Michigan Hoops @ Wisconsin tomorrow
Anyone think we've got a legitimate shot at this tomorrow? I want someone to convince me that we do...
I don't have the stats on this but my feeling is that we routinely get beat by Wisconsin, generally through being outmuscled and being out-executed. However, in good news, we don't have to face Jon Leuer, who destroys us everytime he plays us.
This team's gotta be riding high after the win against Uconn, and we did win that comeback game @ Penn State in our last road game. However, that was Penn State...
I feel like if we can get Novak/Douglass/LLP contributions from 3 point land, and maybe a couple random bench guys doing something again, maybe we could keep this close and scratch out a win? However unlikely it is, if we could get a win or two in these next few games, maybe we could work our way onto the bubble by the end of the conference season...
January 19th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
Of course we have a chance, but I expect the line to be something like Wiscy -9.
It just depends on what teams show up. Wiscy has beaten Purdue and Duke at home this year, but got embarrassed by Gonzaga at home.
For us it's basically a first half PSU vs. a second half PSU thing.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:09 PM ^
They're a top 25 team and always has been for years.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^
That Leuer injury is huge. I'm not one to hope for other teams' player to get hurt, but we caught a major break here. We usually get killed on the glass and in the low post with that swing O. Leuer is a big that can hit at a high percentage from the high post and is a pretty solid 3pt shooter. Wisco's other bigs are either young (see the red polor bear) or extremely poor shooters. This will allow us to bring help into the post. They still have a couple of good shooters, but they won't be able to isolate players on the block like they used to. Also, I like us getting some 2nd chance points. Sims should have a big day with lots of FTAs if he is assertive.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:43 PM ^
leuer isn't playing because he has a broken wrist...the only thing that worries about this game is letting wisky slow the game down... if that happens then michigan will have to shoot a good % from the floor because there is going be possessions... i agree with you that if sims is agressive michigan will have a better chance at winning... what michigan also needs is for manny to play the entire game, not take a half off like he did against indiana...
January 19th, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^
A win would be huge, and get our tournament dream off of life support and into physical therapy.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:54 PM ^
The Kohl Center is a tough place to come away with a W from, but if they can continue playing stellar defense and making 3's, anything is possible.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:58 PM ^
Sims has a lot of trouble generally playing against taller guys but with Leuer out, and one slow tall guy remaining, maybe Sims can do some damage. They don't have much of a shot blocking presence so Manny should have the ability to score if he can get to the rim.
The problem is they are so fundamentally sound, I just hope we can execute well enough to get good looks. All we need is "average" 3 point shooting (not our average) and we can be competitive.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:13 PM ^
No doubt that this UM team has the talent, but until we beat somebody good on the road it is hard to get overly optimistic. I didn't think that we played especially well against UCON, but we did play hard for the entire game. If they can bring that same desire and intensity every game, then anything is possible. Also, it would be nice to hang a W on one of the better teams in the league that we need to finish ahead of in order to end up in 4th or better.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:25 PM ^
We're going to win it. The UConn game got us warmed up for a huge run this week and next.
January 19th, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
I like the confidence. Let's hope the boys carry the intensity from the UConn game for the remainder of the season.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:33 PM ^
place to win. What worries me is the inconsistency this team displays. If they go to sleep for a few minutes against Wisconsin in that environment, they're down 12 points real quick.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:40 PM ^
It's a tough place to play, but we did play them close there last year, when they had Leuer. If we can find our stroke from downtown, you never know. LLP is one guy who hasn't had too much of a home/road split in his shooting. Maybe he can come up big tomorrow.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:41 PM ^
it's a game against Wiscy in which we match up pretty well. They're going three guards with Leuer out and Deshawn is gonna have a big time athleticism advantage. If there's any hope of us making the tournament we need to keep taking advantage of playing future tourney teams whose best players aren't playing. If we take this and the State game we're at least on the road to being considered.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:45 PM ^
I thought that Darius Morris did a really good job of playing 1 on 1 D on Talor Battle when we beat Penn State, maybe he can get out there and bother Hughes a little bit-that's the only guy who could really threaten us at all with his 1 on 1 game, and killed us in crunch time last year
January 19th, 2010 at 2:10 PM ^
matchup well against Wisconsin. They play swing offense which force smaller Michigan guards guard them at the low post. They are a physical team who can play tough defense.
Wisconsin is a legit top 10 team(along with MSU and Purdue of course).
January 19th, 2010 at 1:47 PM ^
If he's ready to start I think we will win. If not, I'm not so sure. Not that he's what wins, but with a true PG the offense looks different.
With him at PG and Stu at 2 we will be able to spread the floor much more opening things up for Manny or get good looks at 3's. I haven't seen the #'s but LLP coming of the bench has also looked really good.
Oh, and every 3 Sims shoots with less than 10 seconds off the shot clock shrinks our chances dramatically.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:50 PM ^
Morris should start IMO, however he should never be allowed to take a shot. Seriously he is going to be a good B10 player but that shot of his is ugly.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:56 PM ^
I like Morris and have high hopes for him but is there anything that he does really well offensively? He clearly cannot shoot a jump shot, and everytime he drives to the bucket he throws up a soft fingerroll that gets swatted into the 3rd row. Was that the book on him coming in?
January 19th, 2010 at 2:07 PM ^
Don't worry about Morris's game. He was a 4-star PG from LA who scored about 27/game.
He's going to be just fine. He's not a scoring machine at the moment because he doesn't need to be...and that's perfect for us. His rough start was (as they'll admit) the coaches' fault. As a freshman, he's just more comfortable coming off the bench. Expect to see more and more of Darius.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:48 PM ^
Because Brians new favorite hoops star is Anthony Wright BABY!!!!
January 19th, 2010 at 2:03 PM ^
If Wright is glued to the bench and Gibson finds some toughness, we will be ok. I realize that Wright finally hit a few shots against UConn, but he also had a stretch with a couple misses and a TO, which lead to a UConn run. He is terrible. Terrible. Someone as bad as Wright should not shoot 5 times in 12 minutes. He only sees the court b/c we lack another able body.
January 19th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
Statsheet is showing the line at Wisconsin -6.5, and I think that's being generous to Michigan, considering this game is being played in Madison.
If they are going to have a chance, someone other than Manny and Sims is going to have to step up.
The key to this game for Michigan is to get Douglass, Novak or one of the other shooters hot, and force the Badgers to unclog the lane and guard out on the perimeter.
One thing is certain about playing Wisconsin, they know the scouting report on every player -- especially Manny. Over the last three games, they have held him to a combined 9 for 39 from the field.
Manny doesn't do well when he doesn't get a clear path to the basket, and Wisconsin is going to do whatever they can not to allow that. He's going to be knocked and shoved every time he catches the ball, they will hedge every screen he runs around, and he is probably going to have to chase Hughes or Bohannon around about a thousand screens on defense.
For Sims to have a good game, he is going to have to get comfortable playing in space, because they will probably not allow him to catch the ball in the low post. He's going to have to catch out by the elbow and drive or pass, or cut to the basket without the ball.
Without Leuer, Wisconsin may be a bit limited on offense, but Michigan is going to have to play a damn-near perfect game to come out of there with a win.