Is this the most inconsistent Michigan team ever?
Michigan has 20+ point wins over SMU, Marquette, IU, and MSU. At the same time, they've lost to Iowa, got blown out by Illinois, and lost to a god-awful OSU team at home. I know bubble teams are bubble teams and Beilein's style is high-variance, but I just have never seen anything quite this extreme.
February 7th, 2017 at 10:56 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 10:57 PM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 12:28 AM ^
It's certainly the most inconsistent Michigan team of the past 15 years. (I started following Michigan as a freshman in HS and I'm now approaching 30.)
This Michigan team looks like it can beat Villanova/NorthCarolina/Kansas/Duke/Kentucky by double digits on the right night but also lose to a thoroughly mediocre team by double digits on the wrong night. The variance is mind-numbing.
February 7th, 2017 at 10:57 PM ^
Well, to be fair, you can't expect them to consistently shoot 106% like they did tonight
February 7th, 2017 at 10:57 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 10:57 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
Ooh, I wouldn't have mentioned that. We're gonna have to ensure you're watching every game the rest of the year
By
ANY
Means
Necessary
February 7th, 2017 at 11:01 PM ^
That team had multiple future NBA guys on that team. They went from beating Duke to losing to one of the worst OSU teams in the past 30 years. They went from being a top-15 team to missing the tournament completely. So when you consider the star power on that team, they were more inconsistent.
February 8th, 2017 at 4:04 AM ^
Who went on to win the whole dang thing
February 8th, 2017 at 5:53 AM ^
I remember that. The slide began with a home game against IU. We played a flawless first half and led by 18 at intermission. IU slowly crept back in it but we still were up by 6 with a minute to go. The AJ Guyton (IIRC) drained two threes in the final minute and forced overtime . . . which they won. We then lost about five games in a row and missed the tournament, before winning the NIT.
February 8th, 2017 at 1:59 PM ^
If we would've made the tournament like we should have, and made it to at least the Sweet 16, I think Fisher stays. But flaming out at the end of a third consecutive disappointing season made it easier to fire him.
And yes, AJ Guyton did his best Calbert Cheaney impression. I think he had over 20 points in that second half.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:01 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^
Wisconsin is clearly the best team in the league this season and yet their three losses are all by double digits.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
That game they should have lost against Rutgers was pretty impressive too
February 7th, 2017 at 11:12 PM ^
Yeah, Rutgers flat-out choked away that one. On the bright side they've already surpassed last season's conference win total with victories over Nebraska and PSU.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
They live & often die by the 3 and play with drastically varying amounts of intensity from game to game.
Regardless, that was fun to watch tonight. I loved the juxtaposition of Izzo yelling at everyone in sight with the fathead of Izzo in the crowd yelling at everyone in sight.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
I couldn't watch the game tonight, but I checked the score after I got out of work.
As soon as I saw what happened, I literally thought, "God, this must be the most inconsistent Michigan team ever."
February 7th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
Indiana football: You learned how to play defense, then fired your coaching staff. You lost the belt.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby proclaim Michigan basketball to the be rightful holder of the title CHAOSTEAM, with all of the rights and responsibilities associated thereto.
This team can beat anybody in the country, and this team can lose to anyone in the country. It's amazing.
February 8th, 2017 at 5:55 AM ^
We're much more so than IU football under Wilson. They played good teams close, but rarely ever beat them.
This Michigan basketball team can go from looking like a top 10 team to CBI-level from game to game.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 12:26 AM ^
so no, the W wasn't that great. But to win by 29 points was 25 (!!!) more than expected. The largest margin ever over Sparty.
They're not that terrible. They're a tourney team that just looked really good on the road at Neb where it's tough to play.
February 8th, 2017 at 1:21 AM ^
Maybe, but they've certainly reveled in their blowouts over bad Michigan teams. Remember when they ran up the score in 2000?
I do. This was good.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:15 PM ^
The 09-10 team with Manny and DeShawn I remember being frustratingly inconsitent. Relatively high expectations entering the season to make the tournament and time after time they just didn't have it
February 7th, 2017 at 11:18 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:32 PM ^
he was in the right role today. Granted, Wagner wasn't in foul trouble too badly, Walton kept up his streak of amazingness and MAAR was very good. Usually only one of those conditions exist, if any.
February 8th, 2017 at 1:22 AM ^
Irvin has been inconsistent this year but he's often been a key facilitator for the offense. But the last three games... he's fallen off a cliff.
February 8th, 2017 at 7:21 AM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:21 PM ^
Inconsistent? This team is schizophrenic.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:22 PM ^
Yes. But it's basketball...that's what happens when you have a soft jump shooting team. When you're hitting and play inspired you can beat just about anyone in the country and can hang with anyone in the country for sure.
When you're off and uninspired you lose to EMU, NJIT and the worst OSU team in a quarter century.
This shouldn't be surprising to anyone...and it's likely going to keep happening. If anything this team is an example of "they are who we thought they were."
There will be another Fire Beilein thread this season and there will be another posbang thread this season...it's just how this team is built. They're not built for consistency.
If you look at old threads, even after wins...I kept saying, it doesnt matter, it's all about consistency, if you can't build that - we're a fringe bubble team who will have a surprise win and lose 2 games we shouldn't then repeat.
Again, that's what happens in basketball when you rely on shooting as much as we do. When you're hot - you look amazing...when you're not, you're horrifying to watch.
