Mini Inside the Boxscore - Rebounds

Submitted by ST3 on

ESPN has the boxscore up at: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=330980097

Look at the play-by-play section. When we had the lead, 36-26 in the first half, we also had a 16-12 rebounding edge. The final rebounding numbers were 31-26 in favor of Louisville. That means they finished on a 19-10 rebounding advantage. Giving that team nine extra possessions is a recipe for disaster. So did the ball just stop bouncing our way, or did Louisville just up their intensity? Maybe McGary backed off a bit when he got in foul trouble. The way I saw their guys shoving our guys all over the place underneath, it seems like they out-physicalled us, if that's a word. How many times did Chane Behanan (or BO-hanon per Barkley) just shove Hardaway or GRIII out of the way? If THJr goes pro, perhaps GRIII can slide down to the 3, and let Morgan/Horford/McGary/Bielfeldt get more time at the 4 and 5 so we don't get pushed around as much.

McGary and GRIII, our 4 and 5, combined for 8 rebounds. Behanan and Dieng had 20. (I'm desperately trying to find a reason for that loss besides the refs because I don't want to be one of those fans, but jeez, that was WWE-style reffing in the first half, i.e., let's keep it close for TV ratings, and then we stopped playing defense.)

I saw one comment wondering why Beilein didn't call more timeouts to stop their runs. I suspect it was because he thought it was more important to prevent Siva and Smith to get rest, but a couple time-outs here and there could have been the difference.

This one hurts. It was there for the taking.

ChuckieWoodson

April 9th, 2013 at 12:47 AM ^

THJ had to have a good game.  He did not.  5-13 and 0-4 from 3pt is just not gonna get it done.  He had the most attempts from the field of any Michigan player and by far the lowest percentage made.  Hate to say it, but if anyone watched the post game presser he looked the most dejected - and rightfully so.  If he's on, we win this one.  It hurts.

remdog

April 9th, 2013 at 1:00 AM ^

6-13.  One of his shots was goaltended off the backboard.  There may have been some shooting fouls on him that weren't called as well.

He played a good game.

Michigan played a good game, well enough to win.

Michigan was the better team today and they should feel proud of their effort.

powhound

April 9th, 2013 at 12:49 AM ^

M played hard, but not good enough to win. Foul trouble on Mitch and Trey limited their games. Stauskas and THJ were no shows. GR3 ok. Bench solid with Spike unbelievable in the first half.

I see no reason why this will not be a better team next year if Mitch and GR3 return. Outstanding recruits, a good bench and great coaching leaves me very optimistic about the future. Go Blue!

enlightenedbum

April 9th, 2013 at 12:51 AM ^

Behanan has a ton of weight/strength on GRIII.  I thought it was the biggest matchup issue for us going in.  Second biggest was could our non-Burke guards stay in front of Siva.

I feel like I was basically right.

Glenn is ideally a 3, and Nik is ideally a 2.  But for our offense to work its best, we need a stretch 4.  I hope that's Donnal, who at 6'8" should give us a bit more rebounding.

BlueinLansing

April 9th, 2013 at 12:55 AM ^

put themselves in better position to get offensive rebounds and then fought like hell for them the entire second half.  We couldn't stop their penetration which resulted in soft shots dribbling off the rim to the man underneath.  Most of UM's rebounds came on jump shot misses.

enlightenedbum

April 9th, 2013 at 1:00 AM ^

Tim or Caris, I think.  Which is why I'm not being as hard on Tim as a lot of others.  He's become a MUCH better defender this year.  Not the BTN's "OH HE SHUT DOWN BYRD" lockdown defender, but someone you can go to war with.  We just didn't have people quick enough for Siva.

EricTheActor

April 9th, 2013 at 1:16 AM ^

Timmy was most of the game. The limited time Caris saw, he got absolutely worked four times in a row on the same ball screen and 3 from Hancock. Lazy and bad on him for not working through.

Magnus

April 9th, 2013 at 8:10 AM ^

I wouldn't call LeVert's play lazy.  That kid plays hard.  He's just not very experienced.  Ideally, he would have been redshirting this year, because he's clearly very raw.  But he played well at times, and he played hard.

SHub'68

April 9th, 2013 at 1:02 AM ^

ourselves.  I'm really disappointed that we lost, but we had a chance 'til the final minute and I did not think going in that this team would play for the title.

Maybe in a game with ACC-style officiating - every ticky tacky thing called - we win.  I really think we were the better basketball team and Louisville was the tougher basketball team.  

Thinking back on our season, I probably should have seen this coming - there were games where we got shoved around too much.  Especially MSU.  I wonder if Pitino watched the first MSU game for the recipe against us?  It was our worst loss, so it would make sense.

SeattleWolverine

April 9th, 2013 at 11:10 AM ^

Yep, that was part of the problem. Love Beilein but once Caris stepped on the baseline it immediately became a foul situation. Would have liked to have seen a TO there to communicate the strategy to the team as they did not foul very quickly. At the least, he has to sub out Burke on D there for Spike because Burke has 4 fouls. Then Burke back in with the free throws. I really don't know why he was not substituting Burke out on D in the last 50 seconds as he could have subbed in offense with each Ft. Definitely cost us time as Burke did not want to pick up his 5th. Some other guys though were not as quick to foul as they could have been.

snoopblue

April 9th, 2013 at 1:32 AM ^

Welcome back to Crisler Arena, Expectations! It's been a long time! We'll be back. Louisville took advantage of their last year in the Big East, obscurity lies ahead where they are going.

I really would like to see some consensus talent come to Ann Arbor. Mitch was a start, but I think this title game appearance, miraculous run and eventual draft (and hopefully immediate NBA success) should really get us in the running with Duke, UNC, Kansas, etc. I want to see John Beilein win a title after seeing him after the game today, just hopes he realizes the talent he is able to get now. Offseason priorities? Free throws, Dribbling, inbounding and backcourt pressure schemes.

enlightenedbum

April 9th, 2013 at 1:39 AM ^

We have a couple top 50 players and a third top 100 guy coming.  Irvin is in the middle of one of those senior year blowups of Beilein recruits.  Indiana Mr. Basketball.  Beilein's incredibly eye for players and PGs in particular, means Walton will probably explode.

mi93

April 9th, 2013 at 1:51 AM ^

but nothing like '93.  No other ending to a Michigan sporting event stuck with me longer; not Spartan Bob nor Desmond getting tripped, or the Horror.  Colorado is a close second.

Maybe it's because I was a student and got to know a couple of the Fab 5. Maybe because it really wasn't Webber's fault (Michael Talley was on the bench hollering for a TO.)  But knowing a couple of them and what they were like, they deserved better than that ending - despite how some feel.

I'm more proud to be an alum than anything - for the team they proved to be and character they display on and off the court.

Thorin

April 9th, 2013 at 3:17 AM ^

I agree. This one hurts, but you can still say they had a good season and a great tournament run. In 1993 they were playing for the championship from day one, and they were the champions for the entire season, right up until the timeout. 

An Angelo's Addict

April 9th, 2013 at 7:56 AM ^

Was it just me or did it feel like we couldn't get a rebound to save our lives nearing the end of the game? This one series in particular keeps rolling in my head where Louisville got like 3 straight offensive boards and I was yelling at the TV why we couldn't get a defensive rebound