Michigan vs. Illinois SNOWFLAKES/502 Bad Gateway/POSBANG Thread
I'm not sure we played well enough for POSBANG to get it's own thread. So I've combined.
30 minutes of solid basketball. 10 minutes of s*** the bed. Glad we hung on for the W. Survive and advance.
One note..
Midway through the 2nd half, LeVert played BRILLIANT defense. Probably the best position and footwork you've seen all year. It was certainly his best series of the game.
The Illinois player pushes off, creates space and then jumps out of bounds for the dumpoff under the basket and a dunk. No call. Refs +2.
Last possession. LeVert couldn't have played it any worse. Completely out of position - horrible defense.
Illinois misses the floater.
#Sports.
OK, so my prediction is Ohio squeaks another one out, but it won't surprise me if Nebraska wins. I think Wisconsin will win handily and MSU the same.
Hella yeah.
Thank goodness I was at work so I could only listen to the game while doing other things and I wasn't as engrossed into the game and that my heart didn't fail.
WIN THE GAME!
"We did..." - JMOOooooo!
I hate these games, where you have little to gain and much to lose and the other team is in the opposite situation. Michigan has some major flaws - as we've always known - and needs to work on their offense against a 2-3 (which I assume most teams don't throw at Michigan much because of their shooting). But I will take a win in a box or with a fox. Time to move onto OSU or Nebraska.
I know the defense has been a big concern all along but today's 2nd half version was really quite terrible. Ill guards going straight to the hoop around 3 UM players. Everyone (save Morgan maybe) just seemed a step slow and the intensity was just lacking. Still, you need to cut off the driver even if you have to foul sometimes. Michigan did not do that today. Maybe that will change tomorrow.
LeVert's mediocrity (kind?) as a one-on-one defender continues to confound.
I think he's both. He's disruptive off the ball, seems to do a good job at getting in lanes, and rebounds at or above his weight. But, I think he gets himself out of position in on-ball defense and gets beat too easily. He also has a tendency to not use his long arms to disrupt jump shooters.
Edit: I should say that I don't think he's an awful defender in any way. Just not a particularly good on-ball defender. The fact that he's the guy we tend to put on our opponents best guard says a lot about why we struggle on defense.
He is great in the zone and can't defend one-on-one. The defense on Abrams on that last possession was atrotious. We got bailed out by a choke.
I agree with you that today the effort just was not there to play well defensively. During the year, however, I think the effort was sometimes there, sometimes not. The bigger problem seems to be the lack of one-on-one defending. I actually think our help defense is decent (certainly not great as we lack shot blockers) but most guys just don't seems to keep guys in front of them. Not sure if it's being afraid to foul or just lack of footspeed.
We played nowhere near well enough for a POSBANG. This shouldn't even be a question. Talk about letting off the gas.
From Sean Higgins to Jordan Morgan.
Great win! A win is a win, especially in tournaments. Survive and advance.
You are comparing the end of a Final Four game in a national title season to the end of a Friday game in the BTT. Stop that.
but a win's a win. Our interior defense was just awful. Illinois kept going to the play and it kept working. THAT, and our shooting went cold in the latter part of the game. But, I'd give Illinois credit there for very tough defense. I knew this was going to be a nail-biter for some reason. Anyway, Go Blue and onwards!!
Not to nitpick, but Illinois switched to a 3-2 zone midway through the second half (not a 2-3 zone). This is particularly problematic because the three defenders at the top of the key lock down our shooters, and we don't have the size to exploit the two defenders along the baseline. Our offense is well suited to pick apart a 2-3 zone.
don give it away!
Actually thought it was good defense at the end there. Levert over-extend, over-playing the jump shot and taking it away, and then Michigan had help at the rim. Left the offensive player with only a runner, when he wanted to either pull up or go to the rim.
Still: luck haz a blue hue this morning (Pacific time).
I think you're being awfully generous. He got beat almost immediately after the offensive player caught the ball well outside of shooting range. We gave up a point blank shot that the kid probably makes 75% of the time. That's not good defense.
That is a harder shot that it looked like in real time. A runner in the middle of the paint, with all momentum carrying forward. Watch that replay again, just watching the shooter's feet, and how he twists his body. Sure, if you are living or dying by allowing those shots, it will be a short Tourament run, but that is a lower percentage shot than a pull-up, under control, jumper, or allowing him to go all the way to the rim.
A harder shot than a layup (definitely) or an uncontested pull-up (probably), but still a better look than good defense would give up in that situation.
Thx for bringing it to the game....
... missing SF.
It was ugly, but good teams know how to win when things aren't going well. It's over...move on.
I missed the whole game and it sounds like a terrifying experience, but the old saying holds true: "Survive and advance". Sometimes you beat VCU by 25, sometimes you should've lost to KU by double digits but win anyway. Ugly wins are just wins right now
sometimes you should've lost to KU by double digits but win anyway.
and sometimes poetry finds justice.
is we advanced.....We are playing for a #1 seed...Every game is do or die now....
I dont care if its 1 point or a 100..lets get past the semis and get another monkey off
our backs!
Doesn't have to be pretty. Winners win, losers lose. #GoBlue
Game-winner, pt. 3: pic.twitter.com/BLU0baR70o
— Michigan Basketball (@umichbball) March 14, 2014
a moment of silent communing with the basketball fairies that only he can see
That floater...my heart stopped. Wow. That looked like a different Illinois team. Great to escape with a win.
one-pointer as good as a 20-pointer. Hopefully, we learned something about the 3-2, and added something to the level of confidence this team has that it can win close games.
But guys -- no need to have any more nail-biters for a bit. Let's start working on that confidence that we can bury any team in a tsunami of offense.