We have to learn to score consistently in transition, play solid defense, and get tough/rebound if we're going to meet expectations. I personally don't see that happening, but I'd love to be wrong.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:41 PM ^
it was our offense that was inconsistent but I would argue our defense and effort are much more inconsistent.
When we give effort like we did tonight and at Wisconsin and in MSG, we are a very good defensive team. When we don't focus and play hard, we get torched by UCLA and Illinios (!!!) and gasp OSU (!!!!).
Against OSU, we shot well from three. 37 percent on a whopping 35 attempts. We just allowed 48 percent of opponent misses to be rebounded. Tonight, we held MSU to 23 percent of misses rebounded. I know that's not their strength this year, but it's the effort that has been inconsistent.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:59 PM ^
That's my point.
There's no such thing as a consistent jump shooting team. The closest thing is the Warriors and we're not the Warriors (and they play defense, and they have 4 of the best players on the planet on their team).
You can rely on defense, you can rely on not turning the ball over, you can even rely on not fouling as Beilein has done effectively in the past. You can rely on rebounds and putbacks like UNC often does (and UK for many years).
Hell, if you're good enough at it...you can rely on GETTING turnovers (L'ville, Press Virginia for example).
You can't rely on a jump shooting offense, so you say it's been consistent...I say it's been consistent for a jump shooting team. Which is, some days you're going to shoot the frickin lights out...some days you're going to have a "meh" day which is still better than most...other days you can't hit the ocean from the beach. That's just the nature of shooting a basketball for 99% of people.
This team will always be inconsistent because by the nature of the sport, it can truly be a consistent offensive team with the way they play and the players they have.
Past teams had 1-2 players who could create (and make) their own shots when things broke down, they were much better defensively, they generally rebounded better (J-Mo) until they ran up against the UK's of the world. They never fouled. They had a 35 second shot clock to wear a defense out for an open look.
...and they just flat out had better players.
I sound like I'm dogging this team, but I'm not surprised one bit and I won't be surprised if we have another great game and then turn around a lose to someone we should beat with even WD in the starting lineup.
February 8th, 2017 at 6:04 AM ^
You make it sound like we give a consistent (so-so) effort from night to night and some nights the shots just fall. I don't think that's really it. There have been nights when we've looked quite good on defense, and on the glass, and some where we've been atrocious.
We destroyed IU because, even more so than our hot shooting, we gave a fantastic effort defensively, holding them to 60 points and totally shutting down Blackmon. Likewise, in New York last November our team defense was excellent against Marquette and SMU. OTOH, we were a complete sieve at Illinois and didn't box out at all against OSU, letting them get second-chance points all night.
Last night, yes we shot the lights out in the first half. But we also held MSU to 57. We outscored them in the second half when our threes weren't falling. It's not just a matter of hoping the shots go down.
February 8th, 2017 at 8:24 AM ^
FYI Michigan is coached by a fellow who, among others, proved you can build a consistent jump-shooting team.
But to your point, you need more than that, of course. A "jump shooting" team still needs a skilled and/or powerful big to rebound & finish, players that can penetrate and get to the hoop quickly, and healthy ball/player movement to create space. Otherwise the opposing defense can just match your formation on the perimeter or play a zone and there go your looks. You also need unselfishness, the ability to pass to the hot hand and tough defense because on any given night someone's going 2-for-10. If you have enough constraints you can do it, and we've seen it done. Beilein's best teams had all these ingredients but they were still very much "jump shooting" teams.
This team's consistency seems to be more mental than schematic. Walton's playing with a chip on his shoulder but it seems everyone else needs to get just as MANGRY to reach their ceiling. Anger's a very economical motivator, but the one thing it can't sustain is. . . yep, consistency. It's an exhausting and fickle emotion, and not one Beilein is historically eager to use, so a fire needs to be lit under their collective asses some other way. There's not much time left to figure it out and it may even be too late.
February 8th, 2017 at 12:41 AM ^
There will be another Fire Beilein thread this season and there will be another posbang thread this season...it's just how this team is built.
That's exactly right. It's a high variance offense that can overcome the team's defensive deficiencies when it's shooting 40% from three . . . and can't when it's not.
Not my cup of tea, but it is what it is. It's not going to change in February.
So nothing will surprise me the rest of the way. We could get hot from three, make the tournament, and go on a deep run. Or we could flame out and lose in the first round of the NIT.
Either is possible at this point.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:23 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:26 PM ^
February 7th, 2017 at 11:33 PM ^
Offense is built completely around shooting 3s. So a few nights a year you are going to go hog wild, and no one (well except UCLA) is going to stop you. Then many nights you don't hit those 3s and you look like what we've suffered through many nights. Even the Indiana win we allowed 50%+ shooting.
I am just glad one of our hot nights coincided with MSU walking into the building.
Also we've been very consistent on the road. Unfortunately.
February 8th, 2017 at 8:49 AM ^
The IU win was a good defensive effort. Don't overlook the number of turnovers we forced. IU is one of the best offensive teams in the country. To hold that team to 60 was a nice job.
From game to game, our intensity level seems up and down. An OSU team not known for its rebounding prowess went nuts on the offensive glass against us, whereas we held our own on the boards in the two MSU games. Even on offense, there have been games (OSU again) where the team hasn't displayed much patience and has taken quick threes with no one underneath, rather than get shots in the flow of the offense. When we do the latter, we usually shoot a lot better, too.