019 at 12:32 AM ^
I don't think you're using that phrase correctly. A blown lead is when a team goes from winning to tied or trailing. Going from a ten point lead to an eight point lead is not a blown lead. There was one lead change all game, and there was only one blown lead.
Beat Iowa! (or whoever beats Iowa I guess)
Better yet, beat meat.
[Ed: typo for "beat msu". Gonna let it ride tho.]
The 1 thing that I do not like about a Beilein coached team is they do not rebound well. This years team just does not have the offense to make up for it.
All I can think about right now is how punchable waffle guy's face was. And how I hate ESPN for literally giving him 50% screen time for like 5 minutes.
Winston played leagues better than Z tonight. I think that, and shitty calls, was what done us in. Having Matthews back will undoubtedly help this team for the rest of the season.
Fuck MSU. "Little sister" said the school with the biggest inferiority complex of all time.
He was so ugly and they forced us all to watch
Mods looking a little trigger happy
I’d be shocked if they weren’t. They nuke anything after a loss.
That's a good thing.
Yeah I can't say I'm upset there's not a post bitching about the refs. Twitter and the game thread are already full of it. Michigan didn't deserve to win this game. Period.
No, Beilein electing to revert to hedge and recover in the 2nd half to defend ball screens as he did in the first MSU game got destroyed, again. He switched everything in the first half and it worked. The reality is John Beilein got his ass handed to him on offense and defense tonight and that's why we lost. Yes, the refs were a fucking disgrace too, but there was no reason to change up the defense and it cost UM a ship. Pitiful.
Z played his worst two games against MSU. We need him. Winston has him rattled. I think some is he gets so many bs calls. Z can’t be aggressive.
Matthews brings an edge we need. Feel like Iggy and Z have it, Matthews only other on team.
The team really benefited from Burke and Walton being a legitimate threat from beyond the arch.
State laid the blueprint tonight for how to guard Z.
A deep run? Save yourself the frustration.
This team isn't getting out of the 1st weekend.
What a piss poor performance tonight from a very overrated team.
Who the hell is Michigan going to play in the first 2 games that would be better than State? Michigan just beat a solid Maryland team on the road a week ago, and pretty handily at that.
Not out of first weekend? Wanna bet? Still confident in this team vs. most opponents. Matthews back a priority though.
Yep. The KenPom #6 Wolverines are sure to have a blowout game against a ~#26 team like Villanova in the second round.
No, we don't look like a Final Four team. But your boogiemen of the second and even third round aren't as scary as you are imagining.
March 10th, 2019 at 12:40 AM ^
Hello, yes, show me all the teams in the country that crash the boards relentlessly, have knockdown shooters everywhere, get back on defense, are an incredible defensive team in the half court, and have skilled posts that can feed the skilled guards. What's that? There's none other than MSU? MSU is an awful matchup for us and the only reason they have lost as many games as they have is that they are coached by a dwarf with dramatic mood swings who is just as likely to lose to Indiana at home as he is to win the big ten. We can't beat MSU, Purdue can't beat us, and MSU can't beat Indiana. Basketball is full of matchups and the ONLY team in the country who I think is an awful matchup for us just happens to be MSU.
Maybe we get unbiased refs in the tourney if we play them again.
Trailer park level stuff. Will read again.
MAAR will go down as arguably the most under appreciated wolverine b ball player ever. Every time things went south he stepped up. Unpopular opinion is that this team misses him more than Wagner.
It never felt that the game was too big for MAAR either.
Calm, cool, collected in every minute he played. I really miss seeing him in a Maize and Blue Jersey